Maker of Arab kings in Israel? Earth balls

At the beginning of our conversation, Mansour Abbas drew two sketches on the sheet in front of him. The first is a straight line, with Likud and its partners. On the right, Yesh Atid and blue and white are in the center, and Meretz and Labor are on the left. Where are the Arabs? I asked. The answer is a second drawing, a triangle with one corner on the political right, the second on the left, and a third Arab representation, or rather, the United Arab List and its leader, Mansour Abbas. “This is how I see things. The Arab citizens of Israel are not actually in the Israeli political game, but abroad. We are not on the left, and we are not the poodles of the left. Identifying the left has been a fatal mistake for years, and we have kept us all out,” Abbas says. “My method is to say that we are not in anyone’s pockets, but as far as Arab society is concerned, we also do not exclude anyone, and no one. There is no doubt that we have succeeded in raising the main question on the table, the role of Arab politics in the Israeli political system and the role of Arab politicians in the Knesset and the government. “. In a previous interview with Globus before the September 2019 elections, in which Mansour revealed for the first time in the Israeli press his direction and pragmatism, saying that if necessary, he would sit down with Bezalel Smotrich, then Minister of Transport, to discuss the serious problems of roads and infrastructure in Arab societies. “Let him think about what he likes, it does not matter to me. He is the Minister of Transport and his mission is to provide service to all the citizens of the country.” This morning, Smotrich issued a statement that categorically excludes any possibility of political cooperation with the gathering of Raem. Abbas: “I am not interested in Smotrich or its subsidiary parties. What interests me are the leaders who are looking to form the next government.” Abbas can be reached by phone. He is receiving calls himself, and so yesterday morning, the day after the elections, he answered several calls from messengers from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his potential successor, Yair Lapid, not just them. The calls were brief. Abbas said that like everyone else, he will await the final results of the elections and consult with colleagues in the party leadership, including the Islamic Movement’s Shura Council, the Supreme Decision-Making Body on the list, and the Political Bureau. But it sets threshold conditions for everyone who approaches it. “In my first meeting with the political leader who wants to support Raam of the government he seeks to form, I will demand in principle the abolition of the exclusion and boycott policy, and the recognition of the need to integrate Arab representation in all government institutions. This is the basic condition that must come with real plans for implementation, and then we will take it. Our decision. ” Related Materials The final results of the elections confirm the deadlock What kind of support will you provide? “According to the final results, our results and all others, we will examine our situation and act accordingly.” The results show that you are maintaining the balance and may be the difference between the government and the fifth elections. Abbas is hesitant to explicitly say the word “government” and is looking for a way out. Raem did not specify the final formula. In a democratic system there is a possibility for alliance and opposition, but also in the middle of the road. We are trying to develop such a model from a point in the middle, and we do not rule out any option. According to the level of agreement, it is possible to progress on this scale. “It is too early to talk about this or that role. The level of agreement with us will determine the position we take. It is not possible to talk about the details of what we will accept before we acquire the principle that sees in us real partners as representatives of the Arab community.” Who do you prefer? “Raam is not in the pocket of the Israeli left or right. I have no preference for either side. Whoever meets us in the middle of the road and has the potential to form a government, we will consider supporting them. We are very careful after that. The bad experience with Blue & White. We are interested in being a part of it.” A successful move and not anything else. ” Here Abbas gives a clear hint of his inclination, albeit a slight, towards a more stable government, that is, with Likud. This allusion becomes stronger in light of a statement by one of his supporters, Ali Salam, mayor of Nazareth, in a radio interview today. Salam said that it was clear that the preference was for Netanyahu, as he is the strongest and most stable. Abbas himself mentions the disappointment with the Blue and White party, which after the previous elections received the support of the entire Arab Joint List, or of which the list was at the time, a part, and let it down. “When the time comes, we will raise national rights as well.” Abbas is the most pragmatic figure in Arab-Israeli politics. You won’t catch him making controversial statements provoking the Jewish public like his comrades in Balad, or in scathing attacks on the prime minister and on right-wing people like Hadash and the leader of the Joint Arab List, Ayman Odeh, for example. The reason for this may lie in his being from the moderate moderate Islam movement and favoring compromise, and Abbas himself describes him as a liberal and democratic. The best evidence for this can be found in the announced policy for the promotion of women on the Raam list, which led to Eman Al-Khatib Yassin winning fourth place in the party’s candidate list in the internal party elections without the need for a place reserved for women. On the other hand, Abbas opposes the rights of LGBT people, and this was one of the main reasons for his separation from the Joint Arab List, along with the issue of cooperation with politicians from the right. The breaking point came with the rice tahini issue, when the company owned by Arab-Israeli businesswoman Julia Zahir supported the gay community by donating to help set up a helpline for Arab members of the community. In addition, some members of the Joint Arab List supported a bill banning diversion therapy. The breach was not recovered, and in a political move that shook the Arab Israeli community, Abbas cut ties with the Joint Arab List. The position of the list was a mainstay of its electoral platform, and it enjoyed widespread support among conservative Arab voters. However, according to Abbas, the main reason people vote for the “Raem” list is to accept the new model for using Arab voting and boosting its influence. “We succeeded in convincing Arab citizens that they are an electoral asset that has power and influence, and that the vote of Arab Knesset members can be important.” And what will you say now to the politicians Benjamin Netanyahu and Yair Lapid when they meet with you? “First of all, let them sit down and talk to us, and make commitments on some of our core demands, on top of which is a practical and feasible plan with full budget support for a campaign against crime and violence. This is our first priority, but it is only one of the serious problems we face. A comprehensive plan is required to combat it. The poverty afflicting many segments of Arab society. There is a need for comprehensive work on unemployed youth and infrastructure. There is a need for economic development that includes industry, trade areas and urban planning that facilitate legal construction. And what is your response to the criticism of referring issues such as the nation-state law to a lower level? “We have not given up anything. If we are able to overcome the first obstacle in the issue of the role of the Arab community in Israeli politics and the legitimacy of the Arab community, then the beginning of the answer will therefore be to questions such as the law of the nation-state and when the time comes, of course we will deal with that directly and we will also raise the issue of our national rights.” “. Posted by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 25, 2021 © Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021