MK Zakour: Party will aim to "diminish the large gaps and discrimination" between Arabs and Jews.
By BRENDA GAZZARabbas zakour 224 88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
A new Arab political party is emerging that plans to deal specifically with the problems of the Arab sector and promote its advancement ahead of February 10's general elections.
Aiming to "diminish the large gaps and discrimination" between Arabs and Jews, the party will prioritize such issues as Arab housing and construction, education, employment and unrecognized villages, many of which have no water or electricity, said MK Abbas Zakour (United Arab List-Ta'al) on Thursday, who is helping establish the party.
Unlike other Arab parties, the new party or joint list of parties - which has yet to be named - will "not be based on an ideology such as communism or Islam, but [will] rather focus on Arab social, economic and cultural issues, equality and the economy of Arab citizens of Israel," Zakour said.
He said that in addition to himself, the new party would include Science, Culture and Sport Minister Ghaleb Majadle (Labor) and former Labor MK Shakib Shaanan, as well as academics and leaders of Arab local councils.
A spokesman for Majadle's ministry would not comment on whether the minister would leave the Labor Party, saying only that he was asked earlier this week whether he would be interested in leading a new Arab party. "He said he would examine the issue together with the Arab constituency representatives" in the Labor Party, the spokesman said.
Zakour said he had begun meeting with representatives from the other three Arab parties in a bid to convince them to unite on one Knesset list.
"We are calling for the unity of all the Arab parties, and each party can preserve its own ideas," Zakour said in a phone interview. "After the unification and after the elections, each party will deal and will work according to its own ideas and ideology."
But Mk Ibrahim Sarsour, head of the United Arab List-Ta'al Party, said he opposed the creation of another party that would further divide the Arab population. There are currently three Arab lists in the Knesset: United Arab List-Ta'al, Hadash and Balad. There are a total of 11 Arab-Israeli Knesset members (out of 120) who serve in both Arab and other parties.
"The Arab population cannot bear the possibility of establishing another party in addition to the parties that already exist today," Sarsour said.
He said he hoped that the existing Arab parties in the Knesset would unite on one list, or else, "in the worst possible situation," there would be three Arab parties running separately.
For a new party to succeed, it would have to distinguish itself from the Arab parties that already exist and purport to champion similar causes, said Reuven Hazan, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University.
"They have a niche that's already been covered, so they have to explain how they could do it better than others," Hazan said. "There is an Islamist Arab party [UAL], a nationalist pro-Palestinian Arab party [Ta'al], there is a communist Arab party [Hadash] and all of these want to deal with the Arab sector."
February's elections will be the first since a law was passed in June that would disqualify any candidate who has visited an enemy state without permission from being elected to the Knesset for seven years. While several Arab Knesset members have illegally visited states such as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen in recent years or months, they claimed parliamentary immunity; the new sanctions only went into effect on June 30 and are not retroactive.
"I hope that everyone who runs for office in the Israeli legislature is loyal to the country," said MK Estherina Tartman (Israel Beiteinu), who - together with National Religious Party chairman Zevulun Orlev - submitted the bill. "This law was enacted to restore the honor of our nation and our principles, as should any country that is concerned about the security of its citizens."
Rebecca Anna Stoil contributed to this report
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