19 seats, two blocs and one tangle: the debate on the future of the coalition

Boaz Golani argues that the 19 seats of the Arab parties create a coalitional tangle, because the two parties do not accept the definition of Israel as a nation-state. He proposes a constitution that would anchor the identity of the state and require recognition of the national framework as a condition for political integration.

Boaz Golani, a senior research fellow at the Ne'eman Institute and professor emeritus at the Technion, argues that the 19 seats of the Arab parties change the political equation and create a coalitional tangle. According to him, Ra'am and the Joint List do not accept the definition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and advocate the idea of a "state of all its citizens," which distances them from the Jewish majority. He notes that Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas condemned the October 7 massacre but refrained from defining Hamas as a terrorist organization. The solution he proposes is a constitutional anchoring of the state's identity based on the Declaration of Independence, which would replace the Nation-State Law and require every party to accept the fundamental principles. The article emphasizes that Israeli Arabs deserve representation, but full political partnership requires recognition of the national framework.