Guttural R
Many Jewish immigrants to Israel spoke a variety of Arabic in their countries of origin and pronounced the Hebrew rhotic as an alveolar tap , similar to Arabic '. Gradually, many of them began pronouncing their Hebrew rhotic as a voiced uvular fricative , a sound similar or (depending on the Arabic dialect) identical to Arabic '. However, in modern Sephardic and Mizrahi poetry and folk music an alveolar rhotic continues to be used.
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel, or Arab Israelis, are Israeli citizens who are Arab. Many Arab citizens of Israel self-identify as Palestinian and commonly self-designate themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel or Israeli Palestinians, though only about 13% of them hold a Palestinian nationality ID in addition to the Israeli one. A notable percentage of Arab citizens in Israel refer to themselves as Israeli Arabs, while rejecting Palestinian identity. The traditional vernacular of most Arab citizens, irrespective of religion, is Levantine Arabic, including Lebanese Arabic in the North of Israel, Palestinian dialect of Arabic in Central Israel and Bedouin dialects across the Negev desert; having absorbed much Hebrew loanwords and phrases, the modern dialect of Arab citizens of Israel is defined by some as the "Israeli Arabic dialect". Most Arab citizens of Israel are functionally bilingual, their second language being Modern Hebrew. By religious affiliation, most are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam. There is a significant Arab Christian minority from various denominations as well as the Druze, among other religious communities.