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Israel’s Arab Joint List Comes Apart as Elections Approach Daniel Sonnenfeld 01/31/2021
The Arab majority alliance, the third largest party in the Knesset, appears to have split over the Islamic faction s demand that right-wing allies be considered
Last week, the Joint List – Israel’s majority Arab political party – celebrated its fifth anniversary. And days later it split up over seemingly insurmountable tensions.
Sources within the four majority Arab parties that made up the Joint List alliance cited lawmaker Mansour Abbas’ divergence from the alliance’s policy of non-cooperation with the Israeli right as the main reason for division. It is not clear, however, that the breakup is permanent, or if other configurations of the alliance will emerge by Thursday, when official party lists are closed.
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Jan. 24, 2021
Lawmaker Sami Abu Shehadeh was elected as the leader of the Balad faction within Israel s Arab-majority Joint List, ousting sitting party leader Mtanes Shehadeh.
The other three factions comprising the Joint List are Hadash, United Arab List and Ta’al.
Abu Shehadeh, 45 from Jaffa, announced his plans to run for the position of party leader three weeks ago.
Lawmaker Heba Yazbak won second place on Balad s roster, and the third slot was filled by former Knesset member Juma Azbarga.
Open gallery view
Newly elected members of the Balad party, January 2021. Credit: Balad Party
According to Balad s regulations, every contender for party leadership presents their proposed list of party members, and candidates that are unsuccessful in winning the leadership are forbidden from filling a different position in the party.
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Dec. 19, 2020
Two ideas you hear a lot about in conversations with supporters of the United Arab List these days are the need for “pragmatism” among Israeli Arabs, along with their intention “not to be in anyone’s pocket.”
Recognizing this can help you understand why MK Mansour Abbas, who heads the Islamic party that constitutes the second largest faction of the Joint List of Arab parties, has been speculating very publicly recently about the possibility of political cooperation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – even though that could mean extending the life of the latter’s right-wing governing coalition.
According to Abbas, being in perpetual opposition has not benefited the country’s Arabs, and perhaps the time has come to work together with the parties in power, if that’s what it takes to address the community’s dire needs. Although Abbas himself is from the northern village of Maghar, the majority of the party’s voters are Bedouin, whose ne