Mada's Research Papers

Summary:
In Voting without Voice, the authors analyze the goals of the Palestinian Arabs’ participation in the parliamentary elections in Israel in the changing political environment following the October 2000 demonstrations. The book is an attempt to develop a better understanding of the complex web of influences affecting the voting behavior of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel and of the continuing challenges that they face as it becomes increasingly obvious that they lack any meaningful influence in the political decision-making process in the Jewish State.

The book begins with an introduction to the parties and political streams that Palestinian Arabs voted for in the 2003 elections and an outline of the role that each party plays in the political landscape of Israel. The authors then discuss the different factors that influenced Palestinian Arabs’ voting behavior in the political climate that preceded the 2003 elections. The authors divide these influences into three broad categories: i) influences within the Arab minority – including the October 2000 mass demonstrations, the relationships between the different political parties and the marginalization of women in the Arab sphere; ii) the Israeli sphere – including the changing of the electoral system and the attack of the Israeli establishment on the Arab leadership and parties; iii) including the external sphere- the influence of the intifada and the broadcasts of Arab satellite stations.

Following this analysis the third chapter analyzes the results of the 2003 national election. The authors provide explanations of the effects of different demographic criteria (gender, region, size of village/town/city) on voting behavior. The authors also explore reasons for the main trends of the elections: the decline in the Arab minority’s voting turnout; the change in the power of Arab parties; and the decline of the minority’s votes for Zionist parties.

In the last chapter, the authors consider why Palestinian Arabs vote in Israeli parliamentary elections despite the fact that they have little genuine political influence. The authors explore how participation in parliamentary elections has served three additional goals beyond the obvious parliamentary goals of voting: a) to bridge between two central demands expressed by the Arab minority: equal citizenship and maintaining the Arab Palestinian national identity; b) to shape and sharpen the political and ideological identities which can become a tool to achieve goals beyond what can be potentially achieved by parliamentary means; c) promoting self-empowerment by building social and political organizations that can represent the group’s ideology and empower its members. After considering these reasons for voting the authors leave the reader with the question, ‘What will happen when the Arab citizens find alternative ways for achieving their goals without voting?’

The book is published in Arabic and Hebrew.