Aside from the cries of joy and hugs among heads of the Joint Arab List after the exit polls in the 2019 do-over election were announced Tuesday night, party representatives heaved a sigh of relief.
Despite the chilling predictions that the Arab sector would see even lower voter turnout than it did in the election for the 20th Knesset (under 50%), it was clear starting early Tuesday that Arabs were showing up to vote. Long lines could be seen at polling stations in Arab communities from the North to the Negev.
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While many Arab voters admitted freely that they had been encouraged by the reunification of the Joint Arab List, they were mainly encouraged to vote by a campaign that they said put anti-Arab incitement in the center of public discourse, and tried to characterize the sector as working to "steal" the election.
After its success in the election, the Joint Arab List faces a number of major challenges. First and foremost, the Arab Israeli public expects the Joint list to work on behalf of its constituency.
The Joint Arab List will be the party mainly responsible for addressing crime, illegal weapons, and murder in the Arab sector, as well as poverty and strengthening the Arab school system, and adding classrooms and clinics in Arab communities and mixed cities.
The Arab public truly feels that Tuesday was a historic day, one that will change the political map in Israel.
However, many wonder if the Joint Arab List will be able to channel its electoral success into political achievements that benefit the Arab sector, or whether its representatives will get bogged down in political battles and conflicting interests between the members of the four parties that comprise the list: Hadash, Ta'al, Ra'am, and Balad.
