At rush hour in Nazareth, the largest Arab-majority city in Israel, students are handing out leaflets by the roadside urging motorists to vote in next week's closely fought, general election.
asserted
students → hand → election
Polls indicate that Arab parties could be left holding a critical balance of power.
uncertain
parties → indicate → power
Disaffection has often driven down past turnout among Arab Israelis - who account for about a fifth of the population and often describe themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel.
asserted
who → drive → Israel
"I see it as our duty to bring down this extremist government.
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I → see → government
They treat us as second-class," says Arkan Badran, 23, who is with the students giving out flyers.
asserted
who → treat → flyers
"I call on all young men and women to vote for Arab lists, which represent us, because this is our future."
asserted
this → call → us
Most opinion polls indicate that neither Netanyahu and his partners nor the main "Change Bloc", led by centre-right former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, has a clear path to a parliamentary majority.
asserted
Netanyahu → indicate → majority
If they are right, after the election anti-Netanyahu parties wanting to form a governing coalition would either have to go back on pledges not to work with the prime minister or make a deal with Arab-majority lists.
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parties → want → lists
A major sticking point is that Eisenkot has so far ruled out forming a government with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values.
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Eisenkot → rule → values
Israel's politics and society have been changed by the deadly, unprecedented Hamas-led assault on the country on 7 October 2023, and subsequent war in Gaza.
asserted
politics → change → Gaza
"After October 7, we were treated as enemies of this country," says Suha Salman Mousa of the Mossawa Centre in Nazareth, which advocates for equal rights for Arab citizens.
asserted
which → treat → citizens
There were major arrests, there was also firing of people from their workplaces because they put something on social media or they went out against the war on Gaza."
asserted
they → be → Gaza
Salman Mousa accuses ministers of "systematic discrimination and incitement" against Arab Israelis.
asserted
Mousa → accuse → Israelis
Civil society groups say they have disproportionately cut budgets for Arab communities.
asserted
they → say → communities
The government says reductions are needed to fund wartime defence and security spending.
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reductions → say → spending
Some electioneering has sought to capitalise by deepening social divisions.
asserted
electioneering → seek → divisions
The far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has vowed to "Judaise" parts of the northern Galilee and southern Negev regions where most Arabs live, likening this to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
asserted
Arabs → vow → Bank
The majority of Arab Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who remained within what became Israel during the war that surrounded the creation of the state in 1948, when hundreds of thousands were forced from or fled their homes.
asserted
thousands → remain → homes
Israel's current government often frames them as a threat to the state's Jewish identity.
asserted
government → frame → identity
Recently, the prime minister has claimed that his rivals plan to team up with Arabs and form a "dangerous government".
asserted
rivals → claim → government
To make this point, his campaign has put up billboards, including one at a road junction at the main entrance to Nazareth.
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campaign → make → Nazareth
They suggest a choice between: "Right or Palestine" - with pictures of main opposition figures, including right-wingers, depicted as representing the latter not the former.
asserted
They → suggest → latter
The Netanyahu campaign has also used AI-generated videos to present his opponents embracing Arab leaders.
asserted
campaign → use → leaders
At Radio Nas, a popular Arabic-language station in Nazareth, I meet news anchor Mohammed Magadli, who is also an analyst for Israel's Channel 12.
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who → meet → Channel
His father, Raleb Magadli, served as Israel's first Muslim minister between 2007 and 2009, representing the Labour party.
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father → serve → party
I ask the younger Magadli what he makes of Change Bloc leaders refusing to join forces with Arab parties.
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leaders → ask → parties
But if we're trying to explain why, it's because of the political interests of Benjamin Netanyahu," he says.
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he → try → Netanyahu
"He's trying all the time to pull the legitimacy of the Arab parties - because they're Arab, because they're Palestinian.
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they → try → parties
This is affecting the majority of the Jewish parties in Israel.
asserted
This → affect → Israel
"
Polls this week have suggested that both Eisenkot's bloc and Netanyahu's religious-nationalist bloc could each win around 50 seats of the 120 in Israel's parliament while 13 or 14 seats in total could go to Arab-majority groupings.
uncertain
seats → suggest → groupings
These are the Joint Arab List, a coalition of Hadash, Balad and Taal, and the smaller United Arab List, an Islamist party headed by politician Mansour Abbas.
asserted
These → head → Abbas
While Abbas's party was originally created as part of the Islamic Movement in Israel - which has socially conservative values - he has become known for joining with Jewish partners.
asserted
he → create → partners
He prioritises solving the problems of Arab Israelis and speaks relatively little of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
asserted
He → prioritise → Bank
Abbas has had a taste of power.
asserted
Abbas → have → power
In 2021, he became a minister in a previous, short-lived Israeli government led by Naftali Bennett - now a right-wing member of Eisenkot's bloc.
asserted
he → become → bloc
For this election, he has taken the surprise step of giving the number two position on his slate to a Jewish former police official and centrist member of parliament, Yoav Segalovitz.
asserted
he → take → parliament
Abbas believes Eisenkot and others will be more open to an alliance with his party after the election and insists he wants to join the next government.
asserted
he → believe → government
"We've reached the conclusion that parliamentary representation is not enough to serve Arab society.
asserted
representation → reach → society
We decided to take responsibility, to become part of the solution to our problems and to offer hope to both Arabs and Jews," he tells me.
asserted
he → decide → me
"That's why our approach has been driven by a desire to reach a position of influence, not merely representation."
asserted
approach → drive → influence
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
