The gap in political representation between represented and non-represented identities is defined as a “double disadvantage.” It leads to greater invisibility among representatives who belong to several disadvantaged groups and have intersectional identities, compared with those who belong to only one disadvantaged group. The Arab minority in Israel and its representatives in the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) grapple with intersectional identities such as religion, two nationalities and gender. Arab legislators in Israel operate in a unique context. Israel is the only country in the Middle East in which Arabs are a minority. At the same time, the Jewish majority in Israel is a minority in the Middle East, and the state is surrounded by hostile Arab countries. Israel is a democracy surrounded by non-democratic countries. Furthermore, it faces unique challenges. It is under constant attack from the Arab would. It is a country without defined borders and is the target hostile terrorist organizations who believe that Israel does not have the right to exist.
Furthermore, it is a multi-ethnic society with extensive ethnic diversity. The largest ethnic split is between Jews and Arabs. As of 2020, there were 9,291,000 Israeli citizens—21.1% non-Jews, mostly Muslim, Christian, and Druze Arabs, and 73.9% Jews. However, there are also substantial ethnic differences among Jews who come from different regions of the world. Among the Jews, there is an ethnic divide between two major geo-cultural groups: Jews of European or North American origin (Ashkenazim) and Jews of Asian or North African origin (Mizrachim). The latter group generally scores lower than the former group with regard to various measures of social stratification.
In recent decades an additional distinct group of citizens have come to Israel: Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. By the end of the century Russian immigrants constituted almost 20% of the Jewish population of Israel. Additional differences within the Jewish groups in Israel relate to religiosity. In Israel, the Jewish religious dimension is a continuum, with traditional and Orthodox Jews situated in between the secular and ultra-Orthodox poles.
Hence, the Arab minority in Israel differs from the majority both in terms of nationality (Arab and Palestinian) and religion (As of 2020, 17% of the Arab are Muslim, 9% are Christian, and 8% are Druze), in addition to its connection to the global Arab world. While Jews and Arabs formally enjoy equal citizenship rights by law, they vary substantially in practice.
The study analyzes the content of Arab legislators’ parliamentary activities on the floor and how they deal with their intersectional identities in their representation. In the category of parliamentary activities, I include the use of legislative and non-legislative tools. Examples include parliamentary questions, bills and legislation, motions for the agenda, one-minute speeches and debates during a vote of no confidence and regarding special events. By analyzing the use of these parliamentary tools, I can create the first comprehensive picture of minority representation and address the questions of whether, when or why intersectional identities create invisible representation.
To visualize the composition of the intersectional representation with respect to nationality, religion, gender, Palestinians and other issues, I created an index of intersectional representation. The index is comprised of five themes (identities): nationality (Arab), religion (Muslims, Christians and Druze), Palestinian (additional nationality) and gender (female and male in a traditional society). In addition to the four identities, I included the category of “others,” which refers to the legislators’ discussions of ordinary issues such as healthcare, the economy and education.
Intersectional representation during Israel’s first decade: 1949-1959
During Israel’s first decade there were three Knesset terms, eight governments and two prime ministers. In this decade Israel absorbed massive waves of immigration, which began immediately with the establishment of the state. Within two years, these immigrants had more than doubled the population. This costly undertaking changed the residential map of the state and its demographic structure. The Israeli economy was based on major government involvement in the economy and a large public sector – for ideological reasons but also for pragmatic reasons.
Between 1948 and 1966, Arab citizens in Israel lived under military rule, which severely restricted their freedom of movement. In general, Arab citizens were exempt from compulsory military service. However, in 1956 Israel began the compulsory draft of Druze men, after a period of them volunteering for military service since 1948. This law included Circassians, an ethnic group that lives in two villages in the north of Israel. Most of them are Sunni Muslims.
During the first decade, Fedayeen terrorist attacks increased. The Fedayeen were Palestinians who infiltrated Israel from Egypt and Jordan. In addition, Egypt harassed Israeli ships that tried to cross the Suez Canal, and there were Syrian attacks into Israeli territory. Israel protested these attacks in the UN, and of course, they were discussed in the Knesset. The Soviet Union severed ties with Israel in 1953 and began to move closer to Egypt and other Arab countries.
Operation Kadesh- an Israeli military operation against Egypt in October 1956 – was initiated by France and Britain because of the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company by the Egyptian government. They wanted to regain control of the Suez Canal. Israel joined them due to pressure from the European countries and because of the closing of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships. Following international pressure, Israel was forced to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and most of the Sinai Peninsula, and a UN emergency force was deployed along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The withdrawal was completed in March 1957.
The first decade of the Israeli state was challenging for the Arab minority in several ways. They lived under military rule that severely limited their freedom of movement, livelihoods and free expression. Nevertheless, they were citizens who could vote and be elected to the Israeli parliament as equal citizens. The Jewish immigrants who came to Israel in the first decade settled in abandoned Palestinian villages and neighborhoods in mixed cities such as Jaffa, Haifa and Acre. Finally, the Arabs who remained in Israel became a minority after many years of being the majority, while the rest of their people became part of other countries as refugees.
Hence, the Arab minority in Israel has several identities based on their two nationalities (Arab and Palestinian), religion (Muslims, Christians and Druze), and gender (female and male in a traditional society). In addition to these identities, they are also concerned about the ordinary issues such as healthcare, the economy and education that concern all Israelis.
An analysis of the demographics of the Arab legislators in all three Knesset terms of the first decade indicates that the Druze and Christians are overrepresented and Muslims are underrepresented. In the first decade of Israel 70% of the Arab minority were Muslims, 21% were Christian and 9% were Druze. In the first Knesset, out of 3 Arab legislators, 2 were Muslims (66.66%) and 1 was Christian (33.33%). In the second Knesset, out of 8 Arab legislators, 3 were Muslims (37.5%), 3 were Christian (37.5%) and 2 were Druze (25%). In the third Knesset, out of 8 Arab legislators, 2 were Muslims (25%), 4 were Christian (50%) and 2 were Druze (25%).
Figure 1 illustrates the comparisons of the three Arab legislators based on their scores on the index of intersectional representation (the first Knesset).
It is interesting to see the differences between the three Arab legislators. Indeed, all three of them devoted most of their statements to issues related to Arab nationality. However, MK Amin Jarjoura spent more time than the other two talking about general topics such as healthcare, the economy and education. None of the Arab legislators paid much attention to issues related to Palestinian nationality.
Figure 2 illustrates the comparisons of the Arab legislators based on their scores on the index of intersectional representation (the second Knesset).
The scores on the intersectional representation index emphasize some of the differences in the foci of the eight Arab legislators. MK Jaber Moade talked more than the others about Palestinian nationality. In contrast, MK Seif el-Din el Zoubi spoke more often about religious issues. Despite being a Muslim, he volunteered to fight with the Haganah, Israel’s defense force, before the establishment of Israel. In 1940, the Arab Supreme Court sentenced him to death due to his cooperation with the Jews. Like Jaber Moade, he convinced his family to join the Jewish side during the War of Independence. Thanks to him the Arab villages that were connected to his family (Sulam, Nin, Tamra, Taibeh and Na’oora) were saved and became part of the state of Israel.
Figure 3 illustrates the comparisons of the Arab legislators based on their scores on the index of intersectional representation (the third Knesset).
The two Druze legislators, Jaber Moade and Hassan Hanifes, present a similar pattern regarding the amount of time they devoted to discussing the two nationalities (Arab and Palestinian). They paid less attention to Arab nationality compared to the other Arab legislators (63.06% and 54.1%, respectively) and more attention to Palestinian nationality compared to the other Arab legislators (17.37% and 14.27%, respectively). MK Hassan Hanifes was also unusual in devoting 10.01% of his time to issues related to gender, a topic that was of little interest to the other Arab legislators (range between 0.93% and 2.59%). In this third Knesset, the issue of religion seems to have disappeared.
By analyzing all of the talks on the floor of Israel’s parliament by its Arab legislators, I created the first comprehensive picture of minority representation and provided some preliminary answers to the questions of whether, when or why intersectional identities create invisible representation. The figures showed that intersectional representation exists, but within it each Arab legislator decides and acts according to the issues he wants to advance: Arab nationality, which gained the most attention in the first decade of the Israeli state, or Palestinian nationality, which two Druze Arab legislators emphasized more. Other identities disappeared.
Professor Osnat Akirav, Associate Professor at Western Galilee College, Israel