MK Odeh Accepts Netanyahu’s Request to Meet; Accuses PM of Grandstanding

One month after his racist Election Day warning that Arab citizens were “heading to the polls in droves,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested Wednesday, April 15, a meeting with Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash). MK Odeh confirmed receiving the invitation and indicated that he would take the prime minister up on his offer, but candidly rebuked Netanyahu for using the meeting as a publicity stunt to boost his own political standing. Odeh said that the Joint List would use the meeting to protest against to home demolitions, push for recognition of Arab-Bedouin towns in the Negev, and advance his equality plan for Israel’s Arab citizens.

MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), head of the Joint List

MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), head of the Joint List (Photo: Al Ittihad)

“I would like to believe that Netanyahu understands the terrible mistakes he made recently, but it seems that this is only a cosmetic move for the media, as is his wont. His office leaked the information about the meeting to the media even before it was scheduled. We want a work meeting, not a PR meeting,” Odeh said.

On Election Day, March 17, Netanyahu posted a video on his Facebook page, appealing to his supporters to get out and vote to offset the “droves of Arabs” making their way to polling stations. Days later, the prime minister “apologized” for the racist comments and said: “I know the things I said several days ago offended some of Israel’s citizens; hurt the Arab citizens.” At that time MK Odeh called the apology a duplicitous “flip-flop.” So long as Netanyahu “advances racist legislation… and does not promote real equality” for Arabs in Israel, said the new MK, the prime minister’s apology would be neither acceptable or credible. Odeh’s Joint List garnered a strong 13 seats in the elections, making it the third largest party in the Knesset. Netanyahu’s extreme-right and neo-liberal Likud party received 30 seats, while the Zionist Union took 24.

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