Head of the Joint List party Ayman Odeh. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For the elections in 2015, the four Arab-Israeli parties united in a coalition called the Joint List and became Israel\u2019s third largest party, as well as a symbol of opposition to the right-wing government. Netanyahu\u2019s fears of Arab political power culminated in an infamous Election Day video warning of \u201cArabs streaming in droves to the ballot box\u201d (where, as citizens, they have the right to vote).<\/p>\n
Despite its size during the last term, the Joint List could not block legislation that it hated, including the Nation-State Law, which defined Israel as a Jewish state and reserved the right of national self-determination in Israel to Jews.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the April elections, it split, with the four parties running as two competing factions. The schism was the result of political infighting and led to a collective loss of representation, from 13 total seats to just 10.<\/p>\n
Now the Joint List is back and hoping to regain its 2015 numbers. But it\u2019s unclear if that will happen. Right now, it\u2019s polling around 10 or 11 seats.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s Likud is also paying attention to the Arab vote. During the April election, Likud sent private citizen observers with hidden cameras to film Arab polling places. Likud said the cameras were meant to ensure election security, but critics said they were aimed at intimidating voters and depressing the Arab turnout.<\/p>\n
For this vote, the Central Elections Committee banned cameras in polling stations, prompting Netanyahu to accuse his opponents of trying to \u201csteal the election.\u201d A Likud-sponsored bill to allow the cameras has stalled.<\/p>\n
It may not make much difference anyway. Parties across the political spectrum have long refused to join coalitions with Arab-Israeli political parties. Politicians usually frame this refusal around the Arab-Israeli parties\u2019 opposition to Zionism and Israel\u2019s Jewish character, which are fundamental to the platforms of the major Jewish parties. Arab-Israeli parties have never been part of an Israeli government.<\/p>\n
Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List and currently of Hadash, wrote in a New York Times op-ed in March that the time has come for Israel\u2019s left to include Arab-Israeli parties in the coalition.
But it\u2019s almost certain that that plea will go unheard. Netanyahu\u2019s main opponents, Blue and White, are centrists who, if anything, lean to the right. And they have already vowed not to partner with Arab-Israeli parties. <\/p>\n
The rise of fake news in Israel<\/em><\/strong>For example, after Avigdor Liberman resigned as defense minister in November, a Twitter account later deemed to be dubious began sending Israeli journalists links to news stories accusing him of being a Russian spy. They were fake.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry was aware of the possibility of the spread of fake news even earlier than Liberman\u2019s resignation. In November, it warned journalists that people or countries with bad intentions were trying to spread fake news.<\/p>\n
Less than two weeks after new elections were called, the head of the Israel Security Agency, the Shin Bet, went public with the news that a foreign country intends to intervene in the elections. Nadav Argaman said he could not name the country, and it was not clear exactly what its political interests were in the elections. But, he said, \u201cIt will meddle \u2013 and I know what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the Central Elections Committee chairman, Supreme Court Justice Hanan Melcer, announced a ban on anonymous election ads in all media, including social media. It went into effect on March 1.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Academy of Hebrew Language has called on Israelis to say \u201chadashot kazav,\u201d which literally translates to \u201clying news,\u201d as opposed to the English phrase \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n
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