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Prof. Avi Bareli

Prof. Avi Bareli is a historian and researcher at Ben-Gurion Univesity of the Negev.

Sitting with Ra'am is bound to backfire

There is a difference between relying on an Islamist, anti-Israeli party and wanting to appeal to Arab Israelis out of a desire to strengthen the standing of non-Jewish citizens in the democratic Jewish state.

 

For Likud to form a coalition with the Arab Ra'am party means that the Israeli government would consist of a political entity the aim of which is to include Israel in the Islamic caliphate and the ideology linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Ra'am spokespeople have expressed support for Hamas in the past, and the party is committed to settling descendants of Palestinian refugees in Israel and erode the very character of the Jewish state.

A government whose very existence depends on such a party will not take the fundamental ethos of the state into account or the main interests of its citizens.

Such a right-wing government might be a temporary event, but it will create legitimacy for a permanent alliance between most Arab Knesset members and the Left, as is the aspiration of Yesh Atid, Meretz, and the Labor Party.
The deniers of Israel will be given the status of permanent "arbitrators" between the Zionist parties, and their arbitration will always lean towards eroding the Jewish state.

It is crucial to differentiate between relying on an Islamist, anti-Israeli party and wanting to appeal to Arab Israelis out of a desire to strengthen the standing of non-Jewish citizens in the democratic Jewish state and bridge the socio-economic gap between them and the Jewish citizens.

For the Likud and other Zionist parties to appealing to Arab Israelis is a welcome thing. Arab representatives should have been included in the Likud's Knesset roster in realistic slots. A party led by Arab Israelis who do not adhere to the destructive principles as Ra'am and the Joint Arab List would be a welcomed addition to the Knesset as well.

However, relying on Arab parties because of the masks they don can only backfire: it will see Islamic, communists, and fascist lawmakers touting appealing democratic slogans challenge the Jewish state.

The result will be a dangerous rise in Arab nationalism and the Jewish one as well. Already now, Labor and the Religious Zionist Party include members with intolerable positions in terms of the definition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

The Labor party now includes Ibtisam Mara'ana, who made controversial anti-Zionist remarks, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu all but demanded the Religious Zionist Party include members of the far-Right Otzma Yehudit party, whose leader Itamar Ben-Gvir is self-professed a Kahane disciple.

Including Mara'ana and Ben-Gvir in the government will compromize Israel's immune system. A right-wing government based on an endorsement by Ra'am will only aggravate the damage. The Zionist parties must prevent this from happening by adhering to the fundamental spirit of Jewihs state, which belongs to all its citizens, including the non-Jewish ones.

MKs Yoaz Hendel and Zvi Hauser bravely thwarted a conspiracy hatched by Blue and White's leaders to form a government with the Joint List. Likud will lose its moral compass if it follows the unfortunate advice to form a government with the help of Ra'am.

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