The surge in popularity enjoyed recently by Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) is causing some concern for several Arab Members of Knesset. MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am Ta'al) prepared Thursday for the possibility of a powerful Yisrael Beiteinu by calling on the international community to boycott Israel if Yisrael Beiteinu is included in the next government.
If Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Lieberman sits in the next government, Israel must be boycotted, Tibi told foreign diplomats. “I expect you to boycott any Israeli government that includes the fascist Lieberman just as you boycotted Austria when Jorg Haider was in its government,” he said.
In a meeting at the Mossawa Center in Tel Aviv, Tibi and other Arab MKs told the diplomats that they expected a high voter turnout among Arab Israelis. “The Arab voters will avenge the massacre in Gaza,” Tibi explained, referring to the recent Cast Lead operation.
MK Ibraham Sarsur (Ra'am Ta'al) agreed with Tibi, predicting that Arab support for Jewish-led parties would drop by more than 75 percent.
Recent polls have showed a drop in Arab support for mainstream Israeli parties, including Kadima, Labor and Likud. Polls also show a significant drop in the percent of Israeli Arabs expected to vote.
Mossawa director Jafar Farah said fewer Israeli Arabs would vote in the upcoming elections than have voted in the past due to a “deepening chasm” between Arabs and mainstream Israeli parties. He echoed Tibi and Sarsur in saying that much of the alienation was due to the Cast Lead operation.