| |
|
INDEX TO PRIMER
The Candidates
Political Blocs & Parties
Campaign Issues
The Electoral System
System of Government
Former PMs
Israel's Political History
Link Center
 |
 |
The candidacy is the messageBy DAVID RUDGE (MK Azmi Bishara is under no illusions that he has any chance of becoming prime minister. He is tells DAVID RUDGE he is running because 'I want young Arabs to know that they are full citizens and to be proud of that and not be ashamed of the fact they are Arabs.' ) MK Azmi Bishara, the first Israeli Arab ever to stand as a candidate for prime minister, sees himself as a flag-bearer for the country's nearly one million non-Jewish population. He readily admits that he has no chance of being elected, but insists that his candidacy for the top political post is not a gimmick, an ego trip nor merely an attempt to boost the electoral prospects of his National Democratic Assembly (Balad) party. It is, in his opinion, the right thing to do and, more importantly, to be seen to be done, despite the welter of criticism his decision to run for the premiership has engendered from other Arab politicians and parties. Rather than further splitting the already diversified Arab vote, Bishara believes that his candidacy will act as a rallying point and, ultimately, lead to more Arab representation in the Knesset. Furthermore, he insists that his decision to participate in the direct elections will not effect the outcome of what he believes will be a straight race in the second round between incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and One Israel leader MK Ehud Barak. Bishara maintains that he has no intention of dropping out of the contest before May 17, despite pressure from Arab-orientated parties who contend that votes for Bishara would be wasted and would reduce the chances of ousting Netanyahu. "The (direct elections) cannot be determined in the first round, whether an Arab runs or not, now that it has became clear that (Center Party candidate) MK Yitzhak Mordechai will not pull out," said Bishara. "The question therefore about whether I will run in the first round is superfluous. The first round will be between five candidates, although neither myself, (United National Party candidate) MK Benny Begin, nor, I think, Mordechai, will get into the second round." Bishara was asked whether he would reconsider his candidacy if Mordechai were to drop out. "I don't think so. I would probably reexamine the situation, but I don't think it would affect my decision because the reasons that drove me to stand is not the fact that Mordechai is running, but that the Arab minority in Israel needs representation," he replied. But why does Bishara even bother to run given his own admission that he stands no chance of winning? "I am standing for certain political positions, including the interests of the Arab minority, that are not represented by any of the other candidates," he said. "I am talking about the civil and political rights of the Arabs; the severe problems of the Arab sector that have not been addressed, let alone solved, in the past five decades; the fact that there are no Arabs in the decision- making process concerning the Arab population itself; the fact that there is almost no Arab involvement in the administration of Arab education; the fact that Arab academics are still not employed in many companies, especially in government institutions; the fact that there are scores of Arab villages in the country that are not recognized by the government and thousands of people are not getting services; the fact that Biram and Ikrit villagers cannot return despite many decisions to let them back. There are many issues that should be addressed but are not, and we cannot rely on Barak, Netanyahu or Mordechai to raise them. "There is also the political issue. Benny Begin does not see Netanyahu as representing his political position. In the same way, I don't see Barak representing our (Arab) political position. On the contrary, I think the space to the right of Netanyahu, which is represented by Benny Begin, is much narrower than the space to the left of Barak, and this space should be represented politically." BISHARA maintains that his decision to run for the premiership has already helped highlight the problems of the Israeli Arab sector in a manner not hitherto seen. "By standing as a candidate you reach the center of the Israeli political map and you raise things there. You are also making a declaration that you are a full citizen and you are taking this seriously. "I want young Arabs to know that they are full citizens and to be proud of that and not be ashamed of the fact they are Arabs and not sit on the margin of Israeli politics and be satisfied with that. It is a message to them that they have equal rights, while sending a similar message to young Jews that should also be taken seriously. "Since I announced my candidacy, the discussions concerning the Arab minority have not stopped, neither here nor abroad. Some of the goals of my standing have already been achieved... the fact, for example, that Mordechai declared a few days afterwards that there would be an Arab minister in any government he formed. "This proves that I should go on because there are many other things still to be achieved. If, for example, I were to win around 100,000-150,000 votes in the first round, then neither of the candidates in the second round would be able to ignore that. Nobody would then dare to say that the Arab vote is in their pocket and they could turn their back to us and talk to other circles in Israeli political society, taking our support for granted. "A substantial vote for me would be an empowerment of the Arab minority. It is telling them how strong they are and how much they can affect things, especially in the second round. The problem in the second round will be motivation. The parties will not be participating in the second round and won't be there to tell their people how to vote and taking them out to the ballot. Our supporters, however, would have a much stronger motivation to go out again if they can see that they have already achieved something which gives us something to bargain with." Bishara categorically denied allegations made by Prime Minister Netanyahu that PA chairman Yasser Arafat had asked him to step down to prevent his candidacy harming the prospects of Barak being elected. "I have not seen Arafat in the past three months and I did not hear from him, so this allegation is a blatant lie. It's a shame that the prime minister is continuing to lie, although it is not exactly something new that he does not tell the truth," said Bishara. "He is trying to use this lie in a demagogic way against his political rivals, even though Netanyahu himself is very keen to get Arab votes and has activists running around trying to convince Arabs to vote for him. "It should also be noted that there are many in the Arab world who want Netanyahu to win. Arafat probably has an opinion regarding the peace process and would prefer a government that would continue it. There are others in the Arab world, however, who would prefer Netanyahu, because they don't want the peace process to continue. "In fact, I'm not aware of any involvement by the PA or Arafat in the Israeli elections. On the contrary, they are being very careful not to be involved. I think these allegations have the same spirit and motivation as Netanyahu's campaign in the last elections in which it was said that Netanyahu was good for the Jews and (former prime minister) Shimon Peres was good for the Arabs. It is the same cheap propaganda and it is simply not true. "This is a populist political campaign of playing on the fears and instincts of people. If Netayahu were to win by using this rhetoric, he would find himself a prisoner to his own rhetoric and once again be unable to run the country or international relations. In the long-run it's a losing strategy, but Netanyahu is only thinking as far ahead as the elections. I hope, of course, he will not win and will remain with his rhetoric in the opposition." BISHARA, 42, a Christian born and raised in Nazareth, is noted for his fiery oratory and for being more of an intellectual than a "man of the people." Nevertheless, he believes that his candidacy has widespread grassroots support, despite the spread of Moslem fundamentalism and deep divisions in the Arab sector. "I'm not a member of the economic elite of this country. My mother was a teacher and my father was a salaried employee. We did not inherit land or anything like that and we always lived in a rented apartment. All my life I have lived from my salary - as a teacher at Bir Zeit University and at the Van Leer Institute," said Bishara. "I have a common language with the people everywhere and I don't have any problem in bringing my thoughts to them. The people grasp the issues in a very healthy way. "We (Balad) did have a reputation of being a party of academics and intellectuals, but this is not reflected in the polls which show that our constituency is among all stratas of Israeli society, mostly the lower classes. "Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with being an academic. The leaders of the Islamic Movement, for instance, are all academics. Indeed, the leaders of the working classes are usually academics and I believe every peoples should have an educated leadership. "The question is what kind of education - a conservative one or an enlightened one. I believe in a very enlightened education. I am also very critical in my thinking." Bishara, whose wife is expecting their first child in July, said he is convinced that being a Christian will not adversely effect his chances of winning votes from among the country's Moslem community - despite the polarization of the ethnic communities in Nazareth because of a dispute over a plot of land near the Church of the Annunciation. "Being a Christian has never been a problem for me, nor for Moslems. The fact is that we have Arab nationality, culture, history and language in common. We are the same people with the same collective background. "I do not represent the local line, but the national one and the concerns and problems of the Arab minority in general and in this I feel that my views are understood and that I am accepted everywhere," Bishara added.
Links in this section:
Links to other sections: | ||||
|
Click here for feedback and comments. © 1999, The Jerusalem Post - All rights reserved 
| ||||
