Don't disqualify us in advance as partners for the future of the state | Hiam Tanous

Hiam Tanous, an Arab Christian Israeli citizen and member of Women Wage Peace, calls in an opinion piece on party leaders not to disqualify partnership with Arab parties in advance. She notes the 19 seats Arab parties won in the last elections and argues for genuine negotiations on basic principles, acknowledging security fears but not letting them determine the boundaries of possible partnership.

Hiam Tanous, an Arab Christian Israeli citizen and member of the executive committee of Women Wage Peace, publishes an opinion piece in Maariv calling on party leaders seeking to form the next government—Eisenkot, Lapid, Bennett, Lieberman, and Golan—not to disqualify partnership with Arab parties in advance. She notes that in the last elections, Arab parties won 19 seats, representing a public entitled to influence. Tanous acknowledges the security fear that such a partnership might arouse, but argues that genuine negotiations on basic principles defining shared policy are necessary. She emphasizes that her personal experience as a supervisor in the Ministry of Education and in the Women Wage Peace organization shows that cooperation between Jews and Arabs is possible. The article concludes with a call not to let fear determine the boundaries of possible partnership.