The low Arab voter turnout on election day is not a new phenomenon. It stood out during the last election on the backdrop of the potential chance to create a bloc that would prevent the right from forming a government.

It’s not the rift among the parties of the Joint List that caused Arab voters to stay away. It’s something else, much deeper than that, and it’s connected to the impact Arab votes have on the lives of Arab citizens of this country.

What do Arabs themselves have to say on the issue? How much do their views correspond with the positions of their representatives in the Knesset? Interesting answers to these questions can be found in a survey commissioned by a website called Local Call (Sicha Mekomit) before the last election, a survey which included Jewish and Arab citizens. Even though the survey’s results illuminate some interesting processes within Arab society, it has remained unnoticed.

Read more at Haaretz.