Historic step forward for Arab Israelis

Arab citizens used their ballots during Israel’s election Tuesday to strike back against four years of spiralling discrimination by the Netanyahu government, stunning even themselves by electing a record number of representatives to the Knesset.

With most of the votes counted Wednesday, the two Arab lists – the Joint List and Ra’am – were projected to add up to 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared to 10 for Arab parties during the last election in 2022. The results were seen by many as a historic step forward for the minority, which makes up a fifth of the country’s population and has suffered from an increase in anti-Arab racism since October 7, 2023.

But it was uncertain the impressive advance could be translated into commensurate political power given the stated refusal of Gadi Eisenkot and most Zionist opposition leaders to rely in any way on Arab parties. It is even possible Eisenkot could strike a deal with Netanyahu to form an all Zionist National Unity government, rather than go into coalition with the Arab parties.

Still, analysts said the Arab vote had greatly reduced Netanyahu’s chances to form the next government and, in the sweetest part of the election for many Arabs, effectively removed the extremist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Jewish Power party.

“This is very big,” said Hitam Waked, a member of the directorate of the Histadrut Labour Union. Waked has personal experience of the difficulties Arab Israelis have faced in recent years: she says she was dismissed from her job after she posted a call on social media to end the Gaza war.

Waked spoke to The Jewish Independent at the headquarters of the Joint List, the largest Arab political grouping, after news came that it had reached 12 seats, two more than the most optimistic predictions. Ra’am tallied seven seats according to projections. As the news came, she was visibly moved.