In "Altneuland", Herzl did not foresee any conflict between Jews and Arabs. One of the main characters in "Altneuland" is a Haifa engineer, Reshid Bey, who is one of the leaders of the "New Society". He is very grateful to his Jewish neighbors for improving the economic condition of Israel and sees no cause for conflict. All non-Jews have equal rights, and an attempt by a fanatical rabbi to disenfranchise the non-Jewish citizens of their rights fails in the election which is the center of the main political plot of the novel.