In the State of Israel's waning democracy, Arabs are only the first target

Arab MKs are easy prey, but they are only a means to redefining the pact between the state and its citizens on the basis of loyalty to the state's purported representatives, the far right.

By Avirama Golan

In the past few days it has seemed as if a competition were declared between the new Knesset back-benchers and the government over who would hit the Arabs harder – Israeli Arabs, naturally.

Although all the brakes in the brittle relations between right-wing MKs and their Arab colleagues have been released, it’s advisable not to suffice with being shocked by their embarrassing utterances. It’s better to figure out the sociopolitical significance of these texts. Thus, the logic leading to the anti-democratic legislation these impassioned MKs and their associates are initiating, as well as the deeper motivations for the unrestricted wave of racism enveloping the Knesset, will emerge.

Examining the litany of insults we have heard lately reveals several guiding principles: first and foremost the separation between “we,” that is to say representatives of the Jewish right, and “you,” that is to say, Arab representatives. However, this “we” in practice defines right-wing extremist MKs as the exclusive representatives of the state’s Jewish citizens, excluding all who did not vote for them.

Another recurring epithet is automatically associating Arab MKs with “support for terror” and “opposition to the state.” No one has argued with the right on their long-standing premise, which holds that every Arab is an anti-Semite. And what about someone who agreed, let’s say, with Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh on some issue? He must support terror, clearly enough.

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