On Saturday, October 31, a rally was held in Tel Aviv calling for an agreement between the anti-Netanyahu political bloc and the Arab parties.
Hundreds of protesters carrying signs and flags marched through the city center to urge the anti-Netanyahu opposition to engage in dialogue with the Arab parties, which achieved a significant result in the recent elections.
On October 27, the Israeli elections saw a record voter turnout of 77.7%, a decline in the ruling coalition’s seats to 53, and 19 historic seats won by Arab parties—but this was not enough to bring the Netanyahu era to an end.
The opposition led by Eisenkot would, on paper, have the numbers for a transformative government, but the leaders of the so-called Change Bloc are hesitating. An alliance between the center-left parties and the Arab parties would be an unprecedented development and would open the door to the start of a dialogue and a possible search for a peaceful solution to a conflict that is becoming increasingly bitter and asymmetrical.
On the eve of the demonstration, STANDING TOGETHER, an organization that brings together Jewish and Palestinian/Arab Israeli citizens, stated:
“From north to south, tonight Jews and Palestinians will take to the streets together. The far right has lost. Now it must leave the halls of power. In the Knesset elections, the opposition won 67 seats, 19 of which went to Palestinian parties. By ruling out the possibility of governing with Palestinian parties, opposition leaders are allowing Netanyahu to steal the votes that his bloc lost. We will not allow that.”
“Our proposal is simple: reach an agreement with the Palestinian parties, form a Jewish-Palestinian government, and drive out the fascists. We all voted to bring them down and to govern together, not to fight each other.”
