Democracy in Israel
Uniquely in the Middle East, Israel is a democracy. Every citizen of Israel has the right to vote and general elections are decided by proportional representation. This ensures that governments are perpetually coalitions made up of a range of parties, and that the 120 seats of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) are divided evenly between parties who exceed the 3.25% threshold according to the number of votes cast.
Between 1948 and 1979, general elections usually produced left-wing coalitions, with the Labor Party (Israeli English always uses American spellings) dominant. In the last 40 years, Likud has been the major political party and the coalitions have tended to be right-wing. Most Israeli Arabs vote for Arab parties: however, a significant minority support the mainstream parties, including Likud. Indeed, a survey following the April 2019 election found that more than 27% living in exclusively Arab towns supported non-sectarian parties. This number is likely to be greater in the many mixed communities in Israel where it is impossible to distinguish between Arab and Jewish voters.
Surveys consistently show that Israeli Arabs support the creation of a Palestinian state, but they wouldn't want to live there. They see faults in the Israeli state (just as Israeli Jews do!) and want to maintain their Arab identity, but they also recognise the benefits of living as Israelis and have no wish to lose these.
Between 1948 and 1979, general elections usually produced left-wing coalitions, with the Labor Party (Israeli English always uses American spellings) dominant. In the last 40 years, Likud has been the major political party and the coalitions have tended to be right-wing. Most Israeli Arabs vote for Arab parties: however, a significant minority support the mainstream parties, including Likud. Indeed, a survey following the April 2019 election found that more than 27% living in exclusively Arab towns supported non-sectarian parties. This number is likely to be greater in the many mixed communities in Israel where it is impossible to distinguish between Arab and Jewish voters.
Surveys consistently show that Israeli Arabs support the creation of a Palestinian state, but they wouldn't want to live there. They see faults in the Israeli state (just as Israeli Jews do!) and want to maintain their Arab identity, but they also recognise the benefits of living as Israelis and have no wish to lose these.