By Mickey Gitzin and Shira Ben Sasson
JERUSALEM — The early results from Israel’s election are rolling in, and once again, they are inconclusive. The path to the 61 seats needed to build a coalition is unclear, and weeks of uncertainty may lie ahead.
But in a moment this uncertain, some things are not in question: what we believe, what we are building, and why the work doesn’t wait.
Israel’s democratic future relies on whether its citizens, Jewish and Arab, can build it together. This election showed us how many people are ready to do exactly that.
Yesterday, Palestinian citizens of Israel turned out to vote in historic numbers. This is a major win for everyone who believes in equal citizenship and a democratic Israel.
NIF and our partners have always believed in Jewish-Arab partnership as the only way possible. We’ve worked for years to support the organizations and activists who persisted in the essential work of building trust, training leaders, and engaging more citizens in democratic life.
These efforts mattered, and they delivered historic results. Still, no clear majority for the next coalition has emerged. And already, as politicians turn to the question of including Arab parties in a governing coalition, we see an emerging debate on how to treat Arab voters and their elected representatives.
We know this fundamental truth: Jewish-Arab partnership is the only moral and sustainable choice for Israel’s future. NIF and our partners insist that Arab voters be seen not as threats but as legitimate participants in Israeli democracy.
If we want a government that represents a democratic future, it starts with including the millions of Arab citizens who just voted. It starts with having the bold imagination to build a democracy that is truly for everyone.
Israel’s democratic future is a shared project, and it belongs to Jewish and Arab citizens alike.
Our partners are doing the essential, long-term work of making that partnership a lived reality—countering racist incitement, uniting Arabs and Jews in shared struggle, and building the inclusive, broad-based movements to secure democracy, equality, and peace.
All of this was true before election night and it’s true now. No matter what unfolds in the coming weeks, we will continue building a more just and democratic Israel.
Our work doesn’t pause for coalition negotiations. It doesn’t wait for a government to form. It continues today, as it has every day, because together with you, we are in this for the long haul, and because the future we are fighting for is worth every day it takes.,
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Mickey Gitzin is the Acting CEO and Shira Ben Sasson is the Director in Israel of the New Israel Fund.