The Arab and Jewish citizens behind the Going Together To Vote campaign are trying to drum up the Arab vote ahead of Israel's elections. Photos: Suheil Diab
Going Together To Vote says it addresses voters in Arabic and Hebrew with messages of 'common principles of peace, equality and social justice'.
Tuesday's vote is the fifth Israel general election in four years, and Going Together To Vote believes Israeli Arab voters can help to break a deadlock in their country's elections.
Banners and vuvuzelas were part of the campaigning as the group arrived to talk to football fans at an Israeli second division match between teams from Haifa District and Nazarth.
Statistics show that election participation by Arab Israeli and Palestinian Israeli voters is low. They make up about 20 per cent of Israel's population but less than half plan to cast a ballot. Apathy is one of Going Together To Vote's biggest hurdles.
The Arab and Jewish campaigners of Going Together To Vote put on a brave face. They fear the rise of far-right politicians in Israel, whose popularity is soaring in this campaign.
Two hours before the kick-off between Israeli second division football teams Hapoel Umm Al Fahm and Maccabi Ahi Nazareth, Suheil Diab and his fellow volunteers were busy unfurling banners and unwrapping vuvuzelas in the car park of Acre’s football stadium, in the north of the country.
They were up and ready long before the trickle of supporters started to arrive.
The group, Going Together To Vote, was made up of Arab and Jewish campaigners who were trying to encourage Israel’s Arab community to participate in Tuesday's elections.
Mr Diab said the match between two Arab teams was a perfect chance to tell his community why he chooses to vote and why they should, too.
“I am a Palestinian citizen of Israel. I think the interest of our society is to participate more in elections and bring more representatives for Arabs in the Knesset,” he said.
“Our organisation is unique because it is a collaboration of Arabs and Jews,” he said, flipping over a bilingual pamphlet.
“The messages we try to convey in Arabic we do in Hebrew, too. Most of the main parties in Israel are talking to either Jews or Arabs, not both at the same time. This separation has been forced on us since 1948. We want to change it.”
For Mr Diab and his colleagues, the first step in doing so is “starting from the grass roots of Jewish and Arab communities, underpinning our messages with the common principles of peace equality and social justice”.
Rather than just ideological, he also highlighted the immediate technical importance of the Arab vote during these elections.
“Through better democratic participation, Arabs and Jews can come together to conclude the endless cycle of elections that we have seen during the past three years.”
Tuesday's vote is the fifth in four years after repeated failures to form governments or keep them stable to the end of their terms. Analysts said that failure to deliver a clear winner could put Israel on course for a sixth round of voting.
Participation of Arab Israeli and Palestinian Israeli voters is low — while they make up about 20 per cent of Israel's population, polls show less than half plan to cast a ballot. That figure is down significantly from 2016's 63.5 per cent turnout for the community.
But Going Together To Vote puts on a brave face.
A supporter of former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party on the campaign trail at Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on polling day's eve. Reuters
Officials sort ballot papers before a polling station opens to the voters of Kiryat Arba, a Jewish settlement in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir at the ballot box on general election day in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish settlement in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
An Israeli soldier casts a ballot at Kerem Shalom Army Base in the south of Israel, close to the border with the Gaza strip. AFP
An election campaign billboard by Blue and White party on a bridge in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv. Reuters
A billboard for Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party in Jerusalem. AFP
An billboard for the far-right Religious Zionist party led by Bezalel Smotrich. AFP
An election campaign bandwagon and a chance for a selfie as Benjamin Netanyahu aims to return Likud to power. AFP
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish power) party, greets supporters. AFP
Israelis hang a poster of Likud party candidate Benjamin Netanyahu in the southern city of Beersheva in the run up to Israel's election on November 1. AFP
A popsicle break beneath an election campaign hoarding for Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas political party near Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. Israelis are back at the polls for a fifth time in less than four years. AP
Knesset member Sami Abu Shehadeh, second left, head of the nationalist Balad party, meets Israel's Palestinian citizens during his election campaign tour in Musmus village. AP
An election hoarding for Sami Abu Shehadeh's Balad party campaign in Umm Al Fahm. Israel’s Palestinian citizens could be central to breaking the country’s political deadlock. AP
A campaign poster of National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz in the southern city of Beersheva. AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses supporters from behind a security screen beside his wife Sara, right, and Likud member Miri Regev during a campaign rally in the northern city of Tirat Carmel. AFP
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit, at an event in Tel Aviv. Getty
National Unity leader Benny Gantz makes an address in Tel Aviv. AFP
Since 2019, Israel has had four inconclusive elections, which resulted in two short-lived coalition governments. AFP
Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a campaign rally at Migdal HaEmek in the Northern District of Israel. AFP
A giant image of National Unity's Benny Gantz looks over one of the motorways into Tel Aviv. Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid leads a fragmented coalition spanning left to right. Reuters
Polls suggest Prime Minister Yair Lapid's camp is set for a weaker showing than in the last election. AP
Prime Minister Yair Lapid speaks at an event in the city of Rishon Lezion in Gush Dan. AP
In Jerusalem, a Netanyahu supporter blows a shofar, made of a ram's horn. AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to form a 'strong, stable and national' government. Reuters
A poster of Arab politician Ahmad Tibi of the Ta'al party in his home town of Taibe in Gilboa region. Reuters
They say they fear the rise of far-right politicians, a number of whom have enjoyed soaring popularity in this campaign.
Itamar Ben-Gvir is running on a manifesto that includes the complete annexation of the West Bank and the formation of a government body to encourage Palestinian migration.
If Mr Ben-Gvir’s opponents fail to win enough seats on Tuesday, he still stands a good chance of being part of Israel’s next government. Therefore, they see the Arab vote as essential in preventing this.
Arab political leaders have been campaigning hard, imploring the community to vote.
“I am certainly aware that most members of Arab society want the extreme right to remain in the opposition,” Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab party Ra’am and the first Israeli Arab party member of an Israeli Cabinet, said on Sunday.
Some at the match outside the stadium in Acre are receptive to this message.
But that is not always the case. In Acre’s old city, a half-hour walk away, the reception in the run-up to the election was less warm.
Itamar, one of the group’s volunteers, said he is still shaken by the experience as he explains people were shouting at him that they would not take part and nor would their families.
“Honestly, we felt resentment. People were hurting. You could see the pain in their eyes. Staring at me, knowing I was Jewish, they considered me as part of the problem,” he said.
And even in the calmer atmosphere in the stadium’s car park, some in the crowd still expressed reservations.
While Itamar was setting out a detailed survey of how Israeli politics went wrong in recent years, two Arab teenagers came over to ask which party Going Together To Vote was campaigning for.
“We don’t want you to vote for a particular party, we just want you to vote full stop,” Itamar told them.
The boys asked him what he meant.
The exchange highlights the challenge for groups like Going Together To Vote. They face not just voter fatigue after multiple rounds of voting but are trying to overcome deep suspicion and distrust of the entire system.
Itamar said he is sticking to his cause.
“We are in this together. Israel needs its Arab voters to keep the far-right out. I, a liberal Zionist who cares about the future of my country, need them personally. There may not be a second chance,” he said.
When the crowd had passed into the stadium, the campaigners started to pack up as the drumbeat and cheers from inside grew louder and the game began.
In the end, the Arab supporters got a lively match in which a player was sent off and a 3-0 victory for Hapoel Um El Fahem was the result.
The committed members of Going Together To Vote, along with all liberals in the country, will be hoping for a similar rally from Arab voters to head off the far right and prevent the need for a further election.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
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How to apply for a drone permit
Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
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Fly it within visual line of sight
Never over populated areas
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Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
Should have a live feed of the drone flight
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side 8 There are eight players per team 9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one. 5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls 4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
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T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
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Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
