According to the polls, conducted by Channel 12 and public broadcaster Kan, if an election were held today, the parties that make up the current ruling coalition – Netanyahu’s Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Shas and United Torah Judaism – would amass a total of just 54 seats, seven short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition, made up of National Unity, Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, Meretz, Ra’am and Labor, is projected to win 61 seats. Hadash-Ta’al would garner the remaining five seats.
Archiv: Ra´am (United Arab List) (former member of Joint List)
Islamist Ra’am Will ‘Leave Door Open to Dialogue’ With Incoming Far-right Coalition
(15.11.2022)
The Islamist Ra’am party stressed on Sunday that although it sits in the opposition, it will not necessarily vote in line with the bloc that opposes incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will keep the channels of communications open with the next far-right and racist coalition, specifically when it comes to matters that concern Arab-Palestinian communities in Israel.
This Election Poll Made the Israeli Left Panic, as It Should
In the early stages of the campaign, when parties could still merge with others, Lapid begged Merav Michaeli, the leader of Labor, to join forces with Meretz. Even the James Webb telescope would fail to find ideological differences between the two parties. Michaeli, whatever her reasons may have truly been, shot down the idea. Now she could enter history books as the first Labor leader to remain beneath the threshold, and outside the Knesset.
9 Days to Election – KnessetJeremy Polling Average: Likud 31.6, Yesh Atid 24.3, Smotrich 13.4, Gantz 11.6, Shas 8.1, UTJ 7; Blocs Deadlocked
(October 23, 2022)
Smotrich made the most significant gain with a 0.6 jump. Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu went up for the second straight week, this time by 0.3.
Likud dropped for the second consecutive week, this time by 0.5. Gantz also went down this week, this time by 0.3. Lapid’s Yesh Atid also lost 0.1.
Overall, we remain stuck at a 60-60 deadlock between the two blocs.
Hadash-Ta’al Slams Lapid, Michaeli for Refusing to Block Barring of Arab Parties
Hadash-Ta’al commented on the Central Election Commission’s decision to disqualify Balad’s candidacy for the 25th Knesset. “The decision to disqualify Balad is an unfortunate decision. [Benny] Gantz, [Yair] Lapid and [Meirav] Michaeli proved that they are right-wing in disguise. Despite the anger of the racists who want to keep the Arabs away from the polling stations, on election day we all flock to the polling stations.”
Elections panel blocks Balad party’s run for Knesset, against AG’s advice
Balad and several of its lawmakers have been disqualified by past elections panels, and have so far won every appeal to the High Court to be reinstated. The party is expected to make a similar appeal to return to November’s contest following Thursday’s disqualification.
Earlier on Thursday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara released a letter to the committee stating that there was no basis for disqualifying either Balad or the Islamist Ra’am party. The panel ultimately cleared Ra’am’s path to the ballot box, dismissing petitions that alleged the party supported terrorist organizations.
Israel: Balad banned from election run, Ra‘am qualifies
(29.09.2022)
Despite appeals filed alleging that Ra‘am „supports terrorism,“ the vote to allow their running passed 14-0, with representatives from Likud, the Religious Zionist Party, Yesh Atid, and Labor not present.
Israel‘s Defense Minister Benny Gantz of the National Unity Party ruled on Thursday that all of his party representatives on the election committee will vote to disqualify Balad from running for parliament.
Israeli Ministry Seeks Extention of Controversial Fingerprint Collection Order
Despite its statements, the Interior Ministry plans to continue collecting fingerprints for its biometric ID database until 2025, at the earliest. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has proposed a three-year extension of the emergency order that provides for gathering fingerprints from citizens. The Knesset must vote on the measure.
The ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority says it needs about two years to buy and introduce facial recognition technology that will obviate the need for fingerprints. The agency is considering retaining the fingerprint database for victim identification in the event of a national disaster.
Racist ‘Citizenship Law’ Advances, Months after Ban on Palestinian Spouses Lapsed
The bill was rejected by the Knesset plenum six months ago, and since then, Shaked has struggled to obtain a majority. Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) said he was determined to prevent its passage. “We toppled the Citizenship Law, because we oppose racist, anti-democratic legislation”, Odeh said. “We will do everything we can to topple it again.” According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), “This Israeli law is racist, collective, pre-emptive punishment. It can neither be justified, nor redeemed.” The Joint List also oppose Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s bill on drafting yeshiva students. All parties in the coalition support the bill, including Islamist Ra’am (United Arab List).
Controversial right-wing citizenship bill advanced by ministers
The controversial bill would tighten immigration controls and make it harder for Palestinians who marry Israeli Arabs to receive citizenship. The passage of a bill backed by right-wing parties and opposed by Meretz and Ra’am (United Arab List) was seen as a first step toward the formation of a right-wing government if opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu accepts a plea agreement.
Bennett Makes Time Magazine‘s 2021 List as Islamist Coalition Partner Hails His ‚Courage‘
Abbas and Bennett agree on little ideologically. Abbas leads the United Arab List, a party that champions Palestinian self-determination, while Bennett comes from Israel’s right wing and has pledged that a Palestinian state will not arise on his watch. But they coalesced around the goal of removing Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who they saw as divisive and corrupt.
History made as Arab-Israeli party joins governing coalition
Even before Ra‘am announced his signing, Yair Lapid‘s nascent coalition was widely seen as the most ideologically diverse in the country‘s history, uniting left and right parties to notably oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.
Acht-Parteien-Bündnis in Israel: Lapid gelingt Koalitionsbildung
Der 57-Jährige habe den israelischen Präsident Reuven Rivlin über die Regierungsbildung informiert, hieß es in einer Erklärung. Mit Vereidigung einer solchen Regierung im Parlament wäre die Ära von Netanyahu als Premierminister vorerst beendet.
Let me say it loud & clear: #Netanyahu is a narcissistic sociopath. He does not care if any of us lives or die as long as he has enough power to avoid incarceration. This escalation was carefully planned to thwart the negotiations between Mansour Abbas (United Arab List) & Lapid.
Abbas, ideologically is a part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He cannot aid ti form a government which will involve itself in a war on his own people in #Gaza and one of the most sacred places to Islam.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a convicted terrorist and now, shamefully, a member of the Knesset, has disclosed he told #Netanyahu that if there will be a war in #Gaza, Lapid won‘t be able to form a government.
Netanyahu‘s propagandists have said roughly the same, though not directly.
Rivals’ Coalition Talks Mean Netanyahu‘s in No Rush to De-escalate Gaza Tensions
United Arab List Chairman Mansour Abbas suspends talks with Lapid amid violence in Jerusalem and Gaza, giving Netanyahu an incentive to keep tensions high
Ra‘am Set to Announce Key Support for Lapid-Bennett Unity Government: The Arab Ra’am party, whose support is crucial for the “change bloc” to form a coalition, is expected to support a unity government led by Yamina’s Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid.
Bennett, Abbas Meet to Discuss Next Steps for Forming a Government
Meeting at the Knesset, the two leaders said the meeting „went well.“
A number of parties that form the the ‚anti-Netanyahu‘ bloc, Yesh Atid, Yamina and Tikva Hadasha, have been discussing coalition plans with „positive energy“ in recent weeks.
Bennett meets with Ra‘am head in effort to form unity government
Despite promising before elections he will never form coalition backed by Islamist party, Yamina chief meets with Mansour Abbas at his office in the Knesset in an apparent bid to draft a plan to unseat Netanyahu
High Court cancels hearing as PM agrees to Gantz as justice ministe
In addition, a few moments before Netanyahu announced his decision to back Gantz for the position, he apparently was made aware that Bennett held his first meeting with Mansour Abbas – the leader of the Islamist Ra‘am party – in an effort to form a unity government.
Netanyahu defeated in bid to control critical Knesset committee
(19.04.2021)
The Arrangements Committee is the first parliamentary committee to be formed after an election and controls the legislative agenda in the new parliament until the formation of a new government including determining what other parliamentary committees will be formed and their composition.
Likud‘s bid to head the committee was foiled by the Islamist Ra’am party which voted against the motion and threw its support behind Yesh Atid.
So #Bennet meets w#Netanyahu. No surprise if will recommend him to President for PM #IsraElex4 #Israel #israelelection BB will still need Mansour 4 a majority
(04.04.2021)
Israel: Islamist Ra‘am party undecided on who to endorse for PM
Mansour Abbas, the leader of the Islamist conservatives, has emerged as a coalition kingmaker
Report: Incoming lawmakers planning to legislate against Netanyahu
In turn, Likud party members have begun talks with Mansour Abbas, leader of the Islamist party Ra‘am and likely kingmaker in Israel‘s March 23 election, who has not ruled out supporting a Netanyahu-led government.
According to online outlet Walla, citing Likud party officials, Abbas is not in favor of passing laws aimed at targeting individuals, but their position is not yet finalized.
Gulf officials warn Israel against forming gov‘t with far-right candidates: report
“A right-wing policy is one thing,” the officials were quoted as saying. “But expressions against Muslims and Arabs by Members of Knesset [Israel Parliament] that are a part of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s government will harm and sabotage the normalization between Israel and Arab countries.”
Israel Election Results: Far-right Leader Rules Out Netanyahu-led Coalition With Islamist Party
The Islamist United Arab List party, headed by Mansour Abbas, and Naftali Bennett‘s Yamina have not yet declared their support for either bloc.
Israel-Wahl: Kleinpartei als Zünglein an der Waage
Likud bleibt zwar mit 30 Mandaten die stärkste politische Kraft, aber selbst mit seinem ultrarechten Rivalen Naftali Bennett von der Jamina-Partei käme sein Lager nur auf 59 von 120 Mandaten. Die arabische Partei Ra’am schafft die 3,25-Prozent-Hürde und ist nun Zünglein an der Waage.
Ra’am erhält fünf Mandate.
After 4th Vote in 2 Years, Israelis Wonder: When Will the Political Morass End?
Official final results are not expected before Friday. But the partial tallies suggested that both Mr. Netanyahu’s alliance and its opponents would need the support of a small, Islamist Arab party, Raam, to form a majority coalition.
Bottom line of yesterday’s election – 57 percent of Israelis voted for parties calling to replace Netanyahu. That doesn’t mean Netanyahu can’t somehow find a way to form a bizarre coalition with the support of Jewish supremacists and Islamists, but it’s still a clear rejection.
Last tweet of the night. Likud‘s claim it would get more Arab votes is being proven true. Arab turnout is way down from 2020 but the number of Likud votes in Arab areas is up, which means its percentage of the Arab vote is way up. Might be enough to save Bibi.
(7 hours ago)
Israel Election Results: Arab Political Alliance Failed to Gauge Voters‘ Anger, Frustration
It seems that the breakup of the Joint List persuaded Arab citizens to vote with their feet and stay home
Likud MKs fight over potential cooperation with United Arab List
While some Likud members of Knesset see a potential in the Arab party Ra‘am, that managed to reach the threshold, others cannot fathom such cooperation.
‚Not in Anyone‘s Pocket‘: Islamist Party Leader Not Ruling Out Joining Netanyahu After Surprising Election Result
United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas said Wednesday that he is not „obligated to any bloc or any candidate,“ after the Islamist party surpassed the electoral threshold, with almost 90 percent of the vote counted in Israel‘s unprecedented fourth election in under two years.
Channel 13 Poll: Likud 30, Yesh Atid 17, New Hope 13, Yamina 11, Joint List 7
Current Knesset seats in [brackets]
30 [36] Likud + Gesher (Netanyahu)
17 [16] Yesh Atid (Lapid)
13 [03] New Hope (Saar)
11 [03] Yamina (Bennett)
07 [11] The Joint List (Odeh)
07 [09] Shas (Deri)
07 [02] Labor (Michaeli)
06 [07] United Torah Judaism (Gafni)
05 [07] Yisrael Beitenu (Lieberman)
05 [02] Religious Zionist + Otzma + Noam (Smotrich)
04 [12] Blue & White/Israel Resilience (Gantz)
04 [04] Meretz (Horovitz)
04 [04] Ra’am (Abbas)
Abbas‘ new Arab party may become kingmaker in Israel
The Joint List, an alliance of four Arab parties that won a record 15 seats in elections held last year, finalized the break up overnight in which three will run together and the United Arab List, a party led by parliament member Mansour Abbas, will strike out on its own.
One of the main points of the division was Abbas‘ openness to working with Netanyahu or other Israeli leaders to address longstanding issues like crime and housing in Israel‘s Arab community, which makes up around 20% of its population.
Israel Election: Three of Four Joint List Factions Run Together, United Arab List to Go Solo
Three of the four factions of Joint List – Hadash, Ta‘al and Balad – have signed an agreement for a united bid for Israel‘s March election, parting ways with the conservative United Arab List after a prolonged period of disagreements.
Alliance of Israeli Arab Parties to Split Ahead of March Election
At this stage, it’s not yet clear whether Ta’al might even decide to run jointly with Hadash and Balad, which have agreed to run on a joint slate, or whether it would pursue a link-up with the United Arab List.
Netanyahu said planning to campaign hard for Arab vote in new election
In recent months, however, he appears to have formed a quiet alliance with the Joint List’s MK Mansour Abbas, to the chagrin of Abbas’s colleagues.
On Thursday during an unprecedented visit to the Arab town of Tirah to encourage vaccination, Netanyahu said he did not rule out placing an Arab lawmaker on his right-wing list.
Lone poll I‘ve see has the conservative United Arab List at 1.1%, well below threshold. So Joint List very possibly will patch things up. But might not UAL‘s departure actually pave way for an eventual left Arab-Jewish party?
(24.12.2020)
Most amusing development: The Joint List, a coalition of 4 Arab parties, is likely to split up. One of the parties, an Islamist Bedouin party called „United Arab List“ is likely going to run separately as pro-Netanyahu
(24.12.2020)
Some might be shocked at #Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin @Netanyahu ‚s alliance with the Joint List‘s Mansour Abbas, but this is unsurprising considering the PM‘s other ties to right-wing, anti-liberal figures worldwide.
This Israeli Election Season Will Feature Vaccines, Generals and Political Cannibalism
Netanyahu will flaunt COVID vaccines and peace, Kahol Lavan might fall into oblivion and the Joint List is facing a split as Israel gears up for its fourth election in two years.
The Electoral Math Behind Netanyahu‘s Sudden Affinity for Arab Lawmakers
Last Thursday, in an interview with Radio Anas, Abbas said he wouldn’t dismiss supporting legislation to freeze Netanyahu’s trial. The choice of Matanyahu Englman as state comptroller was attributed to the “defection” of Ra’am members from the opposition ranks, in addition to Abbas’ support for canceling the vote that approved the establishment of an inquiry committee on the submarine procurements.
Israel Election: Arab Alliance Eyes Record Gains in Seats and Female Lawmakers
Two women occupy the 14th and 15th spots: Sundus Saleh and Iman Khatib, from the Ta’al and Ra’am factions respectively.
Third Israeli Election in 11 months; Joint List Aiming to Win 15 Seats
Joint List chairman, MK Odeh (Hadash) said that the four parties comprising the list will remain united in the upcoming March 2020 election. “We played an important role in preventing Netanyahu from forming a government and in averting his receiving immunity. We have made it half way there. Now we have another election. We promise our public to stay united as the Joint List,” Odeh says in a statement.
“The upcoming election will be the swan song of the indicted resident of Balfour Street,” added Odeh on Twitter, referring to the prime minister, whose residence is on Balfour Street in Jerusalem. “We will conclude them with an historic achievement of 15 seats,” he said.
@Hadash_org: No video, nowhere.. not one god damn word in english..you prove how important the distinction is between „self-hating leftist“ and „leftist-hating leftist“. Anyway, look over here.. #bootBibi
חד“ש רצה במשותפת. זו האלטרנטיבה עבור כל הציבור בישראל, ערבים ויהודים. האופוזיציה האמיתית במציאות הפוליטית שלנו. רק משותפת חזקה יכולה להפיל את שלטון הימין ולפגוע בתוכניות לרסק את שאריות המרחב הדמוקרטי. אנחנו ניאבק בכל המקומות שהשלטון עובד נגד הציבור – בשטח ובכנסת, באומץ ובנחישות.
The Joint List, Reborn, Must Now Win the Trust of the Israeli Arab Public
Three Arab parties agree on joint Knesset run; Balad expected to decide Sunday
The Joint List picked up 13 seats in the 2015 elections following its formation, making it the third largest faction in the Knesset. However, the union split ahead of elections in April into the separate Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am-Balad lists, which won 10 seats between them.
Third Arab-majority party backs proposal to resuscitate Joint List
The Joint List won 13 seats in the 120-member Knesset in 2015. Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am-Balad in April separately won a total of 10 seats.
Arab Israeli voters turned out in dramatically lower numbers for April’s vote compared to that of 2015.
Interesting developments within the Arab parties. No progress towards a joint list to contest the September elections;
internal elections in the Islamic Party placed a woman in 4th. Thank you @emankassem