A united Arab front in Israel should technically garner 20% of the seats in the 120 member Knesset. That translates to 24 seats which would make the Arabs the official opposition, giving them a HUGE amount of power and influence. However, like their cousins the Jews, the Arabs just can't seem to unite in order to advance their cause. Zahalka's call shows the Arabs negative-attitude malady. Instead of calling for Arabs to unite and clean up their political act, he calls on them simply to not vote for "Jewish" parties. All that power remains elusive as Israel's Arabs continue to bicker amongst themselves.

Could he pick a party that is trying to destroy Israel more? We need a party that will make the arabs fifth rate citizens and make sure that they never sit in government again!

"Every society has shameful phenomena..."And ours is having a schmock like you as a Knesset member!!!

Israel should be wary of this anti-Jews forces. The path of Leftism has open a way for them to erode Israel's Jewish identity.

or to the REAL Palestine- Jordan then they can be good anti-zionists

You can not have both, you will not have both, it is an impossiblilty. Despite the lunacy of having Arabs vote in Israeli elections, it is also a sheer impossiblity to have a binational Arab-Jewish State and have a "Palestine" next to it that is reserved only for Arabs.

Balad should be banned as racist party for calling on israeli arabs not to vote for jewish parties. Pure form of racism and lack of respect of democracy. They should ban Balad

Arab society in Israel, there should be no arab society in Israel as these societies are against us and therefore only belong in arab countries. Israel, Eretz Yisrael is land meant for Jews, not arabs, or don't you know what it says in the Torah.

The 5th column must be excised. They are a danger to the unity of the nation.

To give the Arabs in Israel the right to vote for the Keneseth has been a huge mistake. Israel is a Jewish state,a state for all the Jews all over the world, and the Arabs will never accept to be a part of the Jewish people. The Arabs in Israel are not different than the Arabs in the 22 Arab states.,who are and will remainmortal ennemiies of the Jewish people and Israel. The Arabs in Israel should be given a kind of autonomy where they could enjoy a normal life, without any right to deciding the political future of the Jewish state.

The problem as usual is the Arab political parties are losing their grip and will now resort to racism and Islamism to force Arabs back to the fold. Sounds like the Arab political parties are at the end of the line ...

As much as i sympathise with the plight of the Arabs of Israel, I am also aware that times change and so do attitudes. Israeli Arabs have a part to play in Israeli society, not to be lead by separatism - from without by Israeli society, too much of which still will not see them as part of the whole, or from within like Balad. Those who joined Kadima and chose to exercise their vote in the primaries are acting within the democratic framework of which they are equal partners. Long may they continue to be so.

Arabs are beginning to realise that they can impact on mainstream Israeli politics and improve their conditions by voting for mainstream Zionist parties, and not by voting for fringe Arab lunatic parties. If the awakening in the Arab sector continues, there will be no more Arab parties in the Knesset - because there will be no need for them.

for exchanging the arab triangle for the settlements. The more they open their mouths, the more they prove they are devoted to our destruction. Give them what they want - lives under the rule of either nazirallah or the butcher of munich.

They are a 5th column because they refuse to accept 2nd class status and live quietly in their ghettos? No, Laura the danger to your nation is that some people there seem to feel that there are different classes of human beings with different levels of rights. Why doesn't Israel just get to it and ethnically cleanse Israel of Arabs and start sending the people in Gaza and West Bank into nice efficient ovens? From what I read on your sites, you don't seem far from it.

neither party is better than the other. they both suck. and vote just for the sake and annoyance of voting (for the israelis and west) in the palestinian elections, which successfully and grudgingly in a landslide brought hamas.

1- Israeli-Arabs see their future in Israel and it is only natural to vote for Jewish parties. 2- Before zahalka asks Israeli-Arabs to vote for arab partie, he needs to make sure arab parties serve the Israeli-Arab communitys' needs and not the needs of the lebanese , palestinian or other arabic people..

as the article mentioned, 26% of Israeli-Arabs vote for jewish parties, another 28% don't even vote. How can you then stereotype the whole society as being against you when less that 50% vote for arab parties...

I did not know that there were some Arabs who are Israeli citizens who do not support the Hamas and other terrorist Palestinian organizations. I think it is great and I'm so glad to see that. I guess it shows my ignorance! Wouldn't it be great if these Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens would see how irrational their beliefs, actions and leaders are and see that they have been brain washed. Many of us outgrow prejudices that were in families we grew up with when we begin to see the truth and change our thinking. I pray this will happen to more Arabs so they can live as whole people in a democratic society.