For the fifth time in four years, Israelis watched yesterday as a new Knesset was sworn in. Conspicuously absent were the representatives of the Arab Balad party, which did not make it pass the Knesset-entry threshold at the Nov. 1 elections. For the first time since Azmi Bishara founded the party in the 1990s, Balad has no representatives in the Israeli parliament.
A year ago, the Arab Ra’am party made history by joining the coalition and instilling hope among Arab society for real change. This week, Israeli Arabs found themselves with one less party in the Knesset and a real danger that Balad will completely disappear from the political map.