Meretz, Arab parties look to tip balance
MERETZ
Meretz chairwoman Tamar Zandberg will lead her party into a Knesset election for the first time on Tuesday after she won its first leadership primary in March 2018.
As expected, the party’s campaign on Monday and throughout recent weeks has been most visible in Tel Aviv, although it will also hope to capture a significant share of the Arab-Israeli vote.
On Monday afternoon, Meretz showcased its diverse list of candidates for the Knesset in a seven-hour Facebook Live broadcast – featuring incumbent members of Knesset, lawmaker hopefuls and activists answering questions and aiming to convince those still undecided to vote for the party.
“We have one ballot slip and with that slip we want to do a lot of things: to vote for our ideology, to vote to get rid of Netanyahu and to vote for another government,” said Zandberg on the broadcast.
“What is important to remember is that in these elections, there is a rare opportunity that doesn’t come around every election. This time, the ideological vote is also the strategic vote. A vote for Meretz is a vote for the real Left and is really necessary opposite the Kahanist Right that is supposed to enter the Knesset,” Zandberg said.
“It’s very simple. In order to win, Gantz needs 61 recommendations. He will not have 61 recommendations without Meretz.”
RA’AM-BALAD and HADASH-TA’AL
While many parties fought to win the votes of the undecided on the day before the elections, the Ra’am-Balad and Hadash-Ta’al lists dedicated much of their last-minute campaigning to boosting turnout among the Arab-Israeli population.
According to recent surveys, Arab turnout is expected to decline to little over 50% on Tuesday, similar to the average turnout preceding the establishment of the Joint List.
Hadash-Ta’al sponsored 10 buses to transport hundreds of students with Israeli citizenship studying at the Arab American University in Jenin to their hometowns so that they can cast their votes and boost turnout.
After campaign posters belonging to Ra’am-Balad and Hadash-Ta’al were vandalized near Nazareth on Sunday night, including being spray painted with the words “Death to Arabs,” both party lists blamed anti-Arab incitement.
“They called us terrorists, supporters of terror; shot at us in videos and tried to consume the votes of our supporters through lies and delegitimization around the clock. We do not give in to incitement, and so the choice is clear: full civil equality or violent racism,” said Ra’am-Balad in a statement.
“We must put an end to the government of hatred and discrimination. Our votes can decide whether Netanyahu will form the next government; our votes will go to a real and moral alternative of equality – and that is why we will flock in our droves to vote,” a Hadash-Ta’al statement said.