In a previous article, Ahead of elections, Arab voters have a lot to think about, I mentioned how important it is to get Israeli Arabs to vote for parties that support their further integration into Israeli society in the upcoming election, instead of voting for the Joint Arab List, which is composed mostly of politicians that do not support the State of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and oftentimes openly sympathize with those who are attempting to destroy it. I also said, however, that if parties that do support the State of Israel's continued existence as a Jewish state want Israeli Arabs to vote for them, they will have to make it worth their while. In other words, the Zionist parties have to offer policy ideas that will improve the lives of average Arab Israeli citizens. But what kind of policy ideas?
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
First of all, any party that wants the votes of Israeli Arabs should offer a concrete plan to improve the representation of Israeli Arabs in Israel's state institutions. In fact, for starters, Zionist parties seeking Israeli Arab votes should ensure that they have one or more Israeli Arabs in the first ten slots of their electoral lists. As it stands now, there are seventeen Israeli Arabs in the Knesset, but only three of those seventeen are members of Zionist parties. The others are affiliated with the Joint Arab List. Hence, if Zionist parties want Arab Israelis to vote for them instead of voting for anti-Zionists, they should at least have members of the country's Arab community near the top of their electoral lists.
But of course, the Knesset isn't the only important state institution in which Israeli Arabs need greater representation. It is very rare, for example, for Israeli Arabs to be included as members of the cabinet or Supreme Court, where the most important decisions are made. Another institution that lacks adequate Israeli Arab representation is the powerful Israel Lands Administration, which is significant because complaints of discrimination by the Israeli Arab sector often revolve around policies regarding land allocation and management. If the Zionist parties want Israeli Arabs to vote for them, they should consider promising to amend the country's laws to guarantee representation of Israel's Arab sector in the Israeli cabinet, Supreme Court, Israel Lands Administration, and other important state institutions.
Israel's Arabs also face adversity in the education system. Arab students' scores on standardized tests are routinely lower than those of their Jewish counterparts because the quality of education in Arab schools is lower. The Zionist parties should make a point of promising Israeli Arabs that more resources will be devoted to improving the quality of education in Israel's Arab sector. One specific promise that the Zionist parties could make to Israeli Arab voters would be the establishment of a university in which Arabic is the primary language of instruction. Right now, Israeli Arab university students must study in Hebrew, which puts them at a disadvantage since it is more difficult to study in one's second language than it is to study in one's native tongue.
Indeed, the Arabic language, although having official status in theory, is not accepted as such in practice. Ask any Israeli Arab and they will probably tell you that it can be difficult to access public services in Arabic. Zionist parties seeking the votes of Israeli Arabs would be wise to promote a policy of official bilingualism in which Hebrew and Arabic are treated equally and all public services can be accessed in both languages. At present, a person in Israel might have better luck accessing public services in English or Russian than Arabic.
Now of course, the leaders of the Zionist parties may be lukewarm to the ideas mentioned above for fear that they will be perceived by Jewish voters as not committed to maintaining Israel as a Jewish state. But does adopting policies designed to further integrate and improve the lives of Israel's Arab citizens harm the country's existence as a Jewish state? Absolutely not. Quite the opposite, in fact. Adopting such policies will help maintain the State of Israel as a Jewish state, because Israeli Arabs will have much less desire to oppose the existence of a Jewish state in which they are treated as an equal, integral part of society.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
