Let Hope Replace Racism

The ritual discussion of the Central Elections Committee regarding the disqualification of Arab parties has returned, as it does before every election.

As expected, the coalition’s majority allows it to pass any decision it wants in the Elections Committee. In the end, the issue of disqualifying parties—and individual Knesset members from those parties—will reach the doorstep of a weaker and more vulnerable Supreme Court than ever before. One can only hope that it will still be strong enough to stand guard over democracy and prevent the anti-democratic and racist disqualification of parties and individuals.

It is not surprising that the requests to disqualify Arab parties came from Likud and Otzma Yehudit, parties whose worldviews were once diametrically opposed. Today, however, Kahanism and Bibism have become two sides of the same destructive coin, one that has sown hatred and destruction here over the past four years. But the real test is the opposition. The main goal of these disqualification requests is not necessarily the disqualification itself, but rather another attempt to undermine the legitimacy of Arab parties so that, “God forbid,” they do not serve as partners in a new coalition that could begin repairing the damage of the past few years.

Netanyahu has failed miserably to garner public support, but he has succeeded beyond measure in his campaign to delegitimize the Arab parties. Even Ra’am, which was a loyal partner in the previous change government, has become a pariah for parties in the current change bloc. Three of them, with varying degrees of intensity, have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment not to sit in a government that relies on Ra’am’s support, or even on its abstention.

The issue of the disqualification requests is therefore another test for the opposition. The participation of some of its members in supporting these requests is exactly what Netanyahu needs to solidify his rule, even in a reality where a clear majority of the country’s citizens do not support him. At the same time, it represents yet another slap in the face to Israel’s Arab citizens, who, together with Jewish citizens, have endured these difficult years. Some saved lives on October 7; some have relatives who were murdered or kidnapped on that fateful day. Yet instead of embracing them, a frightened opposition is distancing itself from them and their elected representatives.

But, as mentioned, the unconditional surrender to the narrative of hatred led by Netanyahu is not only a moral injustice to the 20 percent of the country’s citizens who, despite all the doomsday prophecies, stood by Jewish society in its darkest hours and took part in the enormous civic effort that emerged here. It is also a political mistake that could cost us all dearly.

Israeli citizens who go to the polls on October 27 need hope. They need to believe that things can be better here, that there can be another government that truly cares about its citizens. But an opposition that has succumbed to the exclusionary dictates of the coalition’s racist elements cannot offer that hope, simply because it cannot present a credible path to victory.

What seemed almost impossible when the polls showed the change bloc at around 60 seats has become even more difficult now that the bloc is polling at around 55 seats. An opposition that cannot explain to voters how it can form a government cannot inspire hope. And when there is no hope, there is less enthusiasm and, ultimately, less motivation to vote.

Thus, the fear of alienating voters who do not want Arabs in the coalition may end up driving away even more voters—people who will not make the effort to go to the polls or who may even return to parties in the Netanyahu bloc, which, unlike the opposition, is determined to win and is doing everything it can to achieve that goal.

The discussions over the disqualification of Arab parties are the opposition’s moment of truth. It is time to stop fearing Bibi and start wanting to defeat him. Stand alongside Ra’am and the Joint List. Oppose the disqualifications. Announce that, after the elections, all the parties in the change bloc are potential coalition partners.

Instead of succumbing to the politics of hate, stand against it. Give the Israeli public something it desperately needs: hope and a real alternative with a chance of replacing this disastrous government.