Arab party remains in election race
Elections Committee decides by 18 to 16 vote not to disqualify United Arab List-Ta’al from upcoming general elections; earlier party chairman says 'I am an Islamist who believes that Muslim world should unify to achieve its goals, exactly as China, United States and India did'
The Elections Committee decided Tuesday by an 18 to 16 vote not to disqualify United Arab List-Ta’al from the upcoming general elections.
Earlier Ibrahim Sarsur, chairman of the United Arab List -Ta’al party, said during the committee's deliberation on four petitions against his party “In my worst nightmares, I didn’t expect to hear such a pack of lies.”
The petitions were filed after Sarsur told journalists at a press conference recently that, “From an ideological perspective, we believe that government on earth, at least on Muslim and Arab lands, needs to be an Islamist government led by a Khalif (heir of Muhammad).”
Right-wing parties, the Likud and National Union-NRP all petitioned the Knesset Elections Committee, demanding that the United Arab List -Ta’al party be disqualified from participating in the 17th Knesset race.
Marzel to Tibi: You’re a terrorist
When Right-wing activist Baruch Marzel and MK Ahmad Tibi are in the same room, participating in the same discussion, it’s not hard to prophesy the inevitable clashes. Anticipating a squabble, Judge Dorit Beinisch opened the meeting admonishing the participants to respect the committee: “Please, no provocations,” she said.
But the sides failed to comply. Baruch Marzel, who was the first to speak, walked by Tibi en route to the podium and hissed, “You’re a terrorist. He calls me a terrorist? Where is the shame?”
During his presentation to the committee, Marzel sniped at the committee, saying “even if the (Arab parties) say they’re opposed to Israel’s existence, they’ll always have Beinisch’s and the prosecution’s protection.”
Marzel added, “I ask Sarsur to declare that he doesn’t disapprove of Israel’s existence and doesn’t support Hamas. If he does, I’ll immediately withdraw my petition.”
MK Yitzhak Levi (National Union-NRP) presented evidence to the committee in the form of statements Sarsur made to the Palestinian media. Levi focused mainly on comments Sarsur made to al-Hayat al-Jadida a few months ago: “The internal conflicts among the Palestinians will serve only the good of the enemy and the occupation government, which are spreading their cancerous influences into Palestinian lands.”
Sarsur: Muslim world must unify
“I declare that I am an Islamist who believes that the whole Muslim world should unify in order to achieve its goals, exactly as China, the United States and India did, and this has no connection to Israel,” Sarsur said in his defense. “Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we support the initiative of the pan-Arab summit in Lebanon, which suggests Israel retreat to the 4th of July borders, including in Jerusalem. The Jews should jump on this offer,” Sarsur said.
“We call on Hamas to change its tactics and understand that it is no longer sitting in the opposition. Now that Hamas is in the government, it must take into account that it has to lead the Palestinian people to safe shores by establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel,” Sarsur added.
Tibi: We’ll meet with Hamas
Addressing the Election Committee, MK Tibi said, “I am informing you that next week I plan to meet with the Palestinian Prime Minister-elect Ismail Haniyeh. If the Likud doesn’t want to talk to Hamas, is that supposed to mean that we can’t either? I spoke with Haniyeh and congratulated him on his election. Did you think I wouldn’t?” Tibi demanded.
Prior to the petitions, United Arab List -Ta’al stressed that the party chairman had not urged an Islamist government in Israel, but meant an Islamist government on Arab and Muslim lands. Sarsur, they stressed, intended to focus on fighting for the Arab demographic to be recognized as a national minority by means of a political and civil struggle for equality.
Prior to the vote Beinisch hinted that she believes the Arab party should not be disqualified, saying “the right to be elected is the most basic right in a democratic regime. A decision to disqualify a list must be based on facts, and not on publications in the media.
“Some of what we have heard is not easy on the ears of either one of us, but the prosecution’s bar for disqualifying a list must be very high,” she said.
