The guides pointed out to us the communities along the way. If they had minarets they were Arab communities. If not, they were Jewish. Every community was distinguishable in this way. Ami (may not be spelled right), who was our guide for most of the tours, was at least a 3rd generation Hebrew. He, of course, had his own prejudices. But, he was convincing. He pointed out that the Jewish communities were neat, taken care of, finished properly. He said, "The Arab people just have a different way of looking at things." He also showed us that the homes of the Arabs were often not finished. To be finished meant that there was glass in the window holes. The law in Israel is that if you have windows finished you pay taxes on the home. The way it works is this: If you get married, you build the first level of the home. When your children get married, each family adds to the top level. But they don't believe in borrowing/mortgages so they only build when they can afford it. Hence, the reason for much unfinished property. The guide pointed out that we might like to abide by those rules in the US referring to our recent banking crisis. Point well taken. He also shared that, in spite of what CNN reports (they call CNN "certainly no news") the Arabs and Jews live next to each other amiably.
I remember reading in Golda Mier's book that many Arabs left Israel and fled to Jordan. Some stayed. Our guides said that those who chose to stay are very happy they did because their circumstances in Israel are much better than those who fled to Jordan.
Even as we got into Jerusalem the same communities or neighborhoods stood out. Little villages of people belonging to one or the other, Arab or Jewish.
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