Because of my Zionist values, I’m joining an Arab party

I am a Jew, a Zionist, secular, an officer in the IDF, and a former Assistant Commissioner in the Israel Police. 

Mansour Abbas is an Arab, a religious Muslim, a conservative. 

What connects us both is that we are all Israelis, and this is our shared identity. The luster of the term "Israeli" has faded, and we spend all our time dealing with divisive ethnic expressions instead of what we have in common. 

The Arab population in Israel constitutes 21 percent; it is active and productive—in industry, the economy, culture, education, and medicine. It is a engine of economic and social growth. 

Yes, there are differences between us; there is a complex history between Arabs and Jews in this land. 

But there is a shared future.  That shared future exists in all walks of life. 

The future model for the State of Israel that I envision is the model familiar to anyone who steps through the doors of a hospital in Israel. There, one sheds narratives and identities; there, above all else, human beings meet. 

Patients, doctors, nurses, administrative staff, families—everyone is equal. That is the place where we are all human beings, and that is where we will start. 

That is also how I view the future of the State of Israel, a future I draw clearly for myself. 

What drives me is the Zionist, Jewish, value-based vision from which I draw my principles. The Declaration of Independence is a compass, not just text written on a wall.