BICOM

Twenty-one per cent of Israel’s citizens are Arab-Palestinians. Since 2015 the leader of the Joint List – an alliance of four Israeli political parties representing this national minority – has been Ayman Odeh. A political visionary who is fond of quoting Martin Luther King Jr, Odeh argues in this interview with BICOM Director of Research Calev Ben-Dor for a new politics of change in Israel. “Were the government to pursue peace, democracy, and social justice, and treat the country’s Arab citizens as legitimate members of political life” he told Fathom, “the Arab sector will ‘come outin droves’ to build a fair and equal country that works for the benefit of all of its citizens, as happened in Rabin’s time”. The interview was conducted before the recent crisis at the Al Aqsa mosque.

Calev Ben-Dor: What is your vision for the future of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel?

Ayman Odeh: That there should be peace based on two states along the 1967 borders with very good relations between them, and that following the establishment of a Palestinian state there should be peace between Israel and all the Arab states.

Within Israel, my vision is of a civic, democratic, state driven by equality and social justice, and in which the reality that there is more than one people and culture in this land will be seen as an advantage rather than a hindrance.

CB-D: Some would say that being the leader of the Joint List is one of the hardest jobs in Israeli politics. What are the biggest barriers you face in trying to realise your goals?

AO: Firstly, it is difficult to be an Arab Palestinian in Israel. By that I mean that you were a majority before 1948, and were subsequently turned into a minority against your will. In 1967 the State of Israel conquered the other part of your people. So in addition to being indigenous and constituting a national minority suffering from systematic and systemic discrimination, you are also part of a people which is under occupation. This very difficult situation provides the context for the challenges inherent in being a representative of the Joint List and in being its leader. Moreover, it is also challenging to build trust and hope for our public – 80 per cent of whom voted for us – while being faced with the extreme right-wing government that our community view as constantly inciting against us.

Read the full interview in Fathom.