Voting Arab votes, Netanyahu claims 2015 ‘twisted vote’ is twisted

In a rare visit to the Arab city of Nazareth on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a video broadcast was made in 2015 in which he persuaded Likud voters to go to the polls because “the Arabs are voting in droves ”twisted by his political opponents.

“They turned my words,” Netanyahu said, adding that “it is not my intention to protest against the reality of Arab citizens voting in elections,” but “to protest against voting. for the [Arab-majority] Joint List Party. ”

His comments, made on election day 2015, were widely seen as a racist whistle, making Israeli Arab citizens an attractive fifth pillar that, when exercising the right to vote. , threatening Israeli security.

Get The Daily of Israel’s Daily Edition by Email and don’t miss our top stories for free

“The rule of right is in jeopardy,” he said on March 17, 2015. “Arab voters are moving in droves to the polling stations. They are included by left – wing groups. ”

“Whoever says that we only remember the Arab public before the elections is lying or ignorant of the facts,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.

However, Netanyahu said: “I apologized then and I’m sorry today too.”

Israeli Arab politicians sharply criticized Netanyahu’s comments. The Prime Minister must be of the opinion that the Arab community has a “short memory,” said Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh.

The prime minister visited the city as part of a campaign to seek support among Arab Israelis ahead of the March elections, in defiance of his party’s unfounded warnings about election delays in Arab communities and attacks. again on Arab lawyers.

After visiting a clinic where coronavirus vaccines were given, Netanyahu described what he described as the opportunity for a “new era” for Jewish and Arab relations in Israel.

“If I believe and Arabs can dance together on the streets of Dubai, they can dance together here in Israel. A new era begins today, of prosperity, unification and security, ”said Netanyahu, referring to the recently signed normalization treaties between Israel and four Arab states.

Most Arab Israelis have strongly opposed Netanyahu, saying he has incited racism against them. They point to laws such as the nation state law of 2018, which introduced Israel as the national state of the Jewish people and laid down the status of the Arabs, and the Kamenitz law of 2017, which deliberately aimed at Arab construction legal.

Likud Netanyahu’s party has also previously warned of what they see as a deception of Arab voters, including trying to install cameras in polling stations. Arab Israelis widely rejected the effort as an attempt to intimidate voters.

Politicians of the Joint List were quick to criticize the statements of the leading figure, including Ahmad Tibi who called it “an attempt to [Arab Israelis] into useful fools. “

“Arab voters will not be like Netanyahu’s lifeboat. There is nothing for it here in this election campaign, ”said MK Sondos Saleh Joint List.

And the Prime Minister promised to deliver a comprehensive plan to combat violence and organized crime in Arab communities “very quickly.” In opinion polls, Arab Israelis have consistently dismissed the violence in Arab communities as their top priority – the murder rate has gone up nearly 50 percent in four years.

Passing the anti-violence plan has become a major policy priority for Arab MKs. The plan was put together by Netanyahu’s office in collaboration with the National Council of Arab Mayors and Arab civil society organizations.

Netanyahu had already promised to accept the plan in November while speaking to the Knesset parliamentary committee. But as the country moved toward the fourth round of elections in two years, the plan fell off the dock.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to the Israeli Times estimated that around 200-300 people attended an exhibition outside the health clinic that the main visitor was visiting.

“Bibi, get out! Get out! Go home!” Demonstrators sang. The protesters were a mix of local Nazareth residents, as well as a notorious sprinkling of Jewish anti-Netanyahu protesters linked to the Black Flags protest movement, which is seeking the main resignation. his career.

Nazareth mayor Ali Salam, who has backed Netanyahu, was shocked at the turnout, which he considered mild. “Some certainly did. If I showed up, I would have taken thousands with me, ”said Salam bitterly.

“The only way to ensure the interests of an Arab community is to ensure a united voice of Arab citizens and its Jewish partners who fight with dignity and respect for its interests – peace, equality, democracy, and justice social media, “said Odeh, whose party has captured the majority of the Arab vote in recent elections.

The Joint List has been slipping in recent polls, with some studies suggesting it could fall from 15 to 10 seats in the Knesset. Netanyahu said Wednesday that this was partly due to “the rising support for me and the Likud in Arab society.”

Joint List MKs, such as Aida Touma-Suleiman and Heba Yazbak, were present at the complaint. Touma-Suleiman had a sign denying Netanyahu’s support for the country’s state law 2018. Hanin Zoabi, who was also a member of Knesset, appeared with a sign that said: “We will sweep the Zionist parties out of Nazareth.”

Members of three of the four groups of the Joint List – Hadash, Ta’al and Balad – were present at the complaint. But no MP from Ra’am fashion showed the reappointment of Mansour Abbas.

Abbas, a conservative Islamist politician, has been publicly seeking rapprochement with Netanyahu for some time. It has been said that he would be willing to consider becoming a minister in a right-wing government – or even voting to remove the main defendant accused from prosecution – in exchange for advancing the main priorities of Arab Israelis.

A Ra’am party official told The Times of Israel that senior members of the Islamic Campaign were present at the show, but that most of Ra’am’s parliamentarians were currently in quarantine.

Israeli Police said 19 people were arrested while clearing witnesses away from the Clalit Health Clinic visited by the Prime Minister. Videos from the riot police scene showed rioters dragging demonstrators behind a barricade, including parliamentarians, despite the protection afforded by their status as members of Knesset.

Component list MK Saleh was taken to hospital after being dragged away from the scene, with injuries to his hand and back.

“Even though they knew she was a member of Knesset, the police dragged her and pushed her hard, injuring her.” They were violating her parliamentary protection, “a spokesman for Saleh said. in a statement.

“Netanyahu wants to translate his sudden love for the Arabs into abolishing the law of the land, ending demolition and eliminating criminal groups,” Tibi said. .

Mayor Nazareth Salam, speaking alongside Netanyahu, expressed disappointment with the Joint List. Salam, one of the wildest carders of Israeli politics, never backed the Joint List; he first rose to fame in a viral video showing him yelling at fellow list chairman Ayman Odeh.

“We voted for them,” [and] with all due respect, the Arab community is disappointed. They got our votes and did nothing, ”said Salam.

Salam made sure to mention the Palestinian cause, however.

“I emerge from here, to the whole world, from Nazareth… we have a good life [here] and we will continue to live together in our country and it is our request that you do not forget to make peace with the Palestinians, ”Salam told Netanyahu.