Jews and Arabs protest in Tel Aviv for government including Arab parties

Thousands of Jewish and Arab protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, calling for a Jewish-Arab unity government after an election left Netanyahu’s bloc with only 53 seats and no majority.

Thousands of Israeli Jews and Arabs demonstrated on Saturday evening in Habima Square in central Tel Aviv, calling on opposition leaders to form a government based on Jewish-Arab partnership, days after Knesset elections failed to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc a majority.

The protest was led by the binational movement Standing Together. Participants held signs in Arabic and Hebrew reading “A Jewish-Arab government now,” along with slogans such as “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies” and “No to racism, yes to partnership,” before marching toward Rabin Square.

67 seats versus 53

Parties opposed to Netanyahu won 67 of the Knesset’s 120 seats in Tuesday’s election on October 27, including 19 seats held by Arab parties, compared with 53 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc. Neither camp can reach the 61-seat threshold needed to form a government without support from Arab parties or defections.

However, most Jewish-led parties in the opposition camp have so far rejected entering a coalition with the Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen, and Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, leaving those parties with only 48 seats. Ra’am announced that it wanted to participate in the government, while the Joint List expressed its readiness to help pave the way for Netanyahu’s government to be ousted.

Diverging estimates and a counterprotest

Estimates of the number of participants varied. Haaretz reported thousands of protesters, while The Times of Israel estimated that around 500 people were present at the start of the gathering. Similar protests were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba and at an intersection near the cities of Tira and Tayibe.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Netanyahu supporters demonstrated in the same square against including Arab parties in the government. They called for an investigation into what they described as election fraud and for new elections, after Likud accused the Arab parties of “stealing the election.” Police detained one person on suspicion of disturbing public order.

Jews and Arabs protest in Tel Aviv for government including Arab parties