Israel is ready for an Arab party in the governing coalition - editorial

• Published date: 30 March 2021
• Date: 30 March 2021
• Author: JPOST EDITORIAL
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

A year later, the landscape of the Arab parties has been drastically altered. Ahead of the March 23 election, Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party left the Joint List alliance to campaign on its own.

Ra'am won an unexpected four seats, while the Joint List slumped to six. As coalition negotiations move into full gear, Ra'am is now being courted by the political blocs on the left and right.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc won 59 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (including Yamina and excluding Ra'am), two short of a majority. The so-called "change camp" would have a majority of 61 MKs with Ra'am and without Yamina.

Abbas has the potential of being a kingmaker by either joining a governing coalition or backing it from outside. This presents a major shift from the historical makeup of the governing coalitions in Israel since its founding.

As long as Abbas's party – and the Joint List for that matter – supports the State of Israel and works in the interests of its citizens, why not?

It is incumbent on all political parties to remember that for all its flaws, Israel remains a vibrant democracy whose new government and Knesset should represent all its people. More than a fifth of Israel's nine million citizens are Arabs, and there is every reason to include an Arab party in the new coalition.

Abbas himself has indicated that he would be willing to play ball.

"Most of the time, the Arab parties automatically are part of the left, without considering key issues," Abbas told The Jerusalem Post in December. "We need to reposition ourselves toward the entire Israeli political spectrum and not one side. We are not in the pockets of the Left or the Right. We need to act within the interests of the Arab society that chose us."

Abbas said he believed that the only way for Arab citizens to secure government support in their fight for funding against the main problems facing the Arab community...