Driven by existential concerns, even long-time boycotters participated in the recent elections, establishing Arab representatives as the third-largest bloc in parliament behind Likud and Yashar. This surge occurred despite three Israeli parties openly running on platforms promoting the deportation and displacement of Palestinian citizens. Public spaces were heavily marked by exclusionary rhetoric, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich advocating to Judaise the Galilee and Negev. Meanwhile, mainstream coalition discussions focused heavily on barring Arab parties from governance, leaving the Palestinian minority facing acute political isolation.
Key points
Heightened election turnout among Palestinian citizens was motivated by existential fears…: Heightened election turnout among Palestinian citizens was motivated by existential fears and survival concerns following the Gaza war.
Prominent political campaigns actively utilized anti-Arab messaging and regional Judaisat…: Prominent political campaigns actively utilized anti-Arab messaging and regional Judaisation efforts to rally Jewish voters.
Mainstream political discourse deepened minority alienation by explicitly working to excl…: Mainstream political discourse deepened minority alienation by explicitly working to exclude Arab parties from governing coalitions.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
A day before the Israeli elections, I was walking through a well-heeled, leafy neighbourhood in West Jerusalem, five minutes from President Issac Herzog’s official residence.
I was on my way to interview an expert on Palestinian citizens of Israel, who were expected to vote in large numbers for the first time.
Three children - they could not have been more than seven or eight - jumped off the slides in a playground and ran towards me.
One of them asked whom I was going to vote for. A funny question, I thought, coming from kids.
I told them I would vote for the Joint List. The leader of the group asked, “What is the Joint List? Is it Bibi?” I said no, without explaining that it was an Arab bloc of parties.
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The kid said: “So you’re not voting for Netanyahu?”
I said no. He spat at me, and the other two gave me the middle finger.
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