We’re Israelis, not Zionists, says Meretz MK

Meretz MK Issawi Frej, No. 3 on the Meretz list, says his party is “not a Zionist but an Israeli party. Each person can define themselves as they want.”

Frej is interviewed on Galei Yisrael Radio following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s apology Monday for his comments on Election Day, when he called on Likud voters to go to the ballots because “Arabs are coming in droves to vote.”

Kalman Liebskind, the right wing journalist who interviewed Frej, noted that the Joint [Arab] List had refused to sign a vote-sharing agreement with Meretz because Meretz is a Zionist party.

“They were wrong,” Frej answers, “we are not Zionists but Israelis. Meretz is an Israeli party; each person can define themselves as they want. All these layers of definition are because you want to complicate matters.”