Chikli blasts ‘anti-Zionist’ Democrats over proposal to form coalition with Arab parties

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli excoriated on Wednesday The Democrats chairman Yair Golan for calling earlier on the opposition-bloc parties to partner with the Arab factions in forming the next coalition.

“The Democrats are, in practice, a Canaanite, anti-Zionist party,” the Likud Party member wrote in a Hebrew-language post on X.

He continued, “Incidentally, from a sociological perspective and without passing judgment, it would be very interesting to examine whether the younger generation of this party’s members even sees any value in marriage according to the laws of Moses and Israel, or in circumcising their sons—the only two commandments without which one formally severs ties with the Jewish people.”

He then said he finds this “deeply saddening,” invoking The Democrats’ political roots in Israel’s historic Labor Party that “once represented the vanguard of Zionism.”

Following the Central Elections Committee’s publication at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday of the partial results for the 26th Knesset election, Golan said on X, “We must no longer accept [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes.

“The voice of an Israeli citizen voting in Taibe is worth exactly as much as the voice of an Israeli citizen voting in Givat Shmuel. No less. Not approximately. Exactly,” he continued.

He went on to draw a parallel between the ultra-Orthodox parties (United Torah Judaism and Shas) and the Arab parties (the Joint List and Ra’am), saying they are both “non-Zionist.”

He argued that if these factions were subtracted, the center-left bloc had 49 seats against Netanyahu’s bloc of 39 seats. If they are not subtracted, he continued, the former had 65 seats against the latter’s 55 seats.

At the time of his writing, the Joint List and Ra’am had received 12 and four seats, respectively, while United Torah Judaism and Shas gained nine and seven, respectively, according to Israeli media. Netanyahu’s Likud had 27 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar 21, B’Yachad (“Together”) 11, The Democrats nine, Yisrael Beiteinu eight and Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist-Zehut parties six each.

“Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That’s how Israeli democracy works. Period,” he wrote.

“We have a majority. We have responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel’s Arab citizens. A government that will serve all Israeli citizens. Now it takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes stopping the fear and starting to act,” he said.

As of time of publication, based on provisional figures released by Israel’s CEC with over 84% of ballots counted, the division of seat numbers had changed, standing at 53 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 48 for Eisenkot’s and 19 for the Arab parties. The ultra-Orthodox parties, part of Netanyahu’s bloc, were projected at 14 seats.

Joint List: Ready to oust Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir gov’t

Meanwhile, member of the Joint List and Ta’al chairman Ahmad Tibi confirmed on Wednesday that his faction was holding talks with parties from the opposition bloc after being asked about it in an interview with public radio Kan.

Tibi did not specify with whom negotiations were underway, but said the large turnout for the Joint List, currently with 11 seats according to partial results that are subject to change, has prevented Netanyahu from forming the next government.

“The Joint List wants to assist, to help replace this government, and to pave the way for an alternative government. That is why I say that we are extending a hand to what has been called the ‘change bloc,’ to help establish an alternative government and replace this terrible government,” Tibi told Kan.

“It is reasonable to assume that we will not be an integral part of that [alternative] government. There are various other possible arrangements. We are open to talking and holding a dialogue about how to proceed,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said that his unified bloc “will be prepared to pave the way for ousting the Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich government and sending them home.”

The Joint List is “a decisive force in politics,” he told Israeli media.

“As we promised our voters,” the Joint List will do “everything possible” to send the current members of the Israeli government “packing,” Jabareen stated.

“The choice is between continued racism, exclusion and supremacy, or a genuine Jewish-Arab partnership,” he added.

Balad leader: Oct. 7 an ‘important historic event’

The Joint List is composed of Balad, Ta’al and Hadash, a communist and predominantly Arab party. Ra’am (United Arab List) is led by lawmaker Mansour Abbas, who has been facing accusations that his faction’s ideology is rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

In the lead up to the Oct. 27 general vote, Israel’s Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice overturned the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify all four Arab parties and two of its candidates for parliament.

The decision was made based on the grounds that the criteria for applying Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset are narrowly construed and limited to extreme cases.

The proceedings concerning Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh were dismissed after he announced earlier in October that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the Knesset.

The case against him centered on an Arabic-language article that he published on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel. In the article, he described the attack as “an important historic event militarily, politically and strategically,” and wrote that others could learn from Hamas’s ability to surprise Israel.

Abu Shehadeh has denied supporting the Oct. 7 attack or political violence, saying he opposes armed struggle. He has described the disqualification effort as an attempt to silence him and the Arab community’s political voice.

Other members from the two Arab political blocs have long been accused of negating the Jewish identity of the State of Israel, with some allegedly supporting an armed struggle against the Jewish state.

Ra’am chairman Abbas wrote in an Arabic-language post in August that he is forced to accept a Jewish state because otherwise his party would be barred from participating in elections.

“The Jewishness of the state is an existing situation that was forced upon us, not by us. This is the choice of the Jewish majority, not our demand. The Arab parties were forced to accept this from a practical point of view; otherwise they could be disqualified from running in the elections for the Knesset and local authorities,” Abbas wrote.

The Netanyahu-led government, which has been warning that Ra’am is a hidden threat, pounced on the comments. It has argued that Ra’am professes “acceptance of the other,” but the party is rooted in the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, a Muslim Brotherhood-inspired group, and its goal is to undermine the Jewish State from within.