The decision made this week by Druze Blue and White MK Gadeer Mreeh not to join the Netanyahu-Gantz unity government reflects the typical conflict in Arab politics in Israel: the tension between principles and pragmatism. And while this was Mreeh's personal decision, it reflects a dilemma that almost all Arab MKs will face at one point or another.
Most Arab Israelis, including the Druze community, have a great desire for their Knesset representatives to influence the decision-making process. And yes, there is also a desire to see them enter a coalition –any coalition. The era of expecting and accepting token parliamentary representation, usually in the opposition is over.
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However, the aspiration hits refusal on two fronts: On the one hand, coalition leaders, be they from the Right or the Left, from Yitzhak Rabin to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are not interested in including a "full-fledged" Arab party in the government, while on the other hand, Arab MKs oppose serving a government that may make decisions that run counter to their constituents' principles and ideology, or fear to legitimize a Jewish government by being part of it.
In this sense, local politics differ. In mixed cities, such as Acre, Lod or Ramle, Arab parties feel free to join coalitions headed by right-wing mayors.
True, Israeli leaders are unwilling or not ready to recognize the Arab parties as full partners in the government and they seek a Zionist consensus over an Israeli one, and the Arab parties seem to be more comfortable with the Left, for reasons related to the perception of the Arab-Jewish conflict.
The current political map reflects two blocs: a right-wing bloc linked to religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, and a liberal-secular right-wing bloc, sometimes identified as "centrist."
With the exception of the Joint Arab List and a handful of lawmakers, is there really anything left of the "Israeli Left"?
Every politician who aspires to have nay type of influence within the coalition must learn to find ways to work with the Right, in all its forms. This is not "giving up" or a "betrayal of ideology," nor is it opportunism. It's pragmatism.
Arab politicians must adopt a pragmatic approach and present conditions the other side can live with - not come out swinging with demands that are impossible to meet. If they keep sticking to rigid national ideology, they will find it difficult to join even a government formed by Meretz.
Mreeh, however, missed her mark. This goes beyond the Druze constituency and onto the missed opportunity of championing pragmatic Arab politics that does not require compromising on one's ideological identity.
