Arab-Israeli sportscaster joins Knesset race

Arab-Israeli journalist and sports anchor Zouheir Bahloul announced Wednesday he will compete in the upcoming Knesset elections, though he has not yet decided which party he will run with.

Bahloul, who currently hosts a radio show on the Arabic-language network A-Shams, told Channel 2 he is in negotiations with various parties, and is “open to offers and ideas.”

His announcement came hours after Knesset members voted overwhelmingly — in a preliminary vote — in favor of dissolving the current Knesset. Eighty-four MKs supported the measure, to be finalized Monday with second and third hearings.

Party leaders agreed upon March 17, 2015, as the date for the new elections.

Bahloul, a veteran Israeli media personality, is known both for his vivid and enthusiastic broadcasting style and as a voice of moderation and for positive Jewish-Arab coexistence.

“A dangerous, exceptional and nearly unprecedented abyss was created between the Jewish and Arab populations during Operation Protective Edge,” he said Wednesday, adding that the Israel-Hamas war made him realize he must enter politics, not as a critic but rather as a policy creator.

Bahloul got his start in the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, and rose to prominence as one of Israel’s most beloved sportscasters. He also hosted various Arabic-language talk-shows and news programs throughout his career.

Asked whether he is considering joining one the current Arab political parties, Bahloul answered that they, themselves, have not yet decided how they will proceed, referring to their plans for possible unification.

The sportscaster will have a hard time letting go of his previous occupation, though he says he is ready to make the leap.

“To my dying breath, sports will remain the most intriguing woman of my life. But sport is a hobby, and since elections have been announced, I will be standing ready at the starting line,” he said.

“We cannot go on despising each other,” he told Channel 2, saying that by joining the political arena he hopes to “create new dialogue and a new reality.” He expressed his dismay over the tense atmosphere in Israel in recent years, claiming “racist extremists” have gained a grip over Israeli society.

In July, Bahloul stirred controversy after writing an op-ed in the Israeli daily Haaretz headlined “I’m sick of being an Arab here,” in which he claimed he will never be truly accepted into Israeli society due to his nationality.

“Guilt hangs over me as if it were part of my DNA. I’m guilty for the rockets being fired, I’m guilty of being Palestinian, I’m guilty of being Arab, I’m guilty of being successful,” he wrote.