‘Go vote!’ Arab voters can decide elections in Israel

• Brock League

  correspondent Israel / Palestinian territories

‘We have to vote’: it is a clear message that Munia and Esraa carry on their shirts. The two young women pass the gates of Rahat, an Arab city in southern Israel, carrying leaflets. They try to get people to the polls, but it’s not easy, sighs volunteer Munia Al-Amour: “People are frustrated, they don’t want any more.”

Arab voters like the people of Rahat have the casting vote in tomorrow’s parliamentary elections. Israel will therefore go to the polls for the fifth time in four years. Whether former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be able to return to power, this is the big question. And the answer lies in the hands of Israel’s Arab voters.

The more Israelis of Arab or Palestinian descent vote, the less likely Netanyahu with his ultra-Orthodox and extreme right the allies get a majority in parliament. But the expected turnout among Arab voters is low, not much higher than 45 percent.

In Raha too, many people are planning to stay home tomorrow. It’s hard to get them to vote anyway, says volunteer Munia: “They think there will be new elections after all. That’s why we should visit them and give them hope. Say change will come and we need to make our voices heard.”

The desert city of Rahat is home to 80,000 inhabitants, mainly Arabs of the desert, the so-called Bedouins. Many houses are dilapidated, incomes are low and residents feel left to fend for themselves by the Israeli government. It is the same experience that many Arab or Palestinian citizens have in Israel, a group that makes up about 20 percent of the population.

They are discriminated against and are actually second-class citizens, says Jamal Amal, professor of political science at Tel Aviv University: “That’s why there is a lot of frustration within this community about the relationship with the government.” For example, many believe that the Israeli police are doing too little against the group violence in the Arab community.

According to the professor, the low turnout has a lot to do with this: “There is a great distrust of the political system. Arab citizens are disappointed and frustrated at what has been done in the past with their vote.”

Many Arab voters vote for Arab parties, which are usually in opposition. But after the last elections, the conservative Islamic party Ra’am has taken a historic step: the leader Mansour Abbas has decided to join the ruling coalition, something never seen before by an independent Arab party.

The difference was immediately apparent to Rahat, said Mayor Fayexz Abu Sahiban, who is also a member of the party. “These streets are all new,” he points out on his city map. “And here we will plant grass, flowers and trees. So that people can sit there, just like in Europe.”

According to the mayor, the short time his party has been part of the ruling coalition has already paid off. With extra money from the government, he remodeled several places in the city. Yet he also understands that it is not enough to bring the Arab population to the polls: “This government has only been there for a year. You can’t do anything in such a short time. That’s why we have to give them another period so they can continue.”

Whether it will work is highly questionable. According to the latest polls, the mayor’s party is at a loss compared to the previous elections.

Volunteers Munia and Esraa are doing everything they can to mobilize people. But she still doesn’t know if she will vote, says Naima Alhojoj, who has just opened the door for the two volunteers. They invite the woman to really cast her vote: “It doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as you are an Arab.”