BAQA AL GHARBIYYE, ISRAEL // At the cafe counter he mans in this drab Arab town in northern Israel, Baha Daka is hearing a lot of talk these days about the upcoming election.
“People are excited about it,” the bearded 19-year-old said of the March 17 polls in which a four-party Arab alliance is running for the first time in history.
Polls predict the list will increase voter turnout and its formation has raised hopes that the Arab citizens of Israel will for the first time be able to muster some political muscle.
Past elections have been dismissed by many among Israel’s 20 per cent-strong Arab minority as an Israeli Jewish game in which their vote cannot change ingrained discrimination or alleviate the suffering of fellow Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Such suspicions remain but this year, fresh hope has been injected as the “joint list” brings together previously fractious socialists, nationalists, Islamists and feminists with the shared goal of toppling right-wing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The idea of an end to inter-Arab infighting and uniting forces appears to be resonating. “People think the joint list will bring more Arabs into the Knesset [parliament],” said Mr Daka, who has yet to decide on who to vote for. “They think it will help if they vote and that if they don’t vote it will strengthen Jewish parties.”
The atmosphere was near euphoric when the alliance launched its campaign at a hall packed with 1,500 people in Nazareth on February 14.
But the road to empowerment is long and very steep and a let-down may be in the offing for Israel’s Arab citizens after the balloting.
While a high Arab turnout would boost the strength of Mr Netanyahu’s opponents, more parliamentary representation may not actually result in much more Arab clout.
With Israeli Jews deeply suspicious of Arabs, Mr Netanyahu’s chief rival, Isaac Herzog, leader of the Zionist Camp list, may avoid reaching out to the Arab legislators or relying on their support to prop up a new government.
This is despite the fact that leaders of the list say they would consider striking a deal with Mr Herzog to give him a “blocking majority”, which would protect his government from right-wing no confidence votes.
Still, the very formation of the alliance has captured the imagination of some of the traditionally marginalised Arabs who live on Baqa Al Gharbiyye’s potholed streets, most of which lack sidewalks and are fronted by unfinished concrete buildings.
Jamal Fadoys, 53, a billiard hall owner, believes a strong showing by the Arab alliance could help redress discrimination. “If they have a lot of seats they can have influence in the Knesset on the committees, on budgets and over money,” he said.
But others disagree.
Wasim Abu Muh, the 36-year-old owner of a shawarma restaurant, who also plans to vote for the joint list, said he is doing so out of Arab solidarity, rather than perceived gain.
“In Israel, political power is for Jews only,” he said.
Mr Fadoys said his vote will be a response to racism – in particular promises by far-right Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman to redraw Israel’s borders so as to exclude Arabs.
“I’m voting because of the extremism of the Jews,” he said.
Israel’s Arab citizens face discrimination in employment, land use, provision of government services and other areas and many of them believe that the police has a light hand on the trigger when operating in their locales, something the police deny. The Netanyahu government said it is committed to reducing inequalities but Arab rights groups blame it for backing bills and legislation that favour Israel’s Jewish character over the idea of equality for all citizens.
A poll published in Haaretz newspaper on Friday predicted that with the joint ticket, Arab turnout will rise from 56 per cent during the last election in 2013 to at least 62.4 per cent this time around.
If the prediction comes true, it would make the alliance the third largest grouping in the Knesset with fourteen seats – one less than the list’s leaders have said they are aiming for.
Such success for the new alliance would be ironic given that it was born out of an attempt by Mr Lieberman to eliminate Arab parties altogether.
Last year, the Knesset passed a law put forward by the foreign minister that raised the minimum threshold for entry to parliament from two per cent to 3.25 per cent, which equates to four out of the 120 seats in parliament. For two Arab parties polling at less than the threshold, it was either come together or die.
Aida Touma, a key figure on the joint list, insists it will make a big difference. “We will put pressure on the government in a better way. We will be making their lives difficult, because we will be exposing all the discrimination and racism and giving alternative plans,” she said.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
