As Israel approaches its fourth elections in less than two years, political discourse on Arab citizens has turned on its head. Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose previous campaigns alienated Arab voters and delegitimized cooperation with Arab leadership, is now running a positive campaign courting Arab voters, visiting Arab cities, apologizing for past remarks, and calling for Arab political inclusion.
That said, it is not at all clear that this unprecedented outreach will energize Arab voters or yield significant Arab representation. The Joint List alliance of Arab-led parties, which effectively thrust the overall Arab demand for such inclusion into the mainstream and drove up Arab voter turnout, has now splintered over primarily just how far such political cooperation should go—increasing competition for the Arab vote and decreasing each individual party’s chance to cross the electoral threshold.
In recent years, burning issues in Arab society have also become top political priorities for Arab citizens—with rising crime, poverty and unemployment, and a housing crisis at the top of the list, superseding political concerns for Palestinian statehood. While significant government plans and budgets have advanced on some of these issues, disparities remain wide and little tangible progress is yet felt on the Arab street.
Though the four parties that comprise the Joint List have vast ideological differences—imagine “if Meretz, Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism and Bayit Yehudi ran together”— by and large, they have succeeded in working around to represent Arab society’s fundamental drive for more political influence.
Without binding incentive to the Center-Left, ideological differences within the Joint List have grown more salient. If Odeh envisioned the future of Arab politics on the Israeli left, MK Mansour Abbas has since leveraged Arab frustration with both the Joint List and the Center-Left to pull it to the right.
Abbas’ strategy as chair of Ra’am can be equated with that of small ultra-Orthodox parties who don’t intend to represent the mainstream of Israeli society, but to have outsized influence through pragmatic coalitions.
Externally, meanwhile, Jewish parties across the political spectrum took note of Arab electoral power, not least PM Netanyahu. Campaigning in Arab society may very well garner Netanyahu much-needed votes in a tight race. In early January, polls showed the Likud “drawing 1.6 to 2.1 seats from Arab voters, or approximately 60,000 to 80,000 votes.” But Netanyahu’s strategy is thought to have additional aims.
In the longrun, Netanyahu’s reversal on Arab society is seen as a rubicon that cannot be turned back. How it will unfold will undoubtedly shed light on the complexity, internal diversity, and new leadership in Arab society.
Gideon Sa’ar’s right-wing New Hope party declared its intentions to incorporate an Arab candidate on its list, as did Ron Huldai’s center-left ‘The Israeli’s.’ Yair Lapid’s centrist opposition party, Yesh Atid, announced it would explore adding an Arab candidate and would form a coalition with the Joint List given the opportunity. On the left, Meretz announced Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi as their number 4 candidate, and brought MK Essawi Frej back from number 11 to number 5.
Explore Further
ELECTIONS UPDATE: Jewish-Arab Politics in Israel on the Eve of the March 2021 ElectionsLearn more
Israel Elections Preliminary Results: Arab Parties and Candidates
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