Members of the Joint List initially dismissed Knesset member Ahmad Tibi’s Jan. 8 request to break away from the alliance of four Israeli political parties. Eventually, however, they realized it was no idle threat and that he was serious about running as an independent with the backing of many local Arab council heads and mayors. This support is of vital importance in the Arab community, where large extended families often vote as one. Such strong backing means better chances of getting sufficient votes to cross the electoral threshold — the obstacle that forced the four disparate parties to unite on the eve of the 2015 elections.
The Joint List was composed of four essentially Arab parties: Hadash, Ra’am, Balad and Ta’al. The union, however, was in name only. Plots, frictions and power struggles repeatedly undermined it in the absence of ideological glue to bind its components. Tibi’s decision followed failed attempts to obtain “fitting representation” for his Ta’al party within the Joint List in open primaries or a survey of Arab party voters.
Tibi is convinced that he and his party enjoy far wider support than is reflected in its representation within the joint bloc, as determined by the balance of power upon the union's hasty formation in 2015. At the time, the head of the largest of the four parties — Hadash — was designated to lead the Joint List and promised at least five slots on the Knesset candidates list. Second place and at least three reserved slots went to the representative of the Islamic movement Ra’am, Masud Ganaim. Balad chair Jamal Zahalka was put in third place with at least three reserved slots, while Tibi was placed fourth with at least two. Yet after those understandings were reached, questions about the makeup of the proposed Knesset list lingered and a “reconciliation committee” failed to resolve them. With elections drawing near and the deadline to present the final list looming, negotiators reached a mid-term rotation compromise.
Five Joint List Knesset members did cede their places under the rotation agreement, but the arrangement turned out to be a landmine that threatened to fracture the alliance. It barely kept the Joint List together throughout the Knesset mandate. With the 20th Knesset disbanded and elections set for April 9, all bets are off.
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