In the battle for public opinion ahead of a possible minority government, the left is floating the claim that there is supposedly no difference between forming a government with the ultra-Orthodox and one supported by the Joint Arab List, given that they are both anti-Zionist.
This claim is proof of the status of Zionism as the utmost principle and the very essence of the existence of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This claim, that even the nationalist camp is supported by anti-Zionists in order to justify partnership with the Joint Arab List, is proof by proxy that this is an inappropriate measure in principle. If the nationalist camp can deviate from the Zionist principle and rely on the ultra-Orthodox, then the left can rely on the Joint Arab List.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
This comparison, which puts the resistance to Zionism by ultra-Orthodox and by Arabs on the same level is, in the same context, foolish, shallow and ridiculous. Indeed, the vast majority of the ultra-Orthodox leadership fought against Zionism as an idea and as a movement among Jews up until statehood. Agudat Yisrael was founded in 1912 as an organization of ultra-Orthodox groups whose common denominator was opposition to Zionism. In time, the opposition remained symbolic in principle but waned on the practical level.
Yet even during the peak of this historical, protracted struggle, it was obvious that these were struggles and disagreements between movements inside the Jewish people. The existence of a national loop was clear, even if the definition of national was open to acute and profound controversy. In other words, the Jews, as a nation with clear affiliations, waged an internal struggle over the content of Jewish identity and the proper ways of the Jewish people. The ultra-Orthodox advocated the principle that "our nation is only a nation by virtue of its Torah", i.e. that the sole root of Jewish identity is in adherence to the Torah and Halacha (Jewish law) through the Orthodox approach. The Zionists, in contrast, religious and secular alike, advocated nationalism in its modern form, i.e. the right and realization of self-determination of the Jewish people in their homeland.
None of this has any relevance to the Joint Arab List. Its representatives undermine the very basic principle of the right to self-determination for the Jewish people. They are the most ardent opponents of recognizing Israel as the Jewish nation-state, even within the framework of a possible agreement with the Palestinians.
They reject the principle of "two states for two peoples". As far as the Joint Arab List is concerned, the intention is one-and-a-half-states for the Palestinian people, with half a state for the Jewish people in the form of "Israel as a state for all its citizens". Some of them believe that the Jewish people are not a nation, but rather simply a religion, and thus negate their right to self-determination. These basic principles translate into corresponding behavioral patterns: Participating in a range of activities against the State of Israel in international forums, sometimes to the extent of supporting BDS; defaming Israel at every opportunity, support for persecution of senior officials at the International Criminal Court at the Hague; declarations of support and praise for terrorists, and so on.
Ruling out cooperation with the Joint Arab List is not racist as they try to claim. No one would reject cooperation with the Joint Arab List solely based on its Arab membership if their modus operandi really was akin to that of the ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox, with all their principled opposition to Zionism, came to terms with it on a practical level a long time ago, and advocate for the social, cultural and religious preservation of ultra-Orthodox society within Israel as a Jewish nation-state, most of whose values and character they oppose. The Joint Arab List's representatives, in contrast, remind us again and again of how much they hope for the annulment of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Israel is the state of 100% of its citizens and the 100% are entitled to enjoy its benefits in general and democracy in particular. However, it is the nation state of only 80 percent of its citizens, and it is not the nation state of the 20 percent of its citizens who are not affiliated with the Jewish nation. Not only are the ultra-Orthodox part of the national majority, they are not mobilized like the Joint Arab List is around the basic principle of annulling Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.
The essence of Zionism is founded on the principle that only the Jewish people can express their self-definition in Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. Opposition to this principle is of course allowed under the right of freedom of speech and freedom of political organization, as is commonplace in democracy. Forming a majority coalition that relies on the Joint Arab List means relying on a political element that fundamentally denies the essence of Israel's existence.
