At a Likud party meeting on Motzei Shabbos, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu informed the party that he is launching a campaign to garner the votes of Israeli Arabs.

“Just like I broke the Palestinian veto on relationships with the Arab states, I’m breaking the Arab parties’ veto with the Arab citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “I believe in [Ze’ev] Jabotinsky’s view that all citizens in Israel must have equal rights. We are asking Arab citizens – vote for us this time.”

The prime minister said that he is meeting with Public Security Minister Amir Ohana (Likud) on Sunday to begin efforts on a plan to reduce violent crime and murder among Israeli Arabs, an increasingly worsening issue and concern in the sector.

שמחתי לבקר באום אל פאחם לרגל החיסון המיליון בישראל. המגזר הערבי מצטרף לסיפור ההצלחה של ישראל! pic.twitter.com/Ob1Q9hkmCM

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 2, 2021

Netanyahu visited the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm on Friday to encourage Israeli Arabs, who apparently have been taken in by rumors that the coronavirus vaccine is harmful, to be vaccinated in greater numbers. A day earlier, he visited the Arab town of Tirah.

Ironically, as almost an illustration of the rampant crime in the Arab sector, Kan News revealed on Sunday that the millionth Israeli citizen to be vaccinated, who posed for a photo with Netanyahu and Health Minister Edelstein, was convicted of manslaughter in the past and served a jail sentence.

In coordination with Israel, Palestinian policemen enter Kufr Aqab, north of Jerusalem, where 3 men were killed in a family dispute. Parts of the village are located within Jerusalem Municipality boundaries. pic.twitter.com/WQWhgWbOMg

— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) January 2, 2021

Whether the prime minister’s efforts to garner the Arab vote will be successful remains to be seen. Arab voters, if not voting for an Arab party, traditionally vote for Jewish left-wing parties. Furthermore, Netanyahu is known for his warning to Jewish voters on election day in 2015 that “Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.” Also, prior to the April 2019 elections, Netanyahu tried to advance legislation mandating cameras in polling stations, claiming that there was widespread voter fraud in Arab areas.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)