The Socialist Arab-Jewish Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) reached an agreement on Thursday night, February 21, with veteran MK Ahmad Tibi’s Arab Movement for Renewal party (Ta’al) to run on a joint ticket in this coming April’s parliamentary elections for the 21st Knesset.
The move comes just weeks after Tibi announced that he would be mounting an independent campaign for the Knesset and pulled Ta’al out the Joint List, the electoral alliance of four parties — Hadash, Ta’al, Balad and United Arab List (Ra’am) — that was formed ahead of the 2015 elections and that went on to win 13 seats in the 120-member 20th Knesset.
After submitting the new slate to the Central Elections Committee, MK Ayman Odeh, head of Hadash, said: “In the interest of the Arab public and all democratic forces, our list will create a united front and the alternative of an authentic Jewish-Arab left: against the occupation, racism and discrimination and for social justice and a just peace.”
The 10 top candidates from Hadash and Ta’al’s combined list for the 21st Knesset’s general elections to be held on April 9, 2019 include:
- MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash)
- MK Ahmad Tibi (Ta’al)
- MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash)
- Atty. Osama Saadi (Ta’al)
- Dr. Ofer Cassif (Hadash)
- MK Yousef Jabareen (Hadash)
- Sundus Saleh (Ta’al)
- Jaber Asakli (Hadash)
- Talal al-Krenawi (Ta’al)
- Yousef Atawne (Hadash)
In addition to Hadash and Ta’al’s combined list, Ra’am, the Islamic party, and the nationalist, liberal Balad party, the two other members of the former Joint List, reached their own agreement to run together on a separate united Arab slate.
According to a poll aired by Channel 13 Thursday night, if the elections were held now Hadash-Ta’al would win 11 Knesset seats while Ra’am-Balad would pass the electoral threshold and send their top 4 candidates to the 21st Knesset.