Electoral gains put Arabs in familiar dilemma

NAZARETH, ISRAEL » When election results confirmed that an Arab alliance had emerged as the third largest bloc in Israel’s parliament, its leader Ayman Odeh reached for the Old Testament, tweeting in Hebrew from Psalm 118 that the stone that was rejected had become the cornerstone.

His message: The Arab community, long shunted to the margins of Israeli society, is going to use its newfound influence to set the country on a more equitable path.

The results left the two biggest parties deadlocked but marked a victory for the Arab bloc and put Odeh in a strong position to become the first Arab opposition leader, an official role that would allow him to get highlevel security briefings and meet visiting heads of state.

Outraged at what they see as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s racist policies and incitement, most of the bloc recommended his opponent, former army chief Benny Gantz, as prime minister, the first time Arab parties have backed an Israeli candidate since 1992.

The potential for newfound influence has forced Arab citizens to confront a dilemma going back to Israel’s founding: Working within the system might secure social gains for the marginalized community but risks legitimizing a state that many feel relegates them to second-class status and oppresses their Palestinian brethren in the occupied territories.

“We truly want to support Gantz,” said Abed Abed, a food wholesaler in the Arab town of Nazareth in northern Israel. “But at the same time we are Arabs, and the people in Gaza and the West Bank are our brothers. If Gantz goes to war in Gaza tomorrow, then we can’t be part of it. So we’re in big trouble.”

Israel’s Arab citizens make up 20% of the population of 9 million and are descended from Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 war that surrounded its creation.