Israel’s Arab voters deserve a place at the table

Israel’s latest election may have led to a hung parliament, with no coalition able to secure a governing majority. But it has delivered a powerful message: a minority long marginalised in the country’s political life can no longer be ignored.

The roughly 80 per cent turnout among Israel’s Arab citizens this week, and the resulting electoral gains of the Arab-majority parties, reflect growing frustration with domestic polarisation and the violence inflicted on Palestinians in the occupied territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The question now is whether Israel’s political leaders are prepared to listen.

The Joint List and Raam are projected to win a record 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset. This puts both entities in a position to play kingmaker as their support could determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office, or an alternative government emerges under opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. Without a change in alliances, neither of the two main blocs can reach the 61-seat majority mark.

It would, of course, be a mistake to treat the Arab-majority parties as a monolith. The Joint List is an alliance of left-wing, Arab nationalist and anti-Zionist parties, while Raam is an Islamist party. Their ideologies and strategies diverge; in some cases, their support bases extend beyond Arab vote banks. But what unites them is the demand that Arab citizens be recognised as legitimate stakeholders in shaping Israel’s future.

This is important as the marginalisation of about two million Arabs – who make up a fifth of the country’s population – is neither just nor sustainable.

An agreement on a government seeking resolutions to crises can’t come soon enough

There are significant obstacles. Mr Netanyahu, whose coalition comprises far-right and ultra-orthodox Jewish parties, has ruled out an alliance with the Arab-majority parties and even accused them of using underhanded tactics to steal the election. For their part, the Arab-party leaders have pledged to “pave the way for the ousting of the Netanyahu government”.

Mr Eisenkot and several of his coalition partners have also resisted relying on the Arab-majority parties, fearing a backlash from their own voters – perhaps forgetting that a Jewish-Arab political accommodation wouldn’t be unprecedented. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is part of Mr Eisenkot’s coalition, himself led a government with support from Raam, demonstrating that co-operation across the divide is possible.

An agreement on a government seeking resolutions to crises can’t come soon enough. Israel faces economic uncertainty, strained relations with its neighbours and an unresolved Palestinian equation. Its military campaigns across the region and its devastation of Gaza have deepened international isolation. Another inconclusive election would prolong political paralysis at a time when decisive leadership is needed.

There is no guarantee that an inclusive government would, by itself, resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict or Jewish-Arab relations. But it could, at least, begin to repair the alienation that Israel’s Arab citizens feel, and tackle concerns over crime, housing and underinvestment in their communities.

Israeli leaders also need to look at the bigger picture and recognise the country as it is – rather than govern based on an exclusionary vision of what it should be.

The success of the Arab-majority parties at the ballot box has given a largely voiceless minority the chance to be heard. The responsibility now rests with the main coalitions to negotiate in good faith and find a workable arrangement.