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Few thoughts on historic Joint List recommendation of Benny Gantz for PM. For the Arab-dominated party to recommend a Zionist party headed by three former IDF generals makes this doubly groundbreaking. They consider toppling Netanyahu requires crossing these Rubicons. 1/
The Joint List’s recent choice to take decisions by MK majority rather than consensus allows it to better reflect the views of majority of Israel’s Arab-Palestinian population rather than their lowest common denominator. 2/
According to a Guttman Center Poll, 76% of the Joint List voters support joining the coalition. The taboo is greater on the Jewish side, but it too is eroding: 50% of the Jews object to this compared to 66% in 2017. maariv.co.il/elections2019/… [He]. 3/
Joint List's MKs have struggled with the seemingly less controversial issue of recommending a candidate to the President. All currently rule out actually taking a ministerial position in an Israeli government. 4/
The Joint List’s greater strength reflects primarily its renewed merger, with Israel’s Arab-Palestinian politicians feeling pressure from their public to unite and act within Israeli state institutions in order to better address the public’s needs. 5/
Non-Israeli Palestinians closely follow the choice: some may even take their cue in support of a strategy of principled engagement with Israel. As @elgindy_ rightly notes, Nazareth and Haifa are the most dynamic segment of Palestinian politics today. 6/
@elgindy_ The recent ruling (fatwa) of Sheikh Raissouni, Sheikh Qaradawi’s successor as President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, that Muslims are not prohibited to vote in Israeli elections, shows this bold attitude is not limited to Israel’s Palestinian population. 6/
@elgindy_ The strong support for nominating Gantz by the United Arab List, which represents the southern branch of Israel’s Islamic movement within the Joint List, reveals the deep degree to which the movement theologically accepts the state of Israel as a reality. 7/
@elgindy_ Though the Joint List is unlikely to enthrone the coalition this time around, current negotiations underline their potentially decisive role in Israel’s democracy. All Israeli party leaders now reassess the efficacy of committing not to cooperate with Israel’s Arab parties. 8/
