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Controversies

Disqualification and Appeal: MKs and the Arab Vote

• Central Elections Committee Disqualifies Two Arab MKs from Running in Elections
• Rallying Arab Public Opinion
• The U.S. Angle
• Ahmed Tibi and Azmi Bishara Win Supreme Court Appeal on Disqualification
• Knesset Members React to Supreme Court Decision
• Jewish Israelis Wary of Arab Participation in Knesset

Central Elections Committee Disqualifies Two Arab MKs from Running in Elections

Serving as a dramatic background of whether or not the Arab sector would turn out en masse to place their votes on Election Day was the Central Elections Committee’s vote to disqualify the National Democratic Alliance (Ba'lad) List and its head, Knesset member Azmi Bishara as well as Knesset member Ahmed Tibi’s list, Ta'al - the Arab Movement for Renewal. While some Israeli-Arab leaders threatened that their public would not take part in the elections if their parties were nullified, others, like Hadash and the Arab Renewal Movement began intensifying their efforts to encourage the Arab sector for their votes on Election Day, January 28th 2003.

 The Arab sector expressed outrage over the intention of disqualifying the two Arab lists by the Israeli Central Elections Committee, in December 2002.  “I will not speak in terms of confrontation or intifada, but disqualifying me on the background of the tense situation between Jews and Arabs consists of a hard blow against the Arab sector”, said Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, who served once as an advisor to Yasser Arafat. Calling the ruling a "black day" for Israeli democracy, and a “slap in the face of the Arab minority in the state of Israel", Tibi added that he intended to appeal the decision to the High Court of Justice.

The disqualification of the two parties was, according to Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein, based on their rejection of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people and their expression of support for the organizations involved in the armed conflict against Israel.

• Tibi refused to declare unequivocally that he opposes Palestinian terrorism against civilians and the killing of soldiers, a sine qua non for many of the Committee members.
• The disqualification of Arab MK Azmi Bishara and his Ba'lad party from running in the elections race, also took into consideration Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein's recommendation to ban Bishara, who infuriated Israelis in the past by voicing support for the militant pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Attorney General's representative told the Central Elections Committee that the Shin Bet had passed on information indicating that Bishara supported military activity against Israel and opposed the Jewish character of the state. "Ba'lad's political-diplomatic line is support of Hezbollah," she said. "They want to create a state on the ruins of the State of Israel."
• Earlier reports said Rubinstein charged Ba'lad of assuming a mask of legitimacy while in fact denying the right of Israel to exist. He said the party supports the armed struggle of the Palestinians. In documents presented to the committee, Rubinstein wrote that Bishara met in Hebron on September 25, 2000 with the local Hamas leadership, including Abdel Halek Natshe. 'During the meeting,' Rubinstein wrote, 'Bishara told those present that they had to understand that even if he is an MK, he regards his position as nothing more than an instrument to disseminate his views and advance his struggle against Israel.

Bishara criticized Rubinstein in front of the committee, Army Radio reported. He said the Attorney General had made his recommendations for political, rather than legal, considerations.

• Likud MK Michael Eitan, who called for Tibi's disqualification, accused him of supporting terrorism. "Tibi calls the PLO a liberation movement," he said. "But the PLO consists of organizations whose aim is to destroy Israel." Eitan added that Tibi did not hide the fact he supported the current intifada, which is an armed struggle against Israel. "In February 2002," he said, "when we were suffering one attack after another, and [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat didn't lift a finger to stop it, Tibi organized a delegation of Israeli Arabs to visit Arafat's headquarters. They told Arafat he should keep going, that he's the leader, that they are behind him. Two months later, Tibi praised Arafat again, saying he was standing firm against Israeli aggression. What is that, if not support for the armed struggle against Israel?"
• Herut Chairman, MK Michael Kleiner’s reaction to the disqualification of Tibi by the Central Elections Committee: "Tibi is an authentic representative of the enemy and has no place in the Knesset."

Rallying Arab Public Opinion

The events were attended by many Arab public figures, as well as dozens of leaders of Jewish peace and human rights organizations. Many Knesset members also participated, among them Mossi Raz (Meretz), Tamar Gozhansky (Hadash) and nearly all of the Arab MKs. Noticeably absent from the event were Islamic Movement leaders, in particular Sheikh Ra'ad Salah, leader of the movement's northern faction, and MK Abdulmalik Dehamshe (United Arab List), who represents the southern faction in the Knesset. Also absent was Muhammad Kana'ana, leader of the National Sons of the Village movement.

Members of the Balad list, called for Arab citizens of Israel to boycott the January 28 elections if the Supreme Court upheld the CEC's decision.

• "Azmi and Balad are one and the same," said Jamal Zahalka, No. 2 on the Balad list. "Our approach is that even if only Bishara's disqualification is upheld, the entire Balad list won't compete in the elections."
• Shweki Khatib, chairman of the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee said during the Nazareth rally that, "disqualifying the Arab lists and MKs continues policies of hostility toward Arabs in Israel, and damages what is left of Israeli democracy." Khatib called on demonstrators to rally in front of the Supreme Court building in Jerusalem on Tuesday while the High Court reviewed the CEC's decision to disqualify the Arab candidates. Protesters chanted slogans attacking the government and right-wing parties, as well as slogans supporting the intifada and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Leaders from Hadash-Ta'al argued with demonstrators who called on Israeli Arabs to boycott the upcoming elections. The leaders urged followers to cast ballots on January 28, so as to strengthen the Arab parties. They also chided Balad and Bishara for advocating an election boycott should Bishara's disqualification be upheld on Tuesday by the Supreme Court.

• MK Mohammed Barakeh, who heads Hadash-Ta'al, said, "If we boycott the elections, we'll abandon the Knesset to the right."
• "We face a dangerous turning point in relations between the Arab public and the state of Israel," Bishara warned.
• "This is a totally political decision," said Zahalka. "The Israeli right is continuing to try to create political apartheid for Arabs in Israel."

But representatives from Hadash-Ta'al and Balad disagreed on the proper response, if the Supreme Court upheld the CEC decision. Balad members wanted the entire Arab public to threaten to boycott the elections, if the disqualifications were allowed to stand, while Hadash-Ta'al members called for Arabs to vote in any case. Many speakers at the event called for the creation of a Jewish-Arab Supreme Supervisory Committee to lead the public fight against the disqualifications, to include all elected Arab sector leaders, as well as Jewish representatives from left-wing and human rights' organizations.

• The Supreme Supervisory Committee of Arab Israelis, which convenes following any major incident affecting to the Arab minority in the country, expressed its concern by the calls for an election boycott, as was the case in 2001.

The U.S. Angle

The United States intervened in the political uproar over the pending disqualifications of the Arab MKs and said that it wanted to see broad participation in the January 28 elections, implicitly criticizing the CEC's preliminary disqualification of the Arab candidates.

"We're of course interested in broad participation in the political process in Israel, as we are elsewhere," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing. "I'm not commenting on the particular individuals or the parties or the political aspects of this. I'm commenting on the question of the broadest possible participation in the political process," he added. Boucher said the United States was following closely the case of the Israeli Arab politicians. "We'll see what happens as it proceeds to review by the courts," he added.  

Ahmed Tibi and Azmi Bishara Win Supreme Court Appeal on Disqualification

Both Tibi and Bishara appealed the Central Election Committee's decision to Israel’s Supreme Court. On Thursday January 9th, eleven Supreme Court justices overturned the Central Elections Committee's decision to disqualify Arab MKs Ahmed Tibi and Azmi Bishara and Bishara's Balad Party from running in the January 28 elections.   

Bishara: The High Court voted 7-4 to allow Bishara and his party to run for the Knesset. The Court's decision overruled the opinion of Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein, who had told the Central Elections Commission that the Arab MK's overt support of terrorism and his negation of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state must disqualify him from running for the Knesset. Bishara responded to the ruling by stating that Israel's Supreme Court is finally coming to grips with the idea that Israel must be a "state of all its residents," and not necessarily a Jewish state.

Tibi: In contrast to the above decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, one-time advisor to PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, may continue to be Knesset Member. The unanimous ruling overturned the decision of the Election's Committee to disqualify Tibi on the grounds of his support for Arafat's policy favoring terror as a weapon against the State of Israel.

Knesset Members React to Supreme Court Decision

The controversial Supreme Court decisions provoked strong and varied reactions across the political spectrum.

• The chairman of the National Union, MK Avigdor Lieberman, said that the ruling proves that, "the Supreme Court is an arrogant institution which ignores the will of the people. Once again, it is evident that this dictatorial body has no regard for the legislature," he added. Lieberman also called for the immediate establishment of a constitutional court. MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union): "Bishara and his friends can now, without any hindrance, encourage terror and incitement against the State, all with the approval of the judges of the High Court. The National Union will take measures to restrict the authority of the court..."
• Moledet leader Benny Elon said that by deciding to bar Moshe Feiglin from the Likud list, but to allow Bishara and Tibi to run, the High Court had insulted an elected body and a spit in the face of the majority of the public. "The disqualification of Feiglin is a stain on Israeli democracy... Approval of Tibi and Bishara shows contempt for [Israel's] legislators by a political Supreme Court that spits in the face of the majority of the public."
• The head of the National Religious Party's election team, MK Shaul Yahalom, said that the court's decision was a slap in the face of Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, who had recommended that Bishara not be allowed to compete.
  National Religious Party leader MK Effie Eitam: "The Supreme Court has, sadly, made a decision preventing the establishment of an alternative leadership for Israeli-Arabs that could act as a brake on the process of radicalization taking place among them. The decision also shuts out the heart of public opinion in Israel, which in the middle of a war is forced to hear words of praise and encouragement for terror - ironically, by members of the Knesset."
• Herut leader, Michael Kleiner was also highly critical of the decision regarding the Arab candidates and lists. "Bishara and Tibi are enemies of Israel; they support terror and say that it is permissible to spill the blood of Israelis in the territories."
• Tzvi Hendel of the National Union said that "Bishara and his colleagues can now, without any impediment, encourage terror and incitement against Israel, all with the approval of the Supreme Court justices. The National Union will take measures to restrict the authority of the court."
• Meretz's Ran Cohen said that the decision was commendable and proper. He said that allowing extremists into the Knesset was a lesser evil than preventing a candidate from running. "It is better for Bishara and Marzel to argue inside the Knesset than to establish underground and anti-democratic groups," said Cohen.
• Prof. Yuli Tamir, who heads Labor's response team, said that the Supreme Court made an important and fundamental decision to preserve the basic right to vote and stand for election and to uphold the freedom of expression of citizens who hold controversial views. She added that the court had acted according to technical, not ideological, criteria and thereby transcended the political system. It had, she argued, transferred responsibility for safeguarding democracy to the voting public.
• The human rights group Adalah, whose attorneys represented both Bishara and Tibi in court yesterday, welcomes the decision. A spokesman for the organization said that the ruling was one of the most important concerning the status of Israel's Arab citizens and should be seen as a step forward in the foundation of constitutional principles.
  "These decisions suggest that when there is a rational discourse without subjectivity, in contrast to the partisan voting of the CEC, the result will be positive," said a spokesman for the organization.
• Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid said he was happy that the Supreme Court "had ended the embarrassing carnival surrounding requests for disqualifying Knesset candidates." He added that such decisions should be taken away from the CEC and handed over directly to the Supreme Court.
• Ahmed Tibi said that he was extremely pleased with the decision, praising the court for "blocking the anti-democratic avalanche of the right-wing… It is not easy to be an Arab in the state of Israel, especially over the past two years, and especially the last few weeks," he said.
• Added Bishara: "There was no legality whatsoever in the [original CEC] decision." Bishara also accused the right-wing political parties of presenting the original complaints against the Arab candidates in order to get publicity. He called on Rubinstein "to draw personal conclusions" from the court's rejection of Bishara's ban, which Rubinstein had strongly advocated, even submitting material from the Shin Bet security service to bolster the case against him.

Jewish Israelis Wary of Arab Participation in Knesset

Israeli opinion became significantly less sympathetic towards its Arab citizens following wide-spread Israeli Arab participation in violent protests at the beginning of the current intifada uprising.  The particular involvement of Arab Knesset members in those struggles in sympathy with the Palestinian Authority was seen by many as running counter to their mandates as elected members of the Israeli government.  The subsequent actions of Israeli Arabs in terrorist bombings (including the Hebrew University Frank Sinatra Cafeteria bombing) have only increased Jewish Israeli apprehension of Arab involvement in state affairs and security.

A public opinion poll of 1,264 Jewish adults conducted by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University last March [2002], stated that "70 percent of Jewish Israelis object to the presence of Arab Israeli parties in the government, 80 percent of Jewish citizens believe Israel's Arab citizens should not be included in making decisions that are critical to the State, Only 24 percent of Jewish Israelis think Arab Israelis are loyal to the State."