Israeli Arab Parties Emerge as Kingmakers After Election

Following the recent Israeli election, two Arab parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, are poised to play a pivotal role in forming the next government. Projections indicate they could secure 17 to 18 seats combined, potentially disrupting the parliamentary balance as neither the bloc led by Benyamin Netanyahu nor the opposition appears to have the 61 seats needed to govern.

Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas and historically rooted in the Islamic movement, has adopted a pragmatic approach. In 2021, the party joined the coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, which ultimately ousted Netanyahu. Ra'am's primary goals are to secure budgets for Arab municipalities, combat crime, and improve living conditions for Israel's Arab citizens, who number over 2 million. Demonstrating this pragmatic shift, Yoav Segalovitz, a Zionist Jew and former senior Israeli police official, is running second on the Ra'am list, marking the first time a Jewish candidate has appeared on the party's slate. Segalovitz expressed his ambition to join the coalition, stating that the next prime minister cannot ignore the Arab vote.

The Joint List, led by Youssef Jabareen, represents a more ideologically distinct bloc, comprising Hadash, Ta'al (led by Ahmad Tibi), and the Palestinian nationalist party Balad. This group advocates for a more radical stance on the Palestinian issue and the nature of the State of Israel, with Balad calling for a "state of all its citizens." The Joint List has not previously joined a government coalition with Zionist parties, though it has shown political flexibility. Jabareen has indicated a willingness to support a government opposed to Netanyahu from the outside, seeking concessions on issues such as crime in Arab cities, home demolitions, and progress toward a Palestinian state.

A significant obstacle remains the apprehension among some Jewish Israeli voters regarding the participation of Arab parties in government and their potential influence on national security decisions. Benyamin Netanyahu has frequently leveraged this fear, framing alliances with Arab parties as a threat to the state's identity. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett broke a political taboo in 2021 by forming a government with Mansour Abbas, a move that alienated parts of the Israeli right.