On March 17, just over five weeks from now, general elections are to be held in Israel. These elections will be nothing less than historic: their impact is going to be decisive in determining where Israel is headed – to an end of the occupation and a just peace, or to further oppression of the Palestinian people and continuous war; to social justice or to more brutal capitalist exploitation and polarization; to real democracy or to increased racism and fascism.

Just before its dissolution, Netanyahu’s right-wing government raised the electoral threshold for entering the Knesset from 2% to 3.25%. This forced us, the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), at the core of which is the Communist Party of Israel (CPI), to join forces with Arab parties and form a joint list for the elections. After a long and intense debate within the party, the vast majority decided that such a list is the only way to ensure our representation in the next elected Knesset and to allow us to pursue our agenda of peace, social justice, and democracy for all.

All parties participating in the joint list (including Arab nationalist and Muslim religious factions) agreed that it should be Arab-Jewish in character and should include women among its leading candidates. The parties forming the list also agreed that the slate will be headed by a member of Hadash and that four candidates from Hadash will be among the top ten on the list. Consequently, the list is headed by the General Secretary of Hadash, Ayman Odeh, and includes two members of the Political Bureau of the CPI filling the fifth and eighth spots respectively: comrades Aida Touma-Sliman and MK Dov Khenin. The list’s number 10 candidate is also a member of Hadash – Dr. Yousef Jabareen.

For the struggle against fascism and racism, for democracy and equality, support the Joint List!