Mansour Abbas’s Islamist party, which won four seats in the pre-Pesach elections, could hand victory to Bibi or to his opponents
“The Left makes war,” goes an Israeli saying, “and the Right makes peace.” It’s an ironic fact that under the Likud party, the country evacuated Sinai, Gaza, and Chevron, whereas under the peaceniks of Labor (back in the day), the country fought major wars.
The saying is misleading in that the modern Left gave Israel the Oslo Accords, but it contains an element of truth. The Right’s perceived toughness gives it the political cover to pull off concessions to the Palestinians that the Left couldn’t afford.
That dynamic may explain the drama now gripping Israel, as Ra’am, an Arab party, has been transformed into a kingmaker. Mansour Abbas’s Islamist party, which won four seats in the pre-Pesach elections, could hand victory to Bibi or to his opponents. But whichever way things go, this marks a revolution. No Arab party has ever exercised so much influence in Israeli politics, nor has any Arab politician ever spoken so clearly of the need to integrate into the country’s politics to work for its constituents.
The fact that this didn’t happen a year ago, when the center-left Blue-White Party tried to pull off the same thing with the United Arab List, was down to two right-wing lawmakers — Zvika Hauser and Yoaz Hendel — who refused to support such a move.
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