by JNS and Israel Hayom Staff
The coalition of four Arab parties known as the Joint List was disbanded because of political infighting and will run as two separate blocs
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| Ta'al party leader Ahmad Tibi Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton |
The
coalition of four Arab parties known as the Joint List was disbanded
because of political infighting and rivalries and now will run as two
separate two-party blocs, which could damage their prospects for the
coming election among the Arab Israeli public.
The Joint List was formed in 2015 and gained 13 seats in the previous Knesset session, making it the third largest party.
Shaheen Sarsur, who has been involved in
Arab politics for more than a decade and currently serves as a
parliamentary consultant to Knesset member Taleb Abu Arar of the Islamic
Movement's parliamentary party – the United Arab List – told JNS in an
interview that the breakup of the Arab Joint List of parties came about
after many problems between them.
Sarsur predicts that each of the two Arab blocs could each get from between four and six seats.
Asked if the Arab parties would join a
left-led government in order to bloc Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu from forming a coalition, Sarsur ruled out the Arab parties
joining any government. "But the Arab parties could serve as a safety
net for a left-wing government so that it could pass certain
legislation," he added.
Netanyahu's campaign is seeking to paint
rivals former IDF chief Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid
as weak and left-wing and looking toward the Arab parties for support.
The Arab parties themselves would not agree to join any government, even if it meant keeping Netanyahu from power, said Sarsur.
And in any case, Lapid rejected forming a
coalition after the elections with the Arab parties, but without the
Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties, it is unlikely that Gantz and Lapid's
new Blue and White party could form a coalition.
Around 140,000 votes are needed for a party
to meet the minimum threshold of 3.25% to enter the Knesset, estimated
Sarsur. The threshold was raised to 3.25% in 2014 and led the Arab
parties to unite into the so-called Joint List.
Some real bumps along the way
It was never smooth sailing for the Joint List; internal bickering over power and ideologies beleaguered its members.
The four Arab parties are Ra'am (the United
Arab List, an alliance by the Arab Democratic Party and the southern
faction of the Islamic Movement), the secular, communist Hadash (with a
minority Jewish presence), the Palestinian nationalist Balad and Ahmad
Tibi's Ta'al (Arab Movement for Renewal).
Tibi had been expected to unite with Ra'am,
but in a surprise move went with Hadash, led by Ayman Odeh, taking the
second spot. Odeh and Tibi are two of the most popular Arab politicians
in Israel but had been known as competitors, not partners, until now.
"I had expected Tibi to unite with the
Islamic Movement's parliamentary faction," noted Sarsur, adding that it
is likely that Hadash offered Tibi a more attractive offer than Ra'am.
Sarsur explained that the weak polling by Balad meant that it was desperate to maintain unity and did so by uniting with Ra'am.
Controversial longtime Balad head Jamal
Zahalka and Knesset member Hanin Zoabi decided to step down, but Zahalka
is likely to maintain strong influence over the party. Former Knesset
member Basel Ghattas was forced out of politics and entered jail after
being convicted of smuggling cellphones to Palestinian security
prisoners.
"The Arab public feels frustrated and angry
because the Joint List was busy with personal issues and did not do
enough to help the Arab public," asserted Sarsur.
Because of the infighting and bickering and
turnover in the Arab parties, the left-wing Meretz party is making a
play for the Arab vote.
Meretz Chairwoman Tamar Zandberg said on Sunday that her party was actively seeking Arab votes during an interview on the Israel Hayom-i24NEWS weekly election broadcast. "We expect to gain support from [the] Arabs and Druze," she said.
Meretz Knesset member Issawi Frej, who
hails from Kafr Qasim, told JNS that unlike his colleagues in the Arab
parties, "I chose a party with real Jewish-Arab partnership – a party
that recognizes that it is our duty as Arabs and Jews to work together
for society as a whole."
The Christian vote
Shadi Halul, a Christian Israeli captain in
the IDF reserves who ran for the Knesset in the past on Yisrael
Beytenu's list and currently a fellow at the Philos Project, told JNS
that the Christian vote is around 93,000 strong, with maybe around
60% or around 50,000 actually voting.
The Christian votes are spread among the Zionist parties and the various Arab parties.
Halul, who is also the head of the
Christian IDF Officers Forum, which helps recruit and support Christians
serving in the Israel Defense Forces, said that "Christians have only
one choice and the current reality in the Galilee region and the larger
Middle East is one where the ‘Arab Islamic winter' of oppression will
help turnout Christian votes in Israel in favor of Zionist parties."
Halul, from the Galilee, successfully led a
struggle a few years ago in Israel to be registered on government
documents as Christian Aramean, instead of Arab. Halul founded the
Aramaic Christian Association in Israel a decade ago and helped recruit
Christians into the IDF. In 2017, he founded the first Aramaic Christian
pre-military program.
Asked about the failure of the Joint List
to remain together, Halul said it broke down because "the unity was fake
from the beginning."
"The Arab sector has many movements but the
strongest are the Islamic ones," he said. He noted that the only reason
the communist Hadash or the pan-Arabist Balad were able to join
together under the Joint List was that they feared of not making it into
the Knesset on their own.
"Many Israeli Christians understand that
their future is not in the Arab parties," he said, "but in being
integrated into Israeli society by voting for Zionist parties."
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/27/arab-parties-try-to-hold-on-to-votes-after-breakup-of-joint-list/
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