"The Joint Arab List let Israeli Arabs down in its last term. It didn't represent us and it did great damage to the [average] Arab citizen who wants to integrate," says Abu Ghosh resident Abdul al-Rahman ahead of the April 9 Knesset election.
Many Israeli Arabs who have been disappointed by those who were supposed to represent their interests in the Knesset share al-Rahman's sentiments now, according to recent polls. In the upcoming election, they intend to settle the score at the ballot box and not vote for officials who have not focused their efforts on the sector's struggles.
"With the atmosphere already tense, they are adding fuel to the fire in order to suppress the Arab citizen," al-Rahman says.
"The Joint Arab List wants to see an inferior, humiliated Arab, like a cat that needs to be petted. Why? Because as long as the Arabs in Israel are in a state like that, it does the work for them. They want the Arabs to beg them and be weak compared to them. They abandoned the citizens who voted for them and [instead] focused on the interests of Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] and Syria," he says.
In the 2015 election, some 90% of Israeli Arabs voted for the Joint Arab List, but with the party now in tatters, this time around, many say they will vote for other parties all along the political spectrum.
'We can learn from Shas'
Dr. Suhaila Ahmad Halil, a doctor from the northern city of Acre, spoke to Israel Hayom about the issues that matter most to her and many others in the country's Arab sector. The Palestinian struggle, it should be noted, was nowhere on the list.
"What do we want? To earn a decent living, to live like human beings – that's what the average citizen wants," Halil says. "And the people who are supposedly meant to take care of us – the Arab parties – have quite simply abandoned us.
"I'm proud to be a Muslim and Arab Israeli woman. Come to Acre and see how many young people are sitting at home, not going to school – how many of them sit in the streets and smoke hookahs," she says.
Halil says that "what the heads of the Arab parties are doing is honoring and glorifying murderous terrorists: They take the stage, talk about Palestine and don't notice what's happening here."
Halil and her friends emphasize that she and her friends want to integrate into Israeli society, to make a decent living and live like other citizens. She says she blames Arab lawmakers for "focusing on terrible things that have nothing to do with us."
"I take my hat off to Shas," Halil said. "Look how they look out for the voters. I wish all parties were like that. In Acre, there are only two Arab elementary schools and one high school. You need to understand that all the other kids are out on the streets. There's no one to look out for us."
An exception to the rule, according to Halil, is Joint Arab List MK Aida Touma-Sliman.
She is "one of the only Arab lawmakers who has done anything, and that is [regarding] the fight against violence toward women. She should lead the women in Israel. Personally, I plan on voting for one of the right-wing parties. I haven't decided for whom.
"I think a Palestinian state should be on the other side of the [security] fence, not here," she said. This is the State of Israel and we need to live together."
Al-Rahman backs up what Halil says as far as politicians' lack of concern for what transpires in urban areas.
"The infrastructure in the Arab communities needs to be taken care of, and they [the Arab lawmakers] aren't dealing with it. The social and economic situation isn't good. We recognize the existence of the only democratic country in the Middle East and want to be a part of the country. And we're proud of it. We, Israeli Arabs, exist with our Jewish brothers. Not coexist, exist."
According to al-Rahman, "Israel is an economic success, and the problem with the Arab communities is the council heads. My grandfather is the head of the Abu Ghosh Local Council. You should come and see how we live here. The infrastructure is excellent and the council is succeeding and thriving far more than in many Jewish communities. But there are Arab communities in which the council heads wrangle with politicians and it hurts the residents."
He says that "if the council heads free themselves of Hadash party head Ayman Odeh and Ta'al party chief Ahmad Tibi, they would find an attentive ear, and we'd see a marked improvement in Arab villages. If it's possible in Abu Ghosh, it's possible anywhere."
Al-Rahman also says it's important for him to comment on the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement that seeks to isolate Israel internationally over the Palestinian issue.
"Organizations boycott only what is convenient for them and use quite a few Israeli inventions and Israeli products. I'd like to see them stop using [navigation software application] Waze or any of the Israeli developments. These organizations are hypocritical and have hidden interests," he said.
Now trending: Netanyahu, Bennett and Gantz
Mohammad Kabiya, 28, is a strategic adviser from Kabiya, which was named after his family. He also raised the issue of the Arab lawmakers' decision to focus their energy on Palestinians at the expense of the average Arab-Israeli citizen in a conversation with Israel Hayom.
"[Israel Arab parties] Hadash and Balad wrote in their campaign platforms that they believe in a Palestinian state and not the State of Israel. We can't vote for parties that don't want to enter a coalition under any condition. They can't help anyone."
Speaking ahead of the announcement that the Joint Arab List would be breaking up, Kabiya said, "The worst thing about Israeli politics is the Joint Arab List, and now its days are numbered. With all of Ahmad Tibi's racist remarks, he is the most moderate of all the Arab politicians. They are that extreme. All day long, they shout, 'The occupation! The occupation!'
"[Former Joint Arab List MKs] Hanin Zoabi, Jamal Zahalka and their friends don't take into account the Arab citizens of Israel, and no one believes them anymore. Zoabi tried to run for mayor of Nazareth, where the Zoabi clan is the largest [in the city], and she still didn't win. Her family didn't even vote for her."
Kabiya, an activist who is very involved in Arab society, explained that the high voter turnout for the Joint Arab List in the last election was the result of the lack of any alternative.
"The left-wing parties look condescendingly at Israeli Arabs, and Arabs aren't stupid. They see that and keep their distance from them," he said.
"The Right in the country is seen as more credible in the eyes of Israeli Arabs, and that is why we're seeing a growing trend of Arabs voting for that camp. Shas looks out for their voters, many of whom have families with multiple children, just like in the Arab sector, and therefore it [the party] serves its purpose."
According to Kabiya, "The Arab politicians' greatest failure was when they tried to interfere in the local elections and failed. Now the Arab public is just recoiling from them because they came with a cavalier approach. They think they're better than the rest of the Arab public, but they've lost its trust.
"I don't know if they're aware of this," Kabiya says, "but Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], [New Right party leader Naftali] Bennett and [Israel Resilience Party leader Benny] Gantz have become something of a trend in the Arab sector."
