Haters’ Ridiculous Israeli Election Complaint

Ahead of the Israeli elections (which, as of the time of this post, have taken place), haters like Linda Sarsour posted the following “infographic” from IMEU:

And now for some important context about this graphic: it is disingenuous bovine excrement.

I’ll let Honest Reporting break it down:

Just as Israeli citizens vote in Israeli elections, Palestinians vote in Palestinian Authority elections, which were set up within the framework of the 1993 Oslo accords (see Annex I).

The new Palestinian exercise in democracy began in 1996, when they elected Yasser Arafat as president with 88 percent of the vote. Palestinians also gave Fatah 55 of the 88 seats on the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Palestinians living in eastern Jerusalem also voted, though Israel was not obligated to allow it. (However, those with full Israeli citizenship were not allowed to vote.) Also, the Palestinian diaspora — most notably those living in refugees camps abroad were also ineligible.

Palestinians didn’t hold another national election until January, 2005. A few months after Arafat’s death, Mahmoud Abbas was voted president with a majority of 62%. Abbas was widely viewed as Arafat’s natural successor and a leader Israel could do business with.

The PLC was expanded to 132 seats; the parliamentary elections of January, 2006, led to shocking results. Hamas won big, taking 74 seats, compared to Fatah’s 45. Fatah, for the first time, faced a real challenge to its political primacy.

Indeed, in June, 2007, lip service to normal political activity flew out the window when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip.

Fatah responded by entrenching itself in the West Bank. The Palestinian Legislative Council stopped meeting. Mahmoud Abbas, whose four-year term expired in 2009, simply continued as PA president. No national elections have been held since. In December, 2018, Abbas announced his intention to dissolve the parliament.

On the local level, Palestinians held several rounds of voting in municipalities to appoint mayors and members of town councils in 2005. However, by December, the balloting was not completed. The issue was put on hold as Fatah-Hamas disagreements increased.

Another attempt was made with local elections scheduled for July, 2010. Balloting was delayed two years when Fatah couldn’t agree on its own candidate list. Municipal elections due to be held in October, 2016, were suspended by a Palestinian Authority court. Voting eventually took place in May, 2017, but because of Hamas-Fatah feuding, the majority of West Bank locales held no elections.

There’s no end in sight to their impasse. With both wielding a veto power over balloting that isn’t to their advantage, many question whether either Fatah or Hamas really want national unity.

The Israeli government’s position? PA elections are a domestic Palestinian affair. It’s up to the Palestinians to break their political deadlock and choose their leaders.

Even if Israeli officials have preferences for particular people or parties, they know better than to express them. Any Israeli endorsement — real or implied — could be a kiss of death in Palestinian politics.

So just as Israelis don’t participate in Palestinian Authority elections, Palestinians don’t participate in Israeli elections. Nobody can participate in both elections. Full stop (almost).

The Jerusalem Exception

Although Palestinians are not entitled to participate in Israeli elections, eastern Jerusalem Palestinians vote in the city’s municipal elections, and even run for the city council. Or at least they’re entitled to. As explained earlier, Israeli policy is make full citizenship available to eastern Jerusalem Palestinians who wish to apply; this would let Palestinians vote and run in national elections as naturalized Israelis. In practice, the vast majority don’t apply, though there are periodic surges. Israeli policy is not to impose citizenship.

By law, only an Israeli citizen can be mayor, so it’s theoretically possible that Jerusalem could have an Israeli-Arab mayor with a council featuring non-Israeli Palestinians. With around 300,000 Palestinians eligible to vote in the 2018 municipal elections (about 40 percent of the population), there’s plenty of clout to reshape city politics.

However, Palestinian residents of eastern Jerusalem historically boycott the local elections, saying participation legitimizes Israel control over the city. The boycotts are reinforced by fatwas (religious decrees) and intimidation.

The few Palestinians who buck consensus by throwing their hat in the ring never garner enough support. A Palestinian list called “Jerusalem, My Town,” led by Ramadan Dabash managed to get 3,001 votes in 2018. But to receive one of the city council’s 30 seats, his list would have needed 8,086 votes.

Nobody’s compelled to vote, but it’s disingenuous for Palestinians to then claim that city hall discriminates against them on issues like schools, garbage collection, health clinics etc. These issues do not stem from racial discrimination but rather from a simple lack of representation.

Imagine if Jewish Israelis complained that they are not allowed to vote in the PA elections. They would rightly be laughed off stage. This is what should happen to Sarsour and the other haters pushing this ridiculous complaint.

By the way, you may have blinked and missed it, but the graphic actually admits that Israel’s Arab citizens have full voting rights.

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