Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
They express the views of the authors.
Protest on the Way to the Polls
(Commentary by Eli Rekhess, "Yediot Ahronot", May 18, 1999 p. A23)
The elections in the Arab sector were marked by the following question:
Will there be a significant drop in the number of Arab voters?
Voting had been sparse through the afternoon -- although a change later
came about as a result of an intense campaign, by One Israel and the Arab
parties, to bring out the vote. And between 8:00 and 10:00 in the evening,
there was a significant increase in the number of Arab voters.
The lack of early interest was the consequence of a number of factors --
the withdrawal of other candidacies (Azmi Bishara, Yitzhak Mordechai and
Benny Begin) gave rise to complacency in the Arab sector, and countered
the sense of urgency and fatefulness about the vote. At the same time, the
overall low turnout also reflected the low turnout among hard-core Balad
supporters and similar groups. The non-position of the dominant Islamic
Movement stream also caused voters to stay at home.
In the end, the slow trickle to the polls expressed a certain
disappointment among Arab voters with the behavior of the Arab parties --
and with the "musical chairs" of Arab Knesset members who jumped from side
to side, demonstrating a lack of any ideological basis or political
ethics.
The low voter turnout also symbolized a possible protest by the Arab
population against the chronic weakness of Arab politics and its continued
marginality. Had all the Arab parties joined together, they would have
been able to form a 14-member parliamentary block. This, of course, did
not happen. All attempts at unification failed, and the Arab Knesset
presence continues to be divided and weak -- also with regard to possible
coalition negotiations with the prime minister-elect.
The elections for prime minister introduced a new horizon for Arab
politics in Israel -- through which Balad candidate Azmi Bishara hoped to
assume a place of influence, and political standing toward possible
negotiations with the main candidates. This objective was not fully
achieved, but there can be no doubt that the candidacy of an Arab for
prime minister is a significant milestone in advance of a substantive
shift in the marginal nature of Arab politics.