This second of a two-part essay explores how the tension between the imperatives of justice and the realities of the balance of power, which the author contends has shaped Palestinian politics since 1948, affects the Palestinians of Israel, particularly with regard to such issues as citizenship and identity, “Israelization” and “Palestinianization,” and demands for equality and autonomy. While the oscillation between the poles of justice/history and power prevents them, like their brethren in the occupied territories (the subject of part 1 of the essay, in JPS 128) from developing a clear strategy, in their case it also undermines their ability to formulate a coherent vision of the requirements for a “historic compromise,” without which there can be no true normalization with the Israeli state.
