How Israeli Arab States Validate Israeli Apartheid – Middle East Monitor

Regardless of the outcome of the recent Israeli elections, Arab political parties, even if they collectively achieve record representation, will not enjoy meaningful political gains. It lies in Israel’s distorted political system, which is premised on racism and the marginalization of non-Jews.

Israel was founded on the problematic premise of being home to all Jews everywhere, not the native peoples of Palestine itself. It was also founded on the bloody foundation of the Nakba and the destruction of historic Palestine and the expulsion of its people.

Such beginnings, perfect or flawed, have contributed little to the establishment of true democracy. Israel’s discriminatory attitudes not only persisted over the years, but were actually It got worse.

Unfortunately, some Arab political parties I participated Israel’s elections since 1949 have left it partly independent and partly under the umbrella of the ruling Mapei Party. They did so even though Israel’s Arab community was ruled by a military regime (1951-1966), effectively governed to this day by an illegal “defense (emergency regulation).” This participation has always been touted by Israel and its supporters as evidence of the nation’s democratic nature.

Only this claim has served as the backbone of Israel. Hasbara for decades. Israel’s Arab parties, often unwittingly, serve as fodder for such propaganda, claiming that Palestinians find the Israeli political system fundamentally flawed and racist. making it difficult.

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Palestinian citizens have always debated the pros and cons of participating in Israeli elections. Some understand that their participation legitimizes Zionist ideology and apartheid in Israel, while others argue that withholding from the political process denies the Palestinians the opportunity to change the system from within. There is also

The latter argument lost much of its merit as Israel sank deeper into apartheid while the social, political and legal conditions of the Palestinian people deteriorated. Legal Center for (Adalah) report On Israel’s dozens of discriminatory laws that target only the Arab community. Furthermore, in a report published in February, Amnesty International said: I will explain Thoroughly that “Israel’s representation of Palestinian citizens in the decision-making process . . . has been limited and weakened by a range of Israeli laws and policies.”

This reality was confirmed by the Israeli parliament on July 19, 2018. approved The Basic Law of the Jewish Nation. The law was the most glaring example of political and legal racism that turned Israel into a full-fledged apartheid regime.

This law was also the clearest declaration of Jewish superiority over Palestinians in all aspects of life, including the right to self-determination.

Those who argued that Arab participation in Israeli politics served a purpose in the past should have done more than collectively condemn the Nation-State Act. They should have taken advantage of the international turmoil to transform their struggle from parliamentary to popular grassroots struggle.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t. They continued to participate in Israeli elections, arguing that if they could gain more representation in the Israeli Knesset, they should be able to challenge the tidal wave of Israeli discrimination laws.

This didn’t even happen after the joint list. unified Four Arab parties achieved their highest ever turnout in the March 2020 elections, making it the third-largest political bloc in the Knesset.

The supposed historic victory did not culminate as all mainstream Jewish parties refused to include Arab parties in potential coalitions, regardless of their ideological background.

The enthusiasm that mobilized Arab voters behind the joint list began to wane, and thanks to Mansur Abbas of the Arab Party Raam, the list itself became fragmented.

With the March 2021 elections, Abbas wanted to completely change the dynamics of Arab politics in Israel. “We are focusing on the issues and issues of Israeli Arab citizens within the Green Line,” said Abbas Said TIME magazine in June 2021 added, “We want to heal our problems,” as if declaring a historic break from the rest of Palestine’s struggle.

Abbas was wrong. Israel perceives him and his followers, co-roster, and all Palestinians as obstacles to preserving the Jewish identity of an exclusivist state. became even more interesting when Raam won four seats and joined a coalition of governments led by far-right anti-Palestinian politician Naftali Bennett.

By the time the coalition collapsed in June, Abbas achieved a littleapart from dividing the Arab vote and proving once again that changing Israeli politics from within has always been an illusion.

Even after all of this, Israel’s Arab parties still insisted on joining the political system and, despite their many contradictions, agreed on one thing: the Palestinians were, and will always remain, the enemy.

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Even the violent events of May 2021, in which Palestinians fought on multiple fronts against the Israeli army, police, intelligence services, armed settlers and even civilians, have cast a shadow over the mindset of Arab politicians. It looks like you didn’t change the . The Arab enclaves in Umm Al Farm, Lidha, Jaffa, attacked Despite having the same racist views as Gaza and Sheikh Jala, and nearly 75 years of supposed integration between Jews and Arabs under the Israeli political system, It shows that little has changed in racist views of Palestinians.

Instead of investing the energy of what Palestinians called the “Unity Intifada” into Palestinian unity, Arab Israeli politicians returned to the Israeli Knesset.

Self delusion continues. Israel Central Election Commission, Sept. 29 Disqualification The Arab political party Balad is not running for the November elections. This decision was eventually overturned by the country’s Supreme Court, which called on Israel’s Arab legal body to describe the decision as “historic.” , suggesting that they still have hopes for democracy.

If Arab politicians continue to pursue this unsuccessful tactic, the future of Arab politics in Israel will remain grim. but does not enjoy any nominal or substantive political or legal rights. By remaining loyal participants in the guise of Israeli democracy, these politicians continue to legitimize the Israeli regime, hurting not only the Palestinian community in Israel, but actually Palestinians everywhere. increase.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.