As Israel approaches an April 9 general election, Benjamin Netanyahu is again resorting to right-wing populism that critics say amounts to the demonisation of Arab Israelis and others to appeal to his support base.
that critics say amounts to the demonisation of Arab Israelis and others to appeal to his support base.
“What you’re probably going to see is him exacerbating the polarisation—us versus them,” said Reuven Hazan, political science professor at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.On election day in 2015, Netanyahu infamously warned that Arab voters were going to the polls “in droves” — and, according to state investigators, made sure a news website featured the video.
Israeli Arabs, the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land following the creation of Israel, account for some 17.5% of the country’s population.Sawsan Zaher, deputy director general of Adalah, a legal centre for Israel’s Arab minority, said the rhetoric amounted to “not only racism, but even intentional racism”.Some analysts say they see Netanyahu’s rhetoric less as expressions of his true beliefs than as bare-knuckled politics.
The agreement drew widespread disgust, but Netanyahu defended it by saying he needed to ensure no right-wing votes go to waste as he eyes his next coalition. Recent opinion polls show Gantz’s Blue and White slightly ahead, though far short of an outright majority. He has also highlighted his bond with Trump as part of his efforts to portray himself as Israel’s irreplaceable statesman.But his comments on a law passed last year declaring Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people have been among his most divisive.
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