MK Tibi: Jewish state not democratic
Arab-Israeli Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi says notion of 'Jewish democratic country' illogical
The demand to disqualify the United Arab List –Ta'al party came from three right-wing parties, Likud, National Union-NRP, and National Jewish Front, upset at comments by party Chairman Ibrahim Sarsur.
Speaking to Ynet, MK Tibi said he is not concerned by the debate on disqualifying his party, scheduled for Tuesday.
"Even though we're talking about a political committee with a rightist majority, I hope the Right fails and gives us the possibility to compete and win the voter's confidence," Tibi said.
Notably, Tibi went through a similar right-wing attempt to disqualify his list in the previous elections. That time, the Committee indeed disqualified Tibi, a move later rejected by the High Court of Justice.
Tibi noted that disqualifying the party would mean "disqualifying the strongest list among the Arab public," and charged that rightist parties are interested in disappointing Arab voters and leaving them at home on elections day, "while we're working hard to boost the voter turnout rate among our public."
But tonight you expressed yourself against the Jewish character of the State, you're attacking Zionism and the Zionist parties?
"I certainly oppose Zionism and the Jewish character of the State. Everything I've said tonight, I will also say in the Knesset, and that is that a state can't be equal and democratic and prefer one ethnic group over another. Despite the fact that I'm aware of the presence of Basic Laws defining the country as a Jewish state, this does not take away from the logical contradiction between the two definitions of Jewish and democratic in our opinion, and our opinion is also shared by a wide echelon of a group of intellectuals and Israeli left-wingers."
Tibi says that opposition to Zionism should not be surprising: "We won't accept a coercion of Zionism, which we oppose as we oppose the foreign and defense policies of the government, and the validity of the occupation. A million Arabs in the country oppose the occupation, oppose Zionism, and oppose the liberation of land which is a Zionist value. You can't force these things on us and our public."
Tibi repeated his claim that Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur, head of the party, did not say that he strived to turn Israel into an Islamic state, as he was quoted.
"The sheikh did not say these things, and our platform talks about equality of rights for the Arab public as a national minority in the context of a legal battle to change the country into a state of all of its nations," Tibi said.
