Could Arab Parties Embrace a Jewish and Democratic Israel?
Israel’s latest election has presented an unusual opportunity. With the Arab parties winning 19 seats and neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the Change bloc securing a majority, a new possibility deserves consideration: a governing coalition in which Arab parties become full and equal partners.
But perhaps something far more consequential than an agreement to form a government is possible.
What if Israel’s Arab political parties made a historic declaration accepting Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, recognizing the Jewish people’s legitimate right to national self-determination, and committing themselves to becoming full partners in governing and securing the country’s future?
And what if the Jewish-led Change parties responded by welcoming them as equal coalition partners?
Such reciprocal commitments could transform relations between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel while creating a governing majority. They might even lay the groundwork for a different approach to peace with the Palestinians.
Admittedly, this scenario may seem far-fetched. The ideological differences are profound, and there is little indication that Israel’s Arab parties are prepared to embrace Zionism. Even if they did, there is no guarantee that the Jewish-led Change parties would welcome them into government.
But political history offers examples of seemingly unimaginable changes.
Could There Be Another Sadat Moment?
In November 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat did something few Israelis had imagined possible. He traveled to Jerusalem and addressed the Knesset, publicly committing himself to pursuing peace with Israel. Egypt had been one of Israel’s principal enemies, yet Sadat was prepared to break with decades of confrontation, leading to a peace treaty two years later.
Could Israel’s Arab political parties make a similarly unexpected decision today?
Arab citizens have been part of Israel since its establishment in 1948. They vote in Israeli elections, serve in the Knesset, and participate in the country’s economic and civic institutions. But their political parties have generally stopped short of embracing Zionism and Israel’s identity as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
There is an important distinction between acknowledging that Israel exists as a Jewish state, which some Arab leaders have done, and affirming the legitimacy of Jewish national self-determination. Taking that additional step would represent a profound ideological shift.
Jews and Palestinian Arabs both have deep historical connections to the land and legitimate national aspirations. For Jews, the Land of Israel is central to their history, culture, religion, and identity as a people. Denying that connection is, in a fundamental sense, denying an essential part of Jewish identity.
But recognizing the Jewish people’s historical and national claims need not diminish those of the Palestinians, just as Jewish recognition of Palestinian claims need not diminish their own. An Arab Israeli can embrace Palestinian identity, accept Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and still advocate for an eventual Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Such mutual recognition would not resolve every disagreement over borders or sovereignty. But it could provide a foundation for genuine partnership, one based on accepting the legitimacy of both peoples rather than merely tolerating each other’s existence.
For many Arab Israelis, Zionism is inseparable from the Palestinian experience of 1948. Accepting Jewish national self-determination would therefore require more than a change in political strategy. It would require reconsidering deeply held understandings of their own history without abandoning their Palestinian identity.
Sadat’s decision also involved substantial political and personal risks. Yet he had a concrete national objective: recovering the Sinai Peninsula and securing peace for Egypt. Arab Israeli leaders would likewise need compelling reasons to reconsider longstanding positions. The opportunity to influence the government and address the pressing needs of their communities could provide such an incentive.
The Idea Is Not Entirely New
There have already been significant steps toward this kind of partnership.
In 2021, Mansour Abbas brought Ra’am into the Bennett–Lapid governing coalition, breaking a longstanding political barrier. Ra’am received eight mandates in the latest election. Abbas has also publicly acknowledged that Israel was established as a Jewish state and would remain one.
But acknowledging an established political reality is not the same as affirming its legitimacy.
Jewish political leaders have also articulated conditions under which Arab parties might become coalition partners.
Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar party received 21 mandates, second only to Netanyahu’s Likud with 27, has stated that parties seeking to join his government must recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, accept the principles of the Declaration of Independence, support universal national service, and recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be defeated. He has ruled out Ra’am under its present positions.
Yair Golan, whose Democrats party received eight mandates, has expressed willingness to partner with Arab leaders who recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and as a free, equal, democratic state. He considers Mansour Abbas an acceptable coalition partner, although other Jewish-led parties remain opposed to such an arrangement.
In August 2026, former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz, a Jewish Zionist, joined Ra’am’s electoral list to promote Jewish-Arab political cooperation. The decision drew criticism from the Joint List, illustrating the opposition that a closer partnership with Zionist parties can provoke.
These developments suggest that the possibility of such a partnership has already entered Israeli political thinking.
What remains missing is an unequivocal commitment by Arab political parties to the legitimacy of Zionism, matched by a willingness among Jewish-led parties to welcome them as equal governing partners.
Why Shouldn’t Arab Parties Take That Step?
The unusually high turnout among Arab voters in the latest election suggests a desire for greater political influence. Arab citizens clearly recognize that participation in Israeli democracy offers opportunities to improve their communities and shape their future.
But voting in Israeli elections is not the same as accepting Zionism or Israel’s identity as a Jewish state.
This raises a fundamental question: How can Arab political parties expect Jewish Zionist parties to share governing power with them while rejecting the legitimacy of Jewish national self-determination?
Arab citizens need not embrace Zionism to enjoy equal rights, vote, or serve in the Knesset. But coalition government requires common ground on the fundamental character of the state being governed.
If Arab political parties want not merely representation but a meaningful role in governing Israel, affirming its legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic state could remove a major obstacle to that partnership.
Such a change would be extraordinarily difficult for both sides. Arab parties would have to reconsider deeply held positions about Zionism and Palestinian identity, while Jewish-led parties would have to overcome longstanding doubts about sharing power with Arab political leaders. Neither decision could be taken lightly.
For Arab political leaders, the choice would involve weighing longstanding ideological commitments against the possibility of gaining substantial influence over the country’s future. They would have to consider whether maintaining their opposition to Zionism serves their constituents better than participating fully in a government committed to Israel’s Jewish and democratic character.
The answer would not be simple. Such a change could cost them political support. But it could also provide opportunities to address problems that have persisted for generations.
Nearly Eight Decades of Shared Citizenship
Arab Israelis are not strangers to Israeli society. Their families have lived in Israel since its founding, and many have roots in the land extending back generations.
Jewish and Arab Israelis work together, attend universities, receive treatment in the same hospitals, conduct business, and participate in shared public institutions.
Their history has not always been harmonious or equal. Nevertheless, almost eight decades of shared citizenship have created relationships and experiences that could provide the foundation for something more ambitious than coexistence.
The opportunities available to Arab Israelis also distinguish their circumstances from those of citizens in many neighboring Arab countries.
Consider Jordan, a country with a large population of Palestinian origin. Arab citizens of Israel generally have higher incomes and access to better-funded healthcare, education, and social services than Jordanians. Despite Israel’s considerably higher cost of living, they benefit from the opportunities of a much wealthier economy, as well as greater democratic freedoms.
Yet Arab Israelis face serious problems, including economic inequality, inadequate infrastructure, and particularly troubling levels of organized crime. Participation in government could give Arab representatives greater influence over the policies and resources needed to address these problems.
A Historic Choice for the Change Parties, Too
Both sides would be taking significant political risks. Arab parties could face accusations of betraying the Palestinian cause and alienating their own constituents, while the Jewish-led Change parties could face opposition from Israelis who question whether Arab parties can be trusted to uphold Israel’s Jewish and democratic character.
But if Arab political leaders explicitly recognized the legitimacy of Jewish national self-determination, committed themselves to Israel’s security, and accepted its democratic institutions, the fundamental basis for cooperation would change.
Such a declaration would not eliminate decades of political distrust. But it could establish a new basis for cooperation, with trust developing through the shared responsibilities and difficult decisions of governing together.
The political benefits would be immediate: the Change bloc and Arab parties together could command a majority in the Knesset.
But the potential benefits extend far beyond coalition arithmetic.
Imagine a government in which Jewish Zionist leaders and Arab leaders who had embraced Jewish self-determination shared responsibility for Israel’s security, economic development, education, and public institutions.
Arab ministers would help shape national policy, not merely negotiate benefits for their own communities. Jewish and Arab leaders would share accountability for the government’s successes and failures.
Such a partnership could also challenge international perceptions of Israel. A Jewish and democratic state in which Arab citizens participated extensively in government as equal partners would offer a powerful counterexample to claims that Zionism and Arab political equality are inherently incompatible.
Although it would not settle every accusation against Israel, including those concerning Gaza and the West Bank, it would demonstrate what Jewish-Arab political partnership could look like in practice.
Shared Rights and Shared Responsibilities
Greater political participation could also open a discussion about shared responsibility for the country’s security and civic obligations.
Today, most Arab citizens are not conscripted into the IDF, although Druze and Circassian citizens generally are, while other Arab Israelis may volunteer for military or civilian service.
One possible next step would be a system in which all Israeli citizens, Jewish and Arab alike, share an obligation to perform military or national service, with appropriate civilian alternatives and provisions for conscientious objection.
Such an obligation would also have to extend to Jewish communities that currently receive broad exemptions.
After all, Israel’s enemies have killed Arab Israelis as well as Jewish Israelis. Hamas murdered and abducted Arab citizens on October 7, and attacks from Iran and its proxies threaten communities throughout Israel.
Israel’s security is a shared concern.
Equal citizenship does not depend on military service. But shared civic responsibilities could strengthen the bonds between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Developing a universal service system would require a separate political and social debate, but a government in which both communities exercised political power could provide a setting for that discussion.
The Possibility of Something Greater
The proposed coalition would not resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have different political experiences from Palestinian citizens of Israel. Their relationships with Israeli institutions, political leadership, and aspirations for statehood raise separate and difficult questions.
But Arab citizens of Israel already participate in an established democratic system. They have generations of experience living alongside Jewish Israelis, and their representatives have an opportunity to exercise real power in governing the country.
If Arab political leaders embraced Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and Jewish-led parties welcomed them as equal partners, they could demonstrate that Jewish and Palestinian national identities need not be irreconcilable.
Perhaps, over time, Arab Israeli leaders who had earned the trust of Jewish Israelis could become advocates for peaceful coexistence among Palestinians beyond Israel’s borders.
Such leaders would also need to earn the trust of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. But a successful partnership within Israel could offer a different starting point for improving Israeli-Palestinian relations: building trust and shared political responsibility at home, with the possibility that those principles might eventually extend beyond Israel’s borders.
Two Transformative Choices
Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem demonstrated that a courageous political decision can change possibilities that once seemed unimaginable.
None of this would happen simply because the political arithmetic makes it attractive. It would require Arab and Jewish political leaders to reconsider positions that have defined their parties for generations. But political history reminds us that longstanding positions are not necessarily permanent.
Israel’s Arab parties could make a historic choice of their own: affirm the legitimacy of Zionism, recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and commit themselves to governing and protecting it.
The Jewish-led Change parties could respond with an equally consequential decision: accept those Arab parties as equal partners in government.
The potential gains are substantial: a governing majority, greater political influence for Arab citizens, opportunities to reduce inequality and crime, and a stronger foundation for shared citizenship.
And perhaps, eventually, a different path toward peace.
After nearly eight decades of living together, could Jews and Arabs in Israel take the next step—from coexistence to shared responsibility for the Jewish state’s future?
