TGS Live: How Far Have Arab Citizens of Israel Come?

April 3, 2026·1 hr 9 min·5 clips

A labor economist argues the Arab-Jewish relationship in Israel mirrors the Black-Jewish dynamic in America.

The frame is formal and live. Glenn Lowry opens the March 27th, 2026 stream with subscriber business, brings in Mark Sussman, and introduces Robert, an emeritus Brooklyn College economist. The topic stays tight. Instead of retelling the whole Israel-Palestine conflict, Robert focuses on Arab citizens of Israel and the success he thinks they have had. Glenn gives him room. The argument moves through Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Jordan, with economic development doing most of the work. The West Bank gets the closest look. Robert describes joint projects from years when a prime minister favored development, then says militants and Abbas pushed against that path. Fayyad is the example that sticks. In Robert's version, a development-minded prime minister was removed because revolutionary politics carried more weight than economic improvement. Gaza comes off harsher. Robert says Hamas showed no serious interest in economic development after Israel withdrew from Gaza. The refugee question widens the case. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are described as stateless after three generations, confined to camps and pushed into menial work. Jordan is messier. Some Palestinians from the West Bank have citizenship, while others from Kuwait and Gaza remain outside full integration. Robert argues that the right of return keeps deprivation in place, because integration could weaken the demand to return. Glenn closes with a measured nod to the book, calling it factual and insightful for readers willing to look closely at Arab citizens of Israel. The final exchange stays somber. Anti-Semitism in Western Europe, and to a degree the United States, appears near the end as part of the argument for why many Jews still see Israel as necessary.

As heard by us

A serious, politically charged conversation about Arab citizens of Israel, regional politics, and the stubborn costs of unresolved history.

Glenn Lowry's live conversation with Robert Cherry gives clear shape to Cherry's new book on Arab citizens of Israel before widening to the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a slow, serious conversation about Arab citizens of Israel and the politics around them.

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