Could it be that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to see the Joint Arab List stronger than ever? In my opinion – the answer is an unequivocal 'yes,' which is why is waging a more negative campaign against it than ever. Netanyahu obviously knows that motifs like "without the joint list, Gantz won't have a government" will only encourage voters to identify with and unite around the Joint Arab List, and it is probable that he has taken that into account.
At the same time, he is campaigning against Gantz at the expense of the Joint Arab List. Most of what he says is factually inaccurate, not to say mendacious, but it is designed to delegitimize Gantz and label him as one who, if he became prime minister, would be dependent to some extent on support from the Arab parties. A campaign of that kind will also tie Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman's hands, preventing him or at least shaming him from joining that type of government. In any case – the bigger the Joint Arab List is, the more Gantz would need it.
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By waging this campaign, Netanyahu has achieved three goals. First, he was the first one to launch an offense against the Joint Arab List, and he did it alone. Under the guise of "Arab MKs don't do anything" for the Israeli Arab sector, Netanyahu has run a negative, extremely racist campaign against the Joint Arab List and its members. Remember that Arab elected officials are chosen by some 400,000 voters, who have now been labeled illegitimate. True, a distinction should be drawn between political opposition to a given party and hostility toward its voters, but if a similar campaign were ever to target Jewish parliamentarians in France or the US, Netanyahu would probably be the first to attack it as racist and anti-Semitic.
The second thing Netanyahu's campaign against the Joint Arab List achieved was to harm Benny Gantz among Jewish voters. We know that a lot of Blue and White voters hold political opinions that lie between the center and right of the center, but because of Netanyahu's campaign the former IDF chief has been tagged an "Arab lover," or at least as someone who is willing to tie himself to Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi in order to form a government. Many of the members of the Jewish public who oppose the idea of Arab parties joining a governing coalition have not realized that such a historic step could serve the nation of Israel no less than its Arab citizens. With responsibility comes pragmatism and governability.
The third thing Netanyahu has achieved is to neutralize Avigdor Lieberman, who will find it very difficult to recommend Benny Gantz or join a coalition under his leadership if it includes the Joint Arab List. Lieberman will have only one alternative – to join a national right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu or a national unity government that the Likud might force on Blue and White.
