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Arab vote

An electoral billboard for Ra'am, with its leader Mansour Abbas and candidate Waleed Taha, is displayed in the predominantly Arab city of Kafr Qasim in central Israel on October 19, 2026. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP)
October 21, 2026, 5:58 pm
Turnout among Israel’s Arab voters could make or break hopes to unseat Netanyahu
Pollsters expect 63% Arab turnout, up 7% from 2022; with opposition bloc largely against Arab parties joining coalition, community leaders hope they can still wield influence
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Israelis cast their vote at a voting station in Tayibe, during the Knesset election on November 1, 2022. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
October 18, 2026, 10:24 am
Desperate for change, Israel’s Arab minority sees election as existential
Disturbed by policies of right-wing government and its extremist ministers, many say they will vote for the first time on October 27 to defeat perceived growing threat
By Hiba Aslan
A man walks by an election campaign billboard showing Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the nationalist Balad party, in the northern Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm, October 21, 2022. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)
November 7, 2022, 5:07 am
Balad’s solo run showed what may be possible, but it came up fatally short this time
Turnout was still down from the Joint List unity years, but the results of the election suggest that staying together for the votes may no longer be necessary for Arab parties
By Jack Mukand
Illustrative: An Arab Israeli woman casts her vote at a polling station in the coastal city of Haifa, on March 17, 2015. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)
October 30, 2022, 7:21 pm
Elections panel rejects Likud attempt to shut down Arab voter mobilization groups
Central Elections Committee chief Isaac Amit rules that party must pay damages to two organizations – Standing Together and Zazim – after petition struck down
By Jack Mukand
Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu appears in a campaign aid targeting Israel's Arab citizens on September 4, 2022. The message in Arabic reads "Come let's make an amazing story come true together" (Screen capture/Twitter)
October 27, 2022, 4:19 pm
Campaigning among Arabs, Netanyahu may be trying to pare down votes, not win them
Analysts say Likud’s outreach to Arabs is aimed at calming fears and keeping turnout low, after several previous elections saw scare campaigns backfire and bring out the voters
By Jack Mukand
Prime Minister Yair Lapid leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 4, 2022 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 27, 2022, 6:36 am
Lapid’s near-impossible task: Why victory may not be in the cards
The prime minister’s campaign is beset on all sides by political paradoxes. For a start, how does he grow his party without cannibalizing his allies?
By Haviv Rettig Gur
Illustrative: The ruins of Beit Shean, ancient Scythopolis (Yossi Zamir/Flash 90)
October 25, 2022, 1:36 pm
Daily Briefing Oct. 25: Push for Arab vote; archaeology meets science in research
Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn discusses efforts by Gantz and Lapid before election day; deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan discusses complex archaeomagnetic research
By ToI Staff
An Arab Israeli woman votes in Israel's parliamentary elections on April 9, 2019, at a school turned polling station in the northern town of Taybe. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
September 18, 2019, 5:17 pm
Arab turnout rises to 60% after reaching an all-time low in April
Voter suppression efforts and warnings about Arabs flocking to the polls appear to have backfired, driving higher voter participation
By ToI Staff
Chairman of the Joint list party, Ayman Odeh, at the plenary session of the opening day of the winter session at the Knesset, October 15, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
February 23, 2019, 4:42 am
As Joint List splits, Israel’s Arab voters have more choices, less power
Political infighting fractures alliance ahead of elections, raising possibility minority will lose clout in Knesset
By Sam Sokol
Illustrative: a knife (YouTube screenshot)
March 9, 2015, 4:36 am
Shas’s Arab outreach coordinator stabbed in Arab village
Michael Illouz lightly hurt in attack; police suspect local resident, but motive still under investigation
By ToI Staff
MK Meir Sheetrit (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
August 8, 2013, 12:40 pm
Hatnua demands that electoral threshold rise be gradual
Party’s call for a two-stage hike, to 3% and then 4% across separate elections, pits it against larger coalition partners
By Haviv Rettig Gur
Balad Member of Knesset Jamal Zahalke gesticulates while addressing the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, July 31, 2013. (Credit: Flash90)
August 1, 2013, 5:30 pm
For Arab voters, a boon in disguise
Why a government plan to increase the electoral threshold, blasted as ‘racist’ by Arab parties, might be the best news Israel’s Arab citizens have heard in a long time
By Haviv Rettig Gur
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