The Apartheid Charge Was False. Israel’s Arab Voters Proved It | Opinion
Summary
The opinion article argues that Arab citizens’ high participation in Israel’s election and their representation in public institutions conflict with claims that Israel is an apartheid state. It also notes serious challenges facing Arab communities, including crime, gaps in public funding and opportunity, and the 2018 change to Arabic’s official status.Key Facts
- An estimate by Israel’s Channel 12 put Arab voter turnout on October 27 at about 80 percent, compared with 53.2 percent in 2022.
- With most votes counted, the Arab-led Ra’am and Joint List parties were projected to win about 19 seats, above the previous record of 15 in 2020.
- Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously overturned election bans on both parties on October 2, ruling that the evidence did not meet the legal standard for disqualification.
- Ra’am joined Israel’s governing coalition in 2021, becoming the first independent Arab party to do so.
- Arab citizens have served in Israel’s parliament since 1949, and Arab judges have held permanent seats on its Supreme Court.
- A 2023 study reported that Arabs made up about a quarter of Israel’s working doctors and nurses and nearly half of its pharmacists.
- About 250 Arab citizens were killed in crime and violence in 2025, which the article describes as a record.
- The 2018 Nation-State Law changed Arabic from an official language to one with “special status.”
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