“This is exactly how fascism works. It pursues the opposition, and the opposition, frightened, rushes to sacrifice us all.” Odeh likened the panicked mother to the anti-Netanyahu opposition, which he claimed gave up on peace with the Palestinians, and soon after, on partnership with Arab-Palestinian leadership in Israel.
“I want to put before you a crucial proposition — the historic role of Arab citizens. Without us, it is possible to build a dictatorship, but without us, it is impossible to build a democracy,” he said. “Even during this excruciating and bloody war, Jews and Arabs — you all — continued to have faith in each other and believed that only together we can win,” he continued, invoking the well-known wartime slogan. “Without us, you can build a dictatorship, but you can’t build a democracy. Without us, you can keep fighting wars but can’t make peace. Our fates are intertwined, and only together, Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, can build the lives and future our children deserve.”