Refusing Arab parties in gov't: Why are Israeli politicians handing its enemies a weapon? - opinion

An opinion piece argues that Israeli politicians who categorically exclude Arab parties from government betray the principles of Israel's Declaration of Independence and hand a propaganda weapon to those who claim Zionism is racism. The author, Jeremy Levin, contrasts parties that reject Arab participation as a matter of principle with those open to it, and calls for a standard based on commitment to the state rather than ethnicity.

In this opinion piece published ahead of Israel's October 27 elections, physician-scientist and former Teva CEO Jeremy Levin argues that Israeli politicians who categorically exclude Arab parties from government are betraying the principles of David Ben-Gurion's Declaration of Independence and handing a propaganda weapon to those who claim Zionism is racism. Levin contrasts parties that reject Arab participation as a matter of principle — including Likud, Otzma Yehudit, B'Yachad, Yashar, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Reservists-Economic party — with Yair Golan's Democrats, who have accepted the principle of Arab participation. He argues that excluding citizens from government simply because they are Arab contradicts Ben-Gurion's 1948 promise of "complete equality of social and political rights to all its citizens irrespective of religion, race, or sex." Levin warns that such exclusion is quoted by Israel's enemies as evidence that Zionism means permanent Jewish political supremacy, and that Jewish communities abroad are left to defend against this accusation. He calls for a standard based on commitment to the state and acceptance of security responsibilities, not ethnicity.