One party that has caught international observers’ attention is the Islamist Arab party, Ra’am, whose support has been imperative in the creation of the new government. Though it is easy to not look beyond the label Islamist, there is more to Ra’am than what meets the eye.
It is important to be familiar with Ra’am’s formation to understand the party’s complex identity. The party was founded by Sheikh Abdullah Darwish, a complex and controversial figure whose ideology and leadership has had massive implications on the Islamist branch of Palestinian politics. Earlier in his life, Darwish was the leader of the Islamist movement, which preached violence and incitement as a legitimate method of spreading their beliefs and gaining support.
As the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians developed in the 90s, Darwish promoted a more democratic and peaceful vision for the future. Eventually, the Islamist Movement split in the 1990s following disagreements over the Oslo Accords and the question of participation in Knesset.
The Northern movement continues to boycott Israeli elections and has several ties with radical Islamist and terror groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. In contrast, the southern movement, under the continued leadership of its head Darwish, eventually led to the creation of the United Arab List, better known as Ra’am. The party results from decades of infighting and debate between Palestinian Islamists on how best to represent their causes and fight for them. Unlike other Islamist movements, which may seek to undermine democracy and non-Islamic opposition, Ra’am is unique as the party was created to participate in Israel’s democratic process.
Ra’am is also quite different from other Middle Eastern Islamist parties. Ra’am advocates for and represents the rights and interests of conservative Sunni Muslims as many Islamist parties do. However, it is more similar to how a European Christian Democratic Party represents conservatives who hold onto their traditional values. Though some of Ra’am’s positions are derived from their faith, namely their culturally conservative agenda, Ra’am does not advocate for the return of Sharia (Islamic law), and the party has few to no religious demands.
The lack of emphasis on Sharia as a legitimate source of law is unique amongst Middle Eastern Islamist parties who view the implementation of Sharia as an essential part of their party’s agenda, even if it is a “modernized” version of the religious law. Much of Ra’am’s demands are based on improving the socioeconomic conditions of Israeli Arabs and Bedouin, who the government has long neglected. These demands include the crackdown on crime in Arab areas, the legalization of three Bedouin villages, and billions of dollars in funding and development of Arab areas.
THE MOST fascinating aspect of Ra’am is their complicated relationship with Zionism. Within the party’s 80-page charter, which outlines the party’s political agenda, the party makes its denouncement of Zionism clear, calling it a racist ideology and demanding the right of return for Palestinians expelled in 1948, a position that most Israeli Zionists fervently reject. However, what is said on paper and what is said in reality are often different things.
The list of demands made by Ra’am in exchange for support of Israel’s new coalition government was entirely about improving the lives of Israeli Arabs or Palestinians who live on the boundaries of the Israeli state. One of its demands is the legalization of three Bedouin villages that have long suffered neglect by governmental institutions. After winning four seats and passing the threshold to get elected to Knesset, Mansour Abbas went on live TV and proclaimed in Hebrew that he is a proud Muslim and an Israeli Arab. Despite its harsh criticism of Zionism, Ra’am accepts the legitimacy of Israel and its authority over the Arabs who live within it in exchange for economic benefits, which the Arabs of Israel have long been denied.
However, it is also extremely important not to overstate Ra’am’s progressiveness. The party is openly homophobic and has vowed to oppose any measures raised by coalition partners to advance LGBTQ rights in Israel. In an interview with the army radio, Mansour Abbas said he would, “without a doubt,” oppose the pro-LGBTQ legislation, stating that his parties’ platform is built on faith. Ra’am’s culturally conservative outlook has been a known part of the party’s agenda and has been a source of tension between them and other more secular and liberal Arab parties. In 2020, when Ra’am was still a part Arab-coalition party, Joint List, the party opposed Ayman Odeh, the party leader’s support of a bill banning conversion therapy. Freshmen Ra’am MK Walid Taha went so far as to say that homosexuality did not exist in Arab society or that if it did, it was very limited.
In some ways, Ra’am is an incredibly traditional and stereotypical Islamist party. They represent a mostly Arab population and preach a culturally conservative agenda derived from their faith. But Ra’am also represents something different and challenges some of the conventions of Israeli society: What does it mean to be Israeli? Should Arabs participate in the Knesset? What is the best way for Palestinians to fight for their rights and self-determination? Ra’am does not answer all these questions, but their participation in the new government opens new possibilities that might previously have seemed impossible.
The writer is an Egyptian student majoring in political science and communications at the American University in Cairo.