Two million people, give or take, carry Hebrew documents that include everything from their birth certificate to their death certificate, and from the gray ID card to the Israeli passport, in their pockets.
Alarmingly, we are currently witnessing a spike in the murder rate in Palestinian communities in Israel, who are subjugated on the basis of their ethnicity, with their existence, let alone equality, rejected.
As Israelis protest in the name of democracy and judicial integrity, their movement does not address the question of equality. If it does, it does not do so at a broad enough scale to entice large numbers of Palestinians to take part and enthusiastically adopt the movement, its flags, and its slogans.
The Palestinians’ apprehensions are grounded on communal grievances against the inequalities they are subjected to. This injustice has given rise to phenomena that should concern Israel’s state and society. Indeed, the rising murder rate in Palestinian communities has left the Palestinians certain that, if the state is not implicated in planning and carrying out these killings, it is at least blatantly neglecting its responsibility to address them, although it is more than capable of solving the problem. The wave of murders would have died out before rising to these figures if Israel had made a genuine attempt to do so.
And if the ongoing crime wave wreaking havoc on Palestinian communities in Israel is nothing but a symptom of something deeper, then Israeli politicians, especially those with influence, have done more than just neglect this terrifying development. Some systematically fuel Palestinians’ sense of persecution, and this is not a question of laxity and carelessness in dealing with the killings.
Most recently, Finance Minister Smotrich decided to deduct some of the money that had been allocated for Arab local councils and transfer some of it to support extremist Jewish recipients. The illogical pretext that the Minister of Finance used to justify his decision is that the councils’ budgets go to organized crime groups, “mafias”!
Even if it is walked back on, this kind of decision, given how racist and immoral it is, it is bound to engender negative ramifications and resentments, even among the Palestinians who had thought they were privileged by the state, like the Druze.
The Palestinians in Israel - despite the systematic discrimination and “mafioso” incitement against them led by Israeli ministers - are a real force in Israeli society, professionally and economically. They are not a burden on the state; unlike the Haredim, they do not take without giving back.
In every sector of Israel: medicine, education, industry, agriculture, sports and art, you find capable, productive, determined and distinguished Palestinians.
Nonetheless, one matter we should turn our attention to is the problems plaguing the political class that represents Palestinian society in Israel: They are sick with the virus of division that has infected their kin in the West Bank and Gaza, costing them many real opportunities to make progress in their arduous struggle for justice and equality.
Indeed, they could wield far greater influence and make use of their share of the electorate more effectively, given the number of Palestinians in Israel, especially in the institution that wields the most influence on Israeli policy and decisions, the Knesset.
When the two opposite sides in Israel occupied equal numbers of seats, the Palestinians were kingmakers without whom no government could be formed. This happened for a brief period, but we then saw a retreat. Polls show the sides of the Zionist divide to be neck and neck, giving Palestinian representation in the Knesset back the status they had lost.
With the two sides tied, the Palestinians can become kingmakers once again, which would potentially allow Palestinian MPs to play a significant role in political life and better serve their communities in Israel, or at the very least create a bulwark against legislation and decisions that undermine Palestinians’ rights and interests.
The political class, especially those competing for the largest number of Knesset seats, must find a way to unite. Unity is now the only missing piece.
