election boycott

Mansour Abbas, Ayman Odeh, and Ahmad Tibi (left to right) join hands at the announcement of the return of the Joint List. (Photo courtesy of the Joint List)

Is the reunited Joint List enough to bring back Palestinian election boycotters?

Palestinian voters in Israel who previously called for an election boycott say they are willing to give the joint slate of Arab parties another chance. ‘Local Palestinian leadership is all we have now.’ The immense pressure that the Palestinian Arab community in Israel applied on the Arab parties to unite has borne fruit: they will run as…

By Samah Salaime August 13, 2019

Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish supporters protest against the Jewish Nation-State Law in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, August 11, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Palestinian citizens of Israel debate an election boycott

After four years of one of the most hostile governments for Palestinians in Israel, Arab citizens are debating whether participating in or boycotting the upcoming Knesset elections is the best way to advance their struggle. By Henriette Chacar and Edo Konrad Frustrated with the breakdown of internal Arab party politics, and beset by an endless stream of attacks by politicians…

By +972 Magazine April 7, 2019

Introducing ‘The +972 Podcast’

In our first episode, MK Aida Touma-Sliman discusses why she thinks an election boycott is the wrong way to fight for Palestinian rights in Israel. In the second episode, Ethiopian-Israeli activist Mazal Bisawer talks about why Israelis have such hard time seeing anti-black racism in their society. Where to subscribe: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play…

By +972 Magazine March 20, 2019

Latest

Palestinian youth hold a Palestinian flag outside the Aqsa Mosque in the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound, East Jerusalem. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

‘This is how you change the status quo’: Rethinking the Palestinian boycott of Jerusalem elections

Aziz Abu Sarah withdrew his historic bid for Jerusalem mayor after Israeli and Palestinian pressures, but he hopes his short campaign ‘provokes’ new ideas on how to build stronger, younger Palestinian political activism in the city. Less than a month after declaring his candidacy to become the first Palestinian mayor of Jerusalem, Aziz Abu Sarah…

By Amjad Iraqi September 28, 2018

A Palestinian woman sits on rubble of a structure after it was razed by the Israeli army and Civil Administration in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, on the outskirts of the West Bank, November 24, 2011. (Issam Rimawi/FLASH90)

East Jerusalem Palestinians are ready to take back their city

After 51 years of boycotting the municipal elections, the Palestinians of East Jerusalem are tired of waiting and want a new way forward. Now activists are re-thinking the best strategy to reassert their power. By Meron Rapoport One need not be an expert on Jerusalem to recognize that only few Palestinians will participate in the upcoming…

By +972 Magazine June 14, 2018

Israelis march during a protest calling for social justice, Hatikva neighborhood, south Tel Aviv, June 14, 2012. (photo: Activestills.org)

Israeli Black Panther: Mizrahim must boycott the elections

Since its establishment and until today, not a single election has fundamentally changed the status of Mizrahim in the ‘only democracy in the Middle East.’ Now we must use the only tool we have left at our disposal and refuse to participate in the game altogether. By Reuven Abergel For Palestinian citizens of Israel, the upcoming…

By Haokets February 20, 2015

Raam-Taal MK Ahmad Tibi (L) and Balad MK Jamal Zahalka (Photo by Activestills.org)

+972 poll: Joint Arab list would raise voter participation

The three Arab lists in the Knesset are expected to run together in response to a raised election threshold. Asked about self-identity, the majority consider themselves Arab, but a growing and significant minority call themselves Palestinian. Nearly 70 percent of Arabs citizens of Israel intend to vote if the three existing Arab parties run on…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 24, 2014