 Schnitzer also advocated for the adoption of an open policy encouraging Arabs to emigrate from Israel.In 2003, Benjamin Netanyahu opined that if the percentage of Arab citizens of Israel rises above its current level of about 20 percent, Israel would not be able to retain a Jewish demographic majority, the basis of Israel's self-definition as a "Jewish democratic state".Netanyahu's comments were criticized as racist by Arab Knesset members and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.