All right, congratulations -- almost. We are poised to swear in a government. Congratulations, almost, both because everything could still change, but mostly because this government almost made Israeli history. In the end, after all the hopes and promises, it will be like its predecessors. Bigger, but without any Arab representations. Thus, the two leaders are showing the Arabs, a fifth of the state's citizens, that this isn't their government after the Nation-State Law already caused them to feel as if this isn't completely their country.
In the past two decades, Arab citizens have been exposed to racist and even mendacious anti-Arab propaganda on the part of MKs and other politicians, mostly from the Right. They claim that the Arab MKs "don't do anything for their constituency," and are devoted to Palestinian nationalist goals. That is far from accurate: they do what they can, especially given the fact that they are permanently in the opposition, where it is harder for any MK to promote legislation.
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But alongside the negative campaigns against the Joint Arab List, there were occasional hints and promises that an Arab MK would be appointed to a ministerial post in this government. The matter was even raised during negotiations, and at least three parties promised to put forth an "alternative leadership" from within the Arab sector. Names of prominent figures, with extensive experience and qualifications, who could promise not only to "honor the sector" but contribute much to the fields of which they were put in charge were raised.
Now that the government is formed, 1.7 million Arab citizens are once again being ignored. The Zionist parties that promised alternatives are denying ever having done so and are turning their backs on their voters from the Arab sector, as well as everyone who ever spoke up for pragmatic political partnership. Most of all, they are pushing the Arab sector into the arms of the Joint Arab List and helping make that party the only sustainable option for leadership of the Arab public.
This is exactly the same fatal mistake made by the man who raised the minimum electoral threshold to 3.25% in 2015, a move that caused all the Arab parties to unite in a single bloc that will remain in the Knesset for years to come, and whose presence will prove all the politicians who claimed and claim that the list's members do not represent the true interests of the Arab public as untrustworthy. Dear coalition members, you have let us down. You had an opportunity to fix things, and you declined an extended hand.
I'm currently watching a documentary film on the Jews of Morocco, some of whom served as ministers and advisors to King Mohammad VI and who valiantly defended the kingdom as citizens of equal status. I am reminded of the Copts in Egypt or the Circassians in Jordan, where with all the tensions and problems, are respected by their governments. True, this isn't the most precise comparison, but I'm still not giving up on the Arab-Israeli dream.
