Mixed cities

In the early 19th century, only Jerusalem, Safed and Tiberias had small yet significant minority Jewish populations living alongside the majority Arabs. These populations grew to become about half the cities' populations by the start of the British Mandate. Immigration and settlement also took place on the outskirts of the cities of Jaffa (these outskirts later became known as Tel Aviv) and Haifa during the same period. As a result of the Palestinian expulsions and fleeing of violence during 1948, Safed and Tiberias were depopulated of all Palestinian Arabs and became exclusively Jewish, whilst Jerusalem was split into Jewish West Jerusalem and Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem. Of those "original" mixed cities, only Haifa remained mixed after the war. However, after 1948 only about 3,000 of its 70,000 Palestinian Arab residents remained in Haifa; these remaining Palestinian Arabs were then moved into small areas of the city by the new Israeli authorities.^[11] Today, about 12% of Haifa's residents are Palestinian Arab.

Ramla, Lod, Jaffa and Acre became mixed as a result of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. These cities had almost 100% Palestinian Arab populations prior to 1948, but after the war only about 1,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Ramla and Lod, and 13,000 in Acre, mostly in the poorest segments of society and initially restricted to segregated compounds under Israeli martial law.^[11] Internally displaced Palestinians from other areas moved to the cities in subsequent decades; today Palestinian Arabs account for c.30% of Lod's population, c.25% of Ramle's, c.30% of Acre's, and c.5% of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

The unique cities of Nof Hagalil and Ma'alot-Tarshiha became mixed through Israeli Arab influx and a municipal merger, respectively. In Nof Hagalil, the population is almost 30% Arab, but the municipality has refused to allow the building of any churches, mosques or Arabic-speaking schools.^{[12][13][14][15]}

The term "mixed cities" should not be confused with multicultural cities, nor understood to necessarily imply social integration.^[8] Yara Hawari describes significant geographical segregation and social exclusion within each of the eight cities, which contradicts "Israel's self-image as a pluralist and democratic society" and the "narrative of continuous historical coexistence".^[16] Most Arabs in mixed cities live in predominantly Arab neighborhoods,^[17] and studies have shown significant inequality in municipal resource allocation, and wide socio-economic gaps in welfare, housing and education between the two communities.^[18][19] According to the New York Times, even towns "portrayed as models of peaceful coexistence fester with resentments born of double standards."^[20]

In October 2021, following the May 2021 racial riots centered in the mixed cities,^[21] the Israeli government approved a new five-year plan aimed at reducing years of state neglect of the inequalities between Jewish and Arab citizens, with an emphasis on addressing Israel's mixed city problems.^[22]

Religious affiliation is a significant determinator in school designation. Christians, Muslims, and Jews are the main populations integrated in mixed cities. This religious segregation makes it hard for teachers to create multicultural experiences in schools.^[23] Religiously mixed educational institutions face similar challenges to integration in mixed cities. Teachers in mixed schools create ceremonies that emphasize multiple cultures. These ceremonies fail to address essential narratives about religious and racially diverse identities. Mixed schools teach Arabic as well as Hebrew, however Jewish students do not always acquire Arabic speaking skills.^[24] Recent data show that Arab kindergarten teachers in Jewish schools have a positive impact on the student's multicultural acceptance.^[25] The same goes for Jewish teachers in Arab schools. In most mixed cities, Arabs and Jews are not geographically segregated. Most schools in mixed cities are segregated. Jewish students go to Jewish schools, Arab students go to Arab schools. These schools have different curriculums. Schools are divided by language (Hebrew or Arabic), race, religion, and nationality.^[25]

• Arab localities in Israel