Now Israelis are discussing the issue of the participation of Arab parties in the Israeli government. In principle, the entry of minority representatives into government should be encouraged. But why is the majority of Israelis opposed to the participation of Arab politicians in the government?
There are good reasons for this: for decades, Arab politicians have called for the destruction of the Jewish state, solidarized with the Palestinian terror, and in general with the war of the Palestinians, Hezbollah, and our other enemies seeking to destroy the Jewish state.
The last four-time elections have seen a change in the mood of Arab voters. The destruction of Israel was put aside, maybe temporarily. Now the Arabs want to participate in the life of the state, to join its government. They demand to turn Israel into a «state of all citizens». This desire should be welcomed.
Arab politicians, on behalf of their constituents, must openly and bluntly recognize the fundamental right of the Jewish majority: the right to exist as a majority. This means that Arab politicians representing their constituents must recognize the Jews’ right to Zionism.
Netanyahu tried to get the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He prudently passed the Nation Law, which proclaimed Israel a Jewish Zionist state. Having entered the government of the Zionist state, the Arabs de facto recognized this state, including the Law on the Nation.
True, at inter-Arab forums, Islamist RAAM leader Mansur Abbas continues to assert that he is waging jihad by his own special methods. But those Arabs who voted for his party voted precisely for the recognition of Israel. At least I have heard this opinion from many ordinary Arabs, not politicians. Let’s hope that in the next elections the share of these voters will increase, and their politicians will accept the wishes of their voters.
Hamas launched the 2021 jihad precisely to stop reconciliation between Arabs and Jews in general, and especially reconciliation within Israel.
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The time has come to reach a compromise with those Arabs in Israel who are willing to put up with the Jews. The common denominator of such a compromise should be the formula «Israel is the Zionist state of all citizens.» Although this slogan looks like a paradox, in fact, we are moving towards this very solution.
Whether we like it or not, Arabs are citizens of Israel. If Bennett and Ayelet Shaked’s program on the annexation of «Zone C» is implemented, another half a million will be added to the current two million Arab citizens.
In accordance with this formula, Jews recognize the right of Arabs to participate in government, and Arabs recognize the right of Jews to Zionism, in accordance with the Law of Return. Israel recognizes the right of Palestinians to return to Palestine (West Bank and Jordan), and Palestinians recognize the right of Jews to return to Israel.
Until now, most Arabs (except for the Druze and some of the Bedouins, Christians, and Muslims) were anti-Zionists, as Arab politicians have repeatedly stated. The politicians imposed an anti-Zionist position on all Arabs, often against their will.
Today, most Arabs want to live well in Israel and at this stage are not interested in the destruction of the state, which provided them with equal opportunities for development and self-expression. Refugees from Syria are striving to Europe in order to secure a decent life for themselves. The Arabs of Israel do not need to run anywhere. Europe came to their home in the form of a Jewish state.
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For decades, Arab politicians have been able to impose their anti-Zionist stance on both the Arabs and the Jewish majority. Once they managed to bring the anti-Zionist government of Rabin to power. This government did not fall, thanks to the support of Arab MPs who passed the Oslo Accords with a majority of 1 vote.
In exchange for this support, Rabin stopped aliyah from the former USSR and took drastic measures to discriminate against new immigrants. For example, he stopped housing construction, exacerbating the housing crisis. Rabin received a loan of $ 10 billion specifically for the construction of housing and the arrangement of repatriates and did not spend a single shekel on the stated goals.
Then we went to demonstrations against Rabin, and Larisa Trembovler demonstratively married Rabin’s killer, Yigal Amir. I hope Bennett doesn’t follow Rabin’s path. But I am afraid that Lapid will be able to do this when, after the rotation, he becomes prime minister. For the people of Israel, the best solution would be a right-wing «government of change», in which the Likud and current coalition members will participate, but without Lapid and the left-wing parties.
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The Palestinians, represented by their leaders, have never abandoned the goal of expelling Jews from Palestine through assassinations, war, economic and political pressure. The Palestinian war against the Jews has actually been going on for 800 years.
If Arabs want to influence and participate in government, they must abandon anti-Zionism. This is the essence of the «paradoxical», but, actually, realistic solution.
The last few days have proved that the Israeli Arabs are making a historic turning point: just the Arabs extradited the two Palestinian terrorists who had escaped from the Gilboa prison.
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Islamic beliefs do not necessarily imply enmity towards Israel. As we know, the second hero of the Quran after Muhammad is Moses, who, at the behest of Allah, brought the Children of Israel to their «assigned» land. As the spiritual luminaries of the Salafists of Saudi Arabia concluded, «The Koran does not require the destruction of Israel.» This spiritual ordinance opened the way for the «Covenants of Abraham.» In fact, it condemned the Hamas Charter.
The Hamas charter is based not on the Qur’an, but on the Hadiths, not by accident. Hamas substantiates its demand to destroy Israel with a letter that the Muslim Caliph sent to the Muslim troops who conquered Syria and Iraq in the 7th century.
The Caliph declared these conquered lands to be the property of Muslims. The sultans of Turkey, who declared themselves Caliphs, acted in the same spirit, populating the Holy Land with Muslims and transferring to settlers large tracts of land. Muslim rulers forbade the Jews to emigrate to their homeland.
Thus, in the case of Palestine, there is a clear contradiction between the instructions of the Qur’an and Islamic laws based on the Hadith. Muslims believe that in the event of such a conflict, they should obey the instructions not of the Hadith, but of the Quran. Hamas’ goals are illegal from an Islamic point of view. Muslims have the right to disagree with Hamas and support Israel in its struggle for recognition.
Moreover, Allah sent three very clear warnings to Muslims for their attempts to destroy Israel. The first warning was the 1948 Nakba. The second was the 1967 Six-Day War (Nahsa). And the third was the Arab Spring, which began in 2011 and has not ended to this day. Many Muslims have decided to submit to the will of Allah and recognize Israel.
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So, the Islamic Arab party RAAM did not accidentally enter the Israeli government. This event reflects the will of a large group, perhaps the majority of Arab voters. This is not a tactic, but a strategy.
True, Professor Keidar believes that this party is a typical jihadist. In his opinion, the purpose of their entry into the government is to fight against the state from within the government. Indeed, a prominent member of the party, Sheikh Salah Raad, is serving a prison sentence for calling for the riot. His successor, Sheikh Khatib, is awaiting trial for similar actions.
On the other hand, Islamists are sensitive to the social demands of Muslims. It turned out that their main electoral base seeks to use the advantages of a Jewish democratic state. After the conclusion of the Abraham Accords, Arab politicians received a «carte blanche» to recognize the Jewish state, enter its government and act in favor of their constituents.
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So, the Islamic party RAAM offered Netanyahu to support his government, and this proposal was accepted. Likud’s ultra-right allies blocked such an opportunity. Bennett decided to take such a step, and that is why he is now the prime minister, and Netanyahu is in opposition.
