Israel/Palestine

The events of the past few days are not just about politics, however. They reveal a deeper question about Israeli society, and about the State of Israel since its founding: are Palestinian citizens part of the Israeli political community — its “demos” — or is the Israeli polity made up only of one national group, Jews? Is Israel really an ethnocracy, an ethnically-Jewish regime, while Palestinians are simply excess baggage who have no place in the country’s politics?

Much has been written on these questions, but one fact is hard to dispute: with the exception of the Yitzhak Rabin government in 1992, Palestinian parties have never been part of the governing coalition. The depth of opposition to Palestinian presence in government is illustrated by the fact that Blue and White felt compelled to announce it would not rely on the Joint List, following Netanyahu’s succinct — and accurate — slogan about Gantz not being able to form a government without Ahmad Tibi.

Nonetheless, we are dealing with a different situation here. The Palestinian public’s newfound political clout, expressed through the Joint List’s success, is starting to change the rules of the game, perhaps faster than we can imagine. If the law that would bring down Netanyahu’s government passes with the votes of Blue and White and Liberman on the one hand, and the Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance and the Joint List on the other, it could be the first step toward a new political horizon.