Israeli Arab leaders are debating whether to establish an independent Arab political party or continue to work for their agenda within the mainstream factions, which for most of them is the Labor Party.
According to a report Monday in Davar, the head of several Arab town councils and public figures from Galilee, the Negev and the “triangle,” a group of Israeli Arab towns southeast of Haifa, held meetings in recent weeks to discuss forming a new Arab party.
An Arab Labor member of the Knesset, Abdul Wahab Darousha, one of the unofficial initiators of the idea, did not deny talks are being held. But he said there is no commitment as yet to an independent political faction, Davar reported.
Others behind the idea, who are either associated with the Labor Party or unaffiliated with any party, have consulted with Ibrahim Nimer Hussein, the mayor of Shfaram in lower Galilee.
Hussein, who chairs National Committee of Local Council leaders, is not enthusiastic. He believes Israeli Arabs should act within the established parties and attempt to influence them, Davar reported.
Uzi Baram, secretary general of the Labor Party, has already stated that Labor does not support the establishment of a separate Arab party or list. He maintained that Labor is a Jewish-Arab party that believes in integrating Arabs into its ranks.
Apart from Labor, Arabs belong to the Progressive List for Peace, a tiny leftist faction, and the Rakah Communist Party, which has no influence whatsoever in Israeli politics.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
