An amazing story from Arutz-7:(condensed version)
Among the many new Knesset hopefuls looking to run on the staunchly nationalist [Jewish Home] party’s Knesset list is a somewhat surprising face: Anett Haskia identifies as proudly Zionist, pro-“settlements”… and a Muslim Arab.
Haskia realizes that her chances of running as a Jewish Home MK this time round are relatively slim; party members who wish to stand in the primaries have to have been members for at two and a half years, while Haskia herself is only now in the process of joining.
“But I’m still hoping for a Hanukkah miracle,” she quips, and thinks there is an outside chance that Bennett – who as part of the new party rules can unilaterally select every fifth seat on the party list – could see in her precisely the kind of candidate to simultaneously reach out to new pools of support, while still remaining committed to the party’s ideology.
Indeed, Haskia is an avowed Zionist, whose children enlisted voluntarily to the IDF with her encouragement (apart from the Druze, Israeli Arabs are not included in the mandatory military draft). She has long campaigned against extremism within the Israeli Arab community, while arguing for more Arab inclusion and participation in wider Israeli society. She says there are a growing number of Israeli Arabs who think like her – a phenomenon which has been making headlines periodically in recent years, particularly, though not exclusively, regarding Israel’s Arab-Christian minority.
But there are plenty of Muslim Arabs who also support the state, serve in the army (like many Bedouins) and, most importantly for Annett, do not feel represented by any of the current Arab MKs. It is that part of the “Arab voting public” she says she is fighting for.
But still, why specifically join the Jewish Home? Why not one of the left-wing parties, or the Arab parties?
This clearly strikes a chord with Haskia, who has a bone to pick with the notion that “only the Left” or the existing Arab parties can look after the interests of the wider Arab-Israeli public. Instead, she describes an Arab community trapped between two camps claiming to have their best interests at heart, but who are really only interested in “using” them to serve particular ideological agendas.
“For 65 years the Arab parties have harmed the Arab sector,” she laments, emphasizing that while discrimination does exist – a problem that is high on her list of priorities – the Arab parties are in fact largely to blame.
“They stigmatized us” by taking radical anti-Zionist positions and even supporting terrorism, she fires, while claiming to speak for the entire Arab public. At the same time, they spend most of their energy and resources engaging in political grandstanding, instead of actually tackling bread-and-butter issues facing the constituency they claim to represent.
In particular, she accuses Arab MKs of conniving with the Education Ministry to effectively abandon the Arab education system – leaving the curriculum open for extremists to indoctrinate young Arabs to perceive the state as their enemy. “The Education Ministry doesn’t bother with the Arab sector – they don’t even know what’s going on in the schools… the children don’t know anything about rights and obligations (to the state). They learn about the ‘nakba’ instead of Independence Day!”
“They have done a deal with the Arab MKs – at our expense. For how long should I pay the price for their actions?”
Many of her friends feel the same way, she says, and while a lot of them do not necessarily support the Jewish Home they have been supportive of her ambitions.
“Then there’s the Left, Labor and Meretz, etc., who for many years have ‘ruled’ the Arab sector. They ‘loved’ the Arab sector the most, they were the ‘good Jews’,” she says sarcastically.
Yet she accuses that very same “Left” of presiding over a system which directly contributed towards the “widening gap” between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Through compromises with terrorists and a softly-softly approach towards the extremists within her own community, extremist elements have only become emboldened and more vocal, alarming many Jewish Israelis and drowning out moderate Arab voices like her own.
Instead, she calls for tougher anti-terror measures to target the bad apples, while addressing the grievances of ordinary Israeli Arabs.“It can’t be that a terrorist goes to jail and gets five-star treatment!” she exclaims. “It can’t be that someone goes to join ISIS – an organization even more murderous than Hamas – and then when he comes back they give him just 22 months (in prison)! That says that the state allows them to do that, gives them the legitimacy to go.”
“Why even let him come back?” she asks. “Remove his citizenship!”
“A terrorist who carries out an attack – destroy his house! Why just destroy a single room?” she continues, noticeably exasperated, listing the restraints placed on the IDF due to pressure from leftist groups.
“If when a terrorists goes to jail he gets five-star treatment, sits on his butt all day and can finance his family – do a degree, a masters, receive a salary from the Palestinian Authority – what’s bad about that? Why shouldn’t more people do it?
“Then people say: ‘the Arabs are terrorists.’ No! Stop blaming the Arabs of Israel. The Jews need to open their eyes; there is such a thing as law and order. Toughen the laws and things will change quickly.”
Ironically, Haskia says the only serious negative reactions to her intentions to join the Jewish Home party have come from left-wing Jews, not her fellow Arabs. She cites that backlash as proof that left-wingers are only interested in giving Arabs freedom of expression when it suits their own ideological agenda.
“One of them told me: ‘If Bennett comes to power, you’ll be first to the gas chambers!’ Is there anything more disgusting than that? And it was a Jew who told me that – that’s the Left for you. Why can’t I choose? I never shook hands with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), so they attack me.
“I remember when I was growing up they told us the Likud was racist, that they wanted to kill the Arabs. But then what happened? The Likud began accepting Arabs and has had Arab MKs and that stigma went away.
“There is no reason why I shouldn’t join Bennett’s party. It’s not a party that says ‘let’s kick all the Arabs out’… I want to change this way of thinking.”
Another perception she is looking to change is one held by many Israelis, and others around the world, regarding the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.
“Regarding the so-called ‘settlers.’ These are people, from all over the country, who live there (in Judea and Samaria) and are a human line of defense. They risk their lives to protect the state’s borders, to cover our backs, because without them the terrorists will be at our front door. We saw after the Disengagement (from Gaza) what happened – so many attacks…
“I don’t want another disengagement, so I stand with the ‘settlements’. And it is my honor to do so.”
Whenever there is a story like this, I always wonder how many other Arab Israelis really think like this. But her perspective is certainly fresh and welcome, and she is exactly right – if Israel cracks down on the terrorists the way they should, then the law-abiding Arabs will be better off.
I have to wonder if the woman’s family going back several generations was Jewish and converted c/o the Islamic sword….
She would be a perfect “shield” for Bennett against the Western antisemites.
Comment to Belman in the spammer dump
@ Ted Belman:
Enforcing the rule of law would mean catching and deporting 50-100,000 illegal Arabs hiding in the Arab communities of Israel many married to Israeli Arab citizens many employed by Jews, Many have children born here.
Enforcing the rule of law would mean that some thirty % of Arab dwellings will be bulldozed to the ground.
Enforcing the rule of Law would force collection of all taxes due the state and collection of back taxes never paid or collected.
enforcing the rule of law would mean any Israeli Arab displaying a Pali Flag and other symbols of support could be jailed and their citizenship removed.
Removing all affirmative action perks the Arbs get would reduce their National Insurance child allowances substantially due to fraud.
Removal of all the Bedouin from the Negev who have illegally squatted and virtually stolen some 20% of ther Negev and they keep expanding their theft.
Being for strict enforcement laws against of blatant criminal behavior acts is a given but the law is the law in all phases of life in our collective Israel.
According to the Law Arabs should do national service if they opt out of the IDF. They don’t. They have been given a pass. While Jewish men and women do National service in the IDF the Arabs take advantage either by going to University or taking jobs from Jews who are serving.
I am not sure how friendly Ms Haskia would be if Israel in fact did enforce the rule of Law equally.
The above list I made is only the tip of the iceberg.
If as you believe Ted that there are so many potential Israeli Arabs who think more or less like Ms. Kaskia, let them demonstrate it by forming their own political party or as a major faction with any of the Jewish Zionist parties like Feiglin has.
Because a single Arab woman who says thing you want to hear.
however nice to the ear that does not qualify her to be put on the list of a major party effectively demoting a Jewish party stalwart down the list and out of the Knesset.
Every party must submit a list of 120 candidates for the Knesset the overwhelming majority will never make it into the Knesset. I would put her in slot #50 for the protocol
@ Ted Belman:
Ted,
For whatever it is worth, I support you regarding your comments about Anett Haskia, woman, Moslem Arab, and strong supporter of Israel and Zionism. I take her word regarding her allegiance to Israel.
Probably, Arab haters of Jews and the Jewish state also take her at her word. Which means they almost certainly would kill her if they get her within their grasp. Which makes her one of the bravest of the brave, and a non-Jew who should be honored by all of us.
Bennett should do the right thing and give her a place on his party ticket for the upcoming Knesset election, and that in itself will be a determinant as to whether he is a principled leader or just another scheming politician on the make. As for political outcomes, who can know in advance of this extraordinary occurance whether or not it is an opportunity as to how many other Arab citizens of Israel who may not otherwise participate in Israeli elections, would come out in support of Anett Haskia, Naftali Bennett, and their outright Zionist party?
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Common sense. How refreshing.
And long overdue.
We need more Jews with her kind of logic and insight. She should certainly be included in Bennett’s party. Compare her to the Livni woman, and make your choice everyone.
yamit82 Said:
I believe that the current Arab parties do not represent all the Arabs and that many don’t vote for the and perhaps not at all. There are about 130,000 of them. Now Bennett wants to enforce the rule of law in Arab communities and many Arabs want this. This includes enforcing discrimination laws. I think maybe 20% of the Muslims want equality in a Jewish state. Based on the proportion of the total population if all Arabs voted in the same numbers as Jews, they would have 25 seats. Surely its not a stretch to believe that enough Arabs will vote for Bennett’s party to get 2 of those seats.
I understand your concern about what he will lose in Jewish support. I lease it to him to do the calculus. But how many Jewish votes will he get that like the move.
@ Ted Belman:
Based on what do you calculate that?
How many will he lose if he does?
@ Irving Weisdorf:
You have not won my Seal of approval
I think she should be at the top of the list. Potential Prime Minister material from her comments. Can she be worse than Bibi? She seems to be a more committed Zionist. What would the world say to that 🙂
I think Bennett should put her on the list. I believe that she could add two seats what with the Christian Arab voters and a similar number of Muslims who appreciate the platform of Bayit Yehudi.
Kol Hakavod. She must try. A democratic process I hope will determine if yes or no.
This courageous lady has more common sense than the Israeli government. She is pointing the way to improving relations with the Arabs by separating the implacably hostile from those who want to live in peace. I can only hope that the Israeli government will finally wake up and listen to her. Note that the Israeli left is not interested in her ideas but prefers to instigate anti Israel hostility. The Israeli left should be regarded as Jewish terrorists to be stripped of their citizenship and expelled from Israel. Let them go live in some Arab country along with those other hostile Israeli Arabs who should also be expelled.