ISRAEL: ISRAELI ARAB CITIZENS

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Hebrew/Arabic/Nat XFA Israel's one point two (m) million Israeli Arab citizens hold the key to Prime Minister Ehud Barak's chances of re-election in the forthcoming vote on February 6. Barak won overwhelming support from Israeli Arabs in 1999 on campaign promises to conclude a peace deal with the Palestinians and address bitter complaints by Israel's largest minority about discrimination by the government. But just 18 months on, many Israeli Arabs feel betrayed by Barak and are so bitter that they are threatening to boycott the upcoming elections, even if this might help bring to power the hawkish Ariel Sharon. In the 1999 election, 77 percent of Israeli Arab voters turned out, and of those casting ballots, 95 percent supported Barak. This time, however, many Arabs are saying they are going to stay home on election day if Barak is the Labor Party candidate again. Much of their bitterness towards Barak can be traced to his handling of the latest intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israel triggered by Ariel Sharon's visit in September to a contested Jerusalem shrine. In Umm el-Fahm, Israel's second largest Arab town, many feel Israel's security forces use excessive force, not only in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but in Israel's Arab towns, where thousands took to the streets in October in solidarity with their Palestinian brethren. Thirteen Israeli Arabs have been killed by Israeli police fire, including three in Umm el-Fahm. With Israeli Arabs making up a fifth of Israel's electorate of four point three (m) million, pollsters predict that if they boycott the election, Barak will lose. Barak hopes to narrow his double-digit deficit in the polls by winning back the community. But Arabs say he hasn't done enough to make amends for the decades of government discrimination in housing and budget allocations, as he had pledged. And neither has he appointed an Arab cabinet minister in his government. Amir Makhoul, director of Ittijah, an organisation which represents Israeli Arab interests, says the boycott demonstrates the strength of feeling against the government's policies. Israeli Arabs are the descendants of Muslim and Christian families who stayed behind when others fled or were driven out with the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. While Israeli Arabs strongly support Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, many believe Barak will not be able to conclude a deal and that his failure to win re-election would do little harm to Palestinian aspirations - even though Sharon is willing to offer far fewer concessions. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) "To kill 13 people in the Arab sector is a very hard thing. People will never forget him (Barak) for that. I, even though I am a Labor party member, I will boycott these elections." SUPER CAPTION: Malham Salman, Umm el-Fahm resident SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) "I am not going to vote. There is no warmth, no nothing, who can I vote for? Not to be in the voting station is better." SUPER CAPTION: Zaki Araf, Umm el-Fahm resident SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "I think as a whole, Arab voters should not go and vote. We should respect ourselves, sit home and don't take part in these elections." SUPER CAPTION: Muhammad Yossef, Umm el-Fahm resident SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) "Thirteen voting stations he (Barak) should bring here, 13. He killed 13 people, 13 children and we will vote for him?" SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop, old man SOUNDBITE: (English) "A state or government that killed 13 people of us few months ago, they can not ask us to be conformist now and to come to vote for them or to participate in these elections." SUPER CAPTION: Amir Makhoul, Director of Ittijah SOUNDBITE: (English) SUPER CAPTION: Amir Makhoul, Director of Ittijah SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cab185f403df09448002dcf990233989 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork