If one were to listen only to the mainstream media and Israel's many antagonists, one would be led to believe that the Jewish state is a horrible and oppressive place for Arabs to live, and that said Arabs desire nothing more than to replace Israel with their own "Palestinian" state.

But if one bothers to listen to those Arabs themselves (something the media often does its best no avoid), a completely different picture emerges.

According to the Democracy Index 2011 survey conducted recently by the Israel Democracy Institute, nearly 53 percent of Israeli Arabs are "proud to be Israelis."

Only 28.3 percent responded that they are "not at all proud" to be Israelis.

Those figures would seem in stark contrast to all the criticisms about Israel being an apartheid state that discriminates against and oppresses its Arab population.