Most of us have surely heard about the Amnesty International report that accused Israel of apartheid policies within and outside the Green Line, but many of us have probably missed the response of MK Mansour Abbas – head of the Islamist Ra'am party – who rejected the label.
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"I would not call it apartheid," he said in response to a question at an online event organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a DC-based think tank. "I prefer to describe the reality in objective ways. If there is discrimination in a certain field, then we will say that there is discrimination in that specific field."
His remarks were not reported by any major media outlet, and neither was the statement of Arab-Israeli lawmaker Issawi Frej, who said, "Israel has many problems that must be resolved, within the Green Line, and especially in the occupied territories, but Israel is not an apartheid state."
Breaking with the traditional stance of Israel's Arab parties, Abbas also declared in December that Israel would always be a Jewish state.
"Israel was born a Jewish state, that was the decision of the people, and the question is not: What is the identity of the state? It was born this way, and it will remain this way," he said in an interview.
Muhammad Majadele, who interviewed Abbas, declared the Ra'am chief brought about a rare unity between Palestinians in Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority, in direct opposition to the lawmaker's remark. Abbas' statement was deemed dangerous and harsh criticism was leveled against him.
The Ra'am chief, who is assigned round-the-clock protection, is a brave Arab leader. Whether you agree with his views or not, one thing is clear: he is determined to pave a path different from that of his predecessors. He believes that he can bring about groundbreaking achievements for Arab Israelis, improve their lives and create a genuine Jewish-Arab partnership.
Frej is an equally courageous Arab leader. During last year's 12-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, he was among the few Arab Israeli leaders who urged coexistence and bravely condemned riots in mixed cities, calling on Arab protesters to cease violence.
Their historic bravery should be met with no less historic cooperation. Arab coalition members are paying a heavy price in their public, and their allies must help them prove that being part of the government enables them to achieve unprecedented goals.
The public and the media should recognize them and commend their willingness to seek an equal Jewish-Arab coexistence in the democratic and Jewish State of Israel. The opposition must stop inciting and trying to delegitimize the brave Arab political leaders that have emerged.
The government should allow them to achieve true goals – and not just social and economic ones – such as identity, and thereby show that the current coalition is also one of coexistence. It must ensure that the precedent it has set is perceived as positive and encouraging by Jewish and Arab Israelis.
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