A new Jewish-Arab political party is attracting young voters ahead of the October elections in Israel, but critics warn it could undermine efforts by the underrepresented Arab minority to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government.
In 2022, only 53.2% of Arab voters participated in the elections, compared to approximately 75% of Jewish voters. This gap contributed to Netanyahu’s return to power and led to the collapse of Israel’s first government that included an Arab party. Israel’s Arab minority has long accused Netanyahu of inciting fear. On election day in 2015, he urged his right-wing supporters to rush to the polls, warning that Arabs were “flocking to the polls in droves.” In this campaign, he claims that if his opponents win, they will again form a government with Arab parties.
The “A Place for All of Us” party, founded by leaders of the small left-wing protest movement “Standing Together,” which advocates for peace and social equality, was launched in June. It aims to enter parliament in the October 27 elections. These elections will be the first national vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the Gaza war, which have strained Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. The party is campaigning on a platform of unity, seeking to oust the most right-wing government in the country’s history.
Risks for Arab Minority Representation
In Israel’s parliamentary electoral system, a party must surpass a threshold of 3.25% of the vote to gain seats. Analysts caution that small parties risk siphoning off votes that won’t secure any seats. They argue that “A Place for All of Us” could further weaken the already underrepresented minority, whose leaders have long demanded better treatment from the government. “Any vote cast for such a party will simply be a wasted vote that the Arab communities cannot afford,” said Arik Rudnitzky, an expert on Arab society at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Party co-leader Alon-Lee Green stated they intend to expand the electorate, not fragment it, by attracting entirely new voters. Gender equality is also a priority for the party, which features an equal number of women and men. “We are young people, we come from the grassroots,” Green said. “It was hard to decide that now is the time to compete for votes, but I look at the existing parties and see that they are mostly men, they are very old.”
Green expressed confidence that the party can surpass the electoral threshold and is in discussions with existing parties about a possible merger. However, he acknowledged that the party would not run if it determined it could not meet the threshold.
Unification Efforts and Leaders’ Reactions
Arab political leaders have largely dismissed the newcomers. “I don’t see a chance for them or other new parties to pass the threshold,” said Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Arab-Jewish party “Hadash,” adding: “I think it’s time for them to reconsider their calculations.”
Currently, Arab parties hold 10 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. In recent elections, an alliance of all four parties running on a single list called the “Joint List” was the most effective strategy for increasing their vote share. The “Joint List” first ran in 2015, winning 13 seats with about 64% Arab voter turnout and becoming the Knesset’s third-largest faction. In the March 2020 elections, the alliance peaked, attracting nearly 65% of Arab voters and winning 15 seats.
An attempt by Arab parties to unite has currently stalled, with only three of them managing to come together. “A new small party joining the race does not help,” said Ahmad Tibi, leader of the “Ta’al” party, adding: “Meanwhile, we are trying to do everything possible to unite all our parties into one joint list.”
Members of Israel’s Arab minority, who are Israeli citizens by nationality and Palestinians by heritage, make up one-fifth of the population but have historically voted at lower rates than Jewish Israelis. Many identify as Palestinians or with Palestinians, and minority members have long contemplated their place in politics, balancing their heritage with Israeli nationality. They have consistently complained of being treated as second-class citizens, and these grievances have intensified under the current government, which includes ultra-right members such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has a history of anti-Arab racist incitement and oversees the police. The Arab minority also points to underfunded towns and a surge in violent crime that has reached record levels in recent years.
Source: The Straits Times
