Eisenkot slams Netanyahu’s ‘racist’ campaign vs Arabs
JERUSALEM—Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot accused caretaker premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of fueling a “racist” campaign against the country’s Arab minority, after he sought to delegitimize the community’s lawmakers by linking them to Hamas.
Eisenkot’s statement was a rare instance of a prominent Jewish political leader taking a strong stand in defense of Arab Israelis, who form more than 20 percent of the population.
Two Arab-majority parties, Raam and the Joint List, secured a combined 19 seats in last month’s election, winning nearly a sixth of the 120-seat parliament and potentially emerging as kingmakers in efforts by Eisenkot to form a government.
“Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story,” Eisenkot wrote on X on Friday.
“They have been subjected to a racist and aggressive campaign of delegitimization, fueled by the outgoing prime minister and those around him for political purposes,” he added.
“The attempt to marginalize them and vilify them collectively is a profound violation of the principles of civic responsibility.”
Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly criticized leaders of Arab parties for refusing to describe Hamas as a “terror group” following its unprecedented Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Relentless criticism
All leaders of Arab parties have condemned the attack, in which Arab Israelis—descendants of Palestinians who remained in what became Israel in 1948—were also among those killed.
Netanyahu has also repeatedly alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, but electoral authorities have rejected the claims.
In a speech this week, Netanyahu lamented that the two Arab lists refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, although Raam leader Mansour Abbas has done so in the past.
He further claimed that they sought to establish either an “Islamic state” or a “nationalist Palestinian state.”
During the same ceremony, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir heckled Joint List leader Youssef Jabareen during his oath of allegiance.
