The Arab Balad party's election video is an animated clip showing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and several nationalist MKs singing Hatikva in to a Middle Eastern tune.
In the clip, Lieberman explains that he was the one who proposed a law requiring citizens to pledge allegiance to the state of Israel in order to be eligible for an ID card. He then announces that he has now become convinced that the tune of Hatikva – Israel's national anthem – should be changed so that Arabs feel comfortable singing it as well.
The well-executed clip follows, with MKs Aryeh Eldad, Danny Danon, Ofir Akunis and Michael Ben-Ari "singing" accompanying Lieberman singing Hatikva.
It ends with a narrator asking: "Did you laugh? But the situation is not funny. Who can prevent these laws? Vote Balad."
Some Arabs have complained that they cannot identify with the anthem, which appeals to the "Jewish heart" and "an eye watching Zion," as well as "the 2,000-year-old hope, to be a free nation in our country – the Land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Balad's founder, Azmi Bishara, escaped Israel after a Shin Bet investigation found that he had assisted Hizbullah in selecting targets to bomb during the Second Lebanon War. Current Balad MK Hanin Zoabi has been disqualified from running for the 19th Knesset, but the High Court may overturn the disqualification.