From left, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas, former Hadash leader Ayman Odeh and Ta'al leader Ahmad Tibi attend a press conference on Sept. 22, 2019. (Credit: AFP)
They wanted to make a statement: The high-profile announcement at the end of January of their intention to form a joint list for the Israeli parliamentary elections set for the fall did not go unnoticed. The leaders of the four main Arab parties seized on the wave of anger sweeping through the Palestinian community in Israel, which accounts for about 20% of the population, to send a message of hope and remobilize voters in an effort to counter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Amid a general strike in the north of the country, triggered by a surge in crime linked to local gangs and in response to which the Israeli government has long been accused of passivity, the Arab leaders appeared to set aside their differences to rise to the challenge and revive the alliance originally formed on the eve of the 2015 election. Beyond the headlines...
They wanted to make a statement: The high-profile announcement at the end of January of their intention to form a joint list for the Israeli parliamentary elections set for the fall did not go unnoticed. The leaders of the four main Arab parties seized on the wave of anger sweeping through the Palestinian community in Israel, which accounts for about 20% of the population, to send a message of hope and remobilize voters in an effort to counter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Amid a general strike in the north of the country, triggered by a surge in crime linked to local gangs and in response to which the Israeli government has long been accused of passivity, the Arab leaders appeared to set aside their differences to rise to the challenge and revive the alliance originally formed on the eve of the 2015 election. Beyond the...
