In apparent 1st, Meretz attacks Labor from right over Arab candidate’s remarks

In an apparent first of this election campaign, a Meretz lawmaker takes a swipe at the Labor party, but does so from the right, despite Meretz traditionally being more left-wing than Labor.

In an interview with Channel 13, Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz calls out Labor for including Ibtisam Mara’ana on it’s slate, despite remarks she has made that many criticized as beyond the pale.

The Central Elections Committee voted to bar the No. 7 Labor candidate from running, but that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this week. Much of the controversy surrounding Mara’ana has been centered around a series of online posts, including one from 2012, in which she wrote that she had continued to drive her car as the annual memorial day siren sounded. The majority of drivers in Israel stop during the siren and stand by their vehicle for a moment of silence.

“An Arab citizen should stand during the siren and also sing the anthem. With us [in Meretz] you will not find such characters on our list like you have in the Labor Party,” Horowitz says.

Meretz and Labor are both straddling the electoral threshold in most polls, with many analysts pointing out that there is minimal ideological difference between them.