Eisenkot: Netanyahu's campaign against Arabs is 'racism'

As the coalition partners unexpectedly throw the Arab parties into the midst of Israel's political game, Prime Minister Gadi Eisenkot has accused interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of inciting what he called "racism" aimed at legitimizing the marginalized Arab population by tying their elected representatives to Hamas.

Mr. Eisenkot's intervention appeared to be rare as a senior figure in Jewish politics issued a strong public defense of Arab Israelis, who make up more than 20% of the population.

On the other hand, last month's elections saw the largest Arab parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, win 19 combined seats – nearly one-sixth of the 120-seat parliament – positioning them as potential kingsmakers as Mr. Eisenkot attempts to unite a governing coalition.

“Arab citizens of Israel are an important part of Israel's story,” Mr. Eisenkot wrote on X.

“They have faced a campaign of racism and injustice aimed at legitimizing Israel, fueled by the outgoing prime minister and those around him for political purposes,” he added.

“The attempt to marginalize and collectively vilify is a deep violation of the principles of civil responsibility.”

Mr. Netanyahu and his allies have consistently attacked the leaders of the Arab parties for refusing to label Hamas as a “terrorist group” following the unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, on Israel.

The leaders of the Arab parties have condemned the attack. Those killed included Arab Israelis – who descended from Palestinians who remained in what became Israel in 1948.

Mr. Netanyahu has also repeatedly stated that the Arab parties in the majority committed election fraud, but the electoral bodies have rejected the claim.

In a speech he delivered this week, Mr. Netanyahu said that the two Arab lists refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, although the leader of Ra'am, Mansour Abbas, did so earlier.

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He also stated that their aim is to create an “Islamic state” or a “sovereign Palestinian state.”

In a similar event, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir shouted at the leader of the ‘Joint List’ coalition, Youssef Jabareen, while he was taking the oath, accusing him of “pledging loyalty to Hamas.”

“It is entirely legitimate to have differing opinions among representatives of the Arab parties, even to strongly oppose some of them. But it is neither legitimate nor acceptable to insult an entire community, and we will not allow that,” said Mr. Eisenkot.

President Isaac Herzog assigned Mr. Eisenkot on Sunday to form a new government, after consultations in which the majority of political parties — including the two Arab lists — recommended that he be given this role.

However, the road ahead is still fraught with many challenges. One of Mr. Eisenkot's allies on the right side of the political spectrum, Avigdor Liberman, has warned that he will withdraw from any coalition that includes Arab Israelis.

Mr. Eisenkot has a period of 28 days to form a government, during which he can also request an extension of 14 days.

If he fails to form a coalition, the task of forming the government will be passed to another politician, likely to be Mr. Netanyahu.