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CHAPTER 6 The Political Behavior of the Arabs in Israel in the 1992 Elections: Integration versus Segregation MAJID AL-HAJ University of Haifa I. Parliamentary Elections and Political Marginalization Prior to the first Knesset elections in 1949, Israeli policy makers had a dispute regarding the granting of Arab citizens the right to vote (Benziman and Mansour 1992, 201). Palmon, the prime minister's advisor for Arab affairs at that time, argued that granting Arabs the right to vote would serve as a catalyst driving them to question the Jewish character of Israel. Palmon's stand was not accepted. Eventually those who supported the voting rights ofArabs gained the upper hand. The participation of Arabs in these elections was massive, and some 79 percent ofthem cast their ballots. Yet, the participation of Arabs in the political system was passive, and their share in the national power center was marginal. The circumstances that prevailed at the beginning of Israeli statehood facilitated political control of the Arab population. As a result of the 1948 war the Palestinian Arabs who remained in Israel became a small, vulnerable minority constituting only 13.5 percent of the total population (Al-Haj and Rosenfeld 1989, 206). Nearly all of the Palestinian Arab middle and upper classes--the urban landowning, mercantile , professional, and religious elite-were no longer present in Israel. The vast majority ofArabs in Israel were then placed under military government, which restricted their movement. The military apparatus was used to control the Arab population. For this purpose the traditional clan-hamula-Ieadership was revived. The goal behind it was to gain control over the entire population via a few key people, while simultaneously preserving internal divisions 141 > Home | TOC | Index 142 Al-Ha} 100.------------------------------------------------. 80 .......... 60 40 20 O~~~~~~~~~~~~LU~~~~LL~~~_u~_L=u 1949 1951 1955 1959 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1984 1988 1992 Figure 6.1. TIle Turnout among the Arab Population in Israel over Time, 1949-1992, in percentages among Arabs so as to counteract the formation of a collective national identity (Al-Haj and Rosenfeld 1989, 207; Lustick 1980). At the national level the partisan participation among Arabs was very minor. It is true that Arab citizens were not eager to join existing parties and to enter nationwide politics (Landau 1969). Nevertheless, the main reason for this trend was the lack of a political organization that could have appealed to Arab citizens. Arabs were not accepted members in the Zionist parties except Mapam, nor could they identify with the basic ideology of these parties (Nakhleh 1975; Landau 1969). Arab affiliated lists were one of the most efficient insu'uments of channelling Arab votes, in particular until the late 1960s (Landau 1969; Abu-Gosh 1972). These affiliated lists were initiated and backed by Zionist parties, mainly the Labor Party, which was the principal force in the Israeli establishment until 1977 (Shokeid 1982, 122). The object of these lists was not the political mobilization of the Arab populations but rather the "catching" of Arab votes through traditional means of persuasion (Landau 1969). The structure of the Arab affiliated lists was tailored to fit the deep social territorialization of the Arab population and the traditional character (Nakhlch 1975). > Home | TOC | Index The Political Behavior of the Arabs in Israel in the 1992 Elections 143 These lists claimed the representation of several factions of the Arab population. Their candidates were carefully selected in order to encompass the main divisions among the Arab citizens: geographic region, religious group, prominent hamulas, and large Arab localities (Landau 1969; Lustick 1980). Until the seventh Knesset elections (1969) the Arah affiliated lists were the major political framework among the Arah minority. During that period their power ranged between 30 and 50 percent of the Arab votes. Since the early 1970s the Arab affiliated lists have decreased in power. In the tenth Knesset elections (1981) they did very poorly, and none of them were dected to the Knesset (Al-H~ and Yaniv 1983). Since then the Arab affiliated lists have disappeared from the national political arena. n. From Passive to Active Participation The vanishing of the Arab lists is both an outcome and reflection of the political transition thal has occurred among the Arabs in Israd: from passive to active participation. The abolishment of the military government and the growing accessibility of the Jewish population have facilitated the cont-,ct between Arabs and theJewish center. The increasing levd of education and the growing number of young Arabs have increased...

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