Citizens' perceptions of the neighborhood council: The case of Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem

The paper presents the findings of a study that explored an attempt to establish neighborhood councils in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The Arab residents participating in the study recognized the importance of the neighborhood council, but expressed reservations about the extent to which the model is suited to a traditional society such as theirs. The obstacles encountered in the attempt to establish neighborhood councils derive from the residents' perception of themselves as being incapable of managing their lives autonomously. Moreover, the residents are resistant about having the neighborhood council model imposed on them by a foreign government, to which they have not given political legitimation. In this connection, it is particularly interesting to consider the responses and perceptions of Arab residents with higher education, who have expressed skepticism about the model and about the processes of participatory democracy that it represents.