Raising the electoral threshold, so they say, caused a boomerang effect. If the intention was to make it harder for the Arab parties to enter parliament, in essence they came together as the Joint Arab List and were greeted by an unprecedented fusing of the Arab public.
But this process has another outcome, that many are not talking about: from ideologically-motivated voting for small parties, the Arab public has moved to a pragmatic and sectoral voting pattern, similar to that of the ultra-Orthodox parties.
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It is a radical shift that could greatly influence the political behavior of Arab lawmakers. They are also aware that the impressive achievement of the Joint Arab List does not necessarily signal that the sector has ideological devotion to the List's agenda, but rather its strong desire to be part of the political life despite the ideological abyss between the Arab minority and the Jewish-Zionist majority.
It is not far-fetched. The ultra-Orthodox representatives, as we know, opposed for decades being part of the government and made do with other positions in the coalition. Only after a High Court of Justice ruling was Deputy Health Minister and United Torah Judaism leader Yakov Litzman forced to accept his appointment as minister. It proves one thing: There is a theoretical possibility for some form of integration of Arab lawmakers in the realm of the coalition – and not necessarily as an integral part of the government. As much as that sounds strange or unacceptable, one can even imagine a significant step in this direction to be taken especially now, and especially with the Likud.
Fact: An investment program of NIS 15 billion ($4.3 billion) in infrastructure in Arab towns was implemented during the Netanyahu government, whose members were also New Right leader Naftali Bennett (who supports annexation) and Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman (who supports land swaps). During the campaign, Netanyahu said again and again that he intends to continue investing resources, especially amending and changing the so-called Kaminitz law, which allows the state to enforce home demolition orders. Amending this law together with the Joint Arab List could be the basis for a pragmatic union, despite the ideological distance.
Both sides need to show responsibility. Joint Arab List chief Ayman Odeh can prove that he is not waiting forever for the day when there is a clear majority for the ideological left in Israel to turn his party, a sectoral party, into an active partner in the decision-making process. It would be a shame for him, as well, to waste the electoral achievement.
Netanyahu can take the opportunity to ground his government's stability through some sort of cooperation with the Joint Arab List, and this way also signal his desire to build trust and prove to every Arab child in Israel that he is their prime minister, too. They will both be the signatories of a modest beginning of a healing process for one of the main reasons of tension in Israeli society - without betraying their ideology. I would not be surprised if Odeh was waiting for the call.
