Politics Tagesschau
Parliamentary election in Israel: What the Arab parties stand for
The Arab parties probably performed better than ever before in Israel's election. Your support could pave the way for the opposition to power. What are their topics, what
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Background parliamentary election in Israel These are the Arab parties that matter now As of: October 28, 2026 • 5:08 p.m
The Arab parties probably performed better than ever before in Israel's election. Your support could pave the way for the opposition to power. What are their topics, what are their goals? An overview.
The Raam Party's orientation is conservative-Islamic, but it is still considered pragmatic. In 2021, it became the first independent Arab party to join an Israeli government coalition. At the time, her participation in the government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was seen as a historic step towards the political integration of the Arab minority, which makes up around 20 percent of the Israeli population. Bennett's coalition ultimately collapsed due to disagreements.
Raam focuses on issues such as combating crime in Arab society and equality for Israeli Arabs. The party caused a surprise even before the election: a Jewish Israeli was in second place on Raam's list.
Segalovitz is trying to prove that Jewish-Arab partnership is not an illusion. more
The three parties Chadash, Taal and Balad joined forces to form a single list for the parliamentary election. The Central Election Committee excluded the alliance from the election in September 2026. The Supreme Court overturned that decision on October 2nd.
The United List is an alliance of three parties with different political trends and ideologies, but largely common goals on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. All three parties are secular. Together they demand equal rights for Israel's Arab population, an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Their differences primarily concern Israel's national identity, economic and social policy, and the willingness to cooperate with Jewish-Israeli parties.
Chadash differs from the other two parties because it acts as a joint political movement of Jews and Arabs. It is a broader left-wing electoral and party alliance.
Taal is closely linked to its founder Ahmed Tibi, an adviser to former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The party is considered pragmatic. Taal calls, among other things, for equal civil rights, better government services, a fairer distribution of public resources and measures to combat the disadvantages faced by Arab communities.
Balad questions the Jewish-Zionist definition of the state of Israel more fundamentally than the other two alliance partners. The party does not reject the existence of the State of Israel, but rather demands that all citizens have equal rights, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation. Arab citizens in Israel should be recognized as a Palestinian national minority and receive corresponding cultural and collective rights.
This topic in the program: tagesschau24 | News | Oct 28, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. Tagesschau24 | News | Oct 27, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. Das Erste | daily topics | Oct 26, 2026 | 10:15 p.m