Draft:Yehoshua Palmon

Yehoshua Palmon, also known as Joshua (Josh) Palmon, was an Israeli political figure. He was known for being the first Advisor to the Prime Minister on Arab Affairs from 1949-55.

Early life
He was born in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine in 1913 to Russian-Jewish parents. He worked as a foreman at the Dead Sea Works plant until 1940.

Political Career
Between 1940 and 1949, Palmon served on the staff of the political department of the Jewish Agency. From 1948 to 1949, he worked on the staff of the Foreign Ministry of Israel. In 1949, the government had decided to create an Arab Affairs department in each ministry. In his newly created position, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Arab Affairs, Palmon would coordinate all minority policymaking by establishing various interministerial committees for Arab affairs.

However, he had strong ideas concerning a “security first” approach to policy. Because of his emphasis on security, Palmon believed in differential treatment for minority villages and individuals by the military government, based on “certain geographical conditions” or “personal history.” Thus, Palmon to some extent advocated a policy of divide and rule, which would split the Arab community from within and reward those elements considered to be supportive of Israeli policies.

Years later, he said this in an interview regarding his outlook on the Arab population of Israel:

"...I opposed the integration of Arabs into Israeli society. I preferred separate development. True, this prevented the Arabs from integrating into the Israeli democracy. Yet they had never had democracy before. Since they never had it, they never missed it."