Whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is found guilty of corruption or not is of no interest to the Israeli Arab voter.
Ironically his criminal trial began on the day that 13% of the country's citizens celebrated Eid al Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan during which the faithful refrain from food and drink, smoking, and sex for most hours of the day.
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A woman prays in East Jerusalem as Muslims mark Ramadan during the coronavirus crisis
(Photo: AFP)
It is a time for introspection and atonement for sins, much like Yom Kippur is for the Jewish faith.
After such an arduous month, seeing Netanyahu as a defendant in criminal proceedings could have been a cause for celebration, as he has made incitement against the Arab population a pillar of his election campaigns over and over again.
The incitement was mostly directed at the elected representatives and was successful in instilling in Jewish voters the notion that Arab MKs are supporters of terror.
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Joint List lawmakers meeting with President Reuven Rivlin in March to recommend Benny Gantz for prime minister
(Photo: GPO)
In the decade he has been in power, Netanyahu actively weakened the Arab citizens by withholding funds from local government.
Cabinet decision 922, passed in 2015, purported to allot NIS 15 billion to the Arab sector. But it turned out to be a sham, and the funds were never delivered.
Meanwhile, all sorts of allegations have been made against Arab citizens, including accusations of voter fraud, as well as full-scale home demolitions in Arab communities.
And to top it all, the Knesset passed racist legislation, including the Nation-State Law, which defines Israel solely as the nation of the Jews, and the Kaminitz Law, which increased penalties for construction violations in Arab communities.
Despite the noise surrounding the Netanyahu trial and rhetoric from all sides about the importance of democracy, the Arab public remained indifferent. Social media platforms were silent and none of its members bothered to join in the protests.
The Arab citizens have nothing to gain from Netanyahu's removal from power. He would likely be replaced by another racist politician as racist as their predecessor.
The majority of Jewish voters are on the right-wing politically. They have nothing kind to say about their Arab neighbors, nor do they want them as partners in Israel's national life.
It would be hard to find a different point of view in the center or even the Zionist left. Few would attempt to instill in Arabs a sense of belonging.
The Joint List of Arab parties, that had hoped Blue & White leader Benny Gantz would include them in the political process were disappointed. Even former members of that alliance cited their reluctance to cooperate with Arab representatives as their reason for crossing the lines and joining Netanyahu.
Arab citizens of Israel do not enjoy the fruits of Israel's democracy.
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Arab citizens of Israel protest the shooting by police of a mentally disturbed man outside Sheba Medical Center
(Photo: Tal Shahar)
They see the October 2000 riots during which 13 Arab demonstrators were killed by police; they see the 2017 incident in Umm al-Hiran, a Bedouin community in the Negev, when a local school teacher was shot in his car by police and was allowed to bleed to death while troops prevented medical help from reaching him; and they see this month's shooting dead of a mentally ill young man at Sheba Medical Center.
These incidents all support the position held by Arabs in Israel that there is no point in them joining the fight for the rule of law and democracy.