How to refer to the Arab citizenry of Israel is a highly politicized issue, and there are a number of self-identification labels used by members of this community. Generally speaking, supporters of Israel tend to use "Israeli Arab" or "Arab Israeli" to refer to this population without mentioning Palestine, while critics of Israel (or supporters of Palestinians) tend to use "Palestinian" or "Palestinian Arab" without referencing Israel. According to "The New York Times", most preferred to identify themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel rather than as Israeli Arabs, as of 2012. "The New York Times" uses both 'Palestinian Israelis' and 'Israeli Arabs' to refer to the same population.