Joint List to soon launch without Ra'am, deal in final stages, Hadash-Ta'al leader tells 'Post'

The Joint List, a significant electoral bloc for Arab parties in Israel, is poised for a revival this week, though it will initially exclude the Ra'am Party. Hadash-Ta'al chairman Yousef Jabareen confirmed that Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad are moving forward with reconstituting the alliance, a move aimed at maximizing their representation in the Knesset. Jabareen, who recently took over leadership of Hadash-Ta'al from Ayman Odeh, stated that the parties have empowered a Consensus Committee to finalize the Knesset slate, a decision made to expedite the process and overcome internal demands.

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The door was still open for Ra’am to join ahead of the elections, which are scheduled to take place no later than October 27.

This new iteration of the Joint List marks a departure from its previous formations. The bloc, which originally comprised four parties, began to fracture before the 2021 elections when Ra'am departed. A further split occurred in 2022 when Balad broke away from the remaining factions. Currently, the Knesset includes Ra'am and the reduced Hadash-Ta'al list. Jabareen indicated that while the door remains open for Ra'am to rejoin before the election deadline, current negotiations are not active, as Ra'am has expressed willingness to discuss rejoining only closer to the submission deadline for party lists.

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We gave them authorization to propose the composition of the list, simply to shorten the timeline and not continue negotiations.

Polls suggest that a unified Arab party slate would garner more seats than separate runs. The decision to move forward with three parties reflects a pragmatic approach to the upcoming elections, scheduled for no later than October 27. The Consensus Committee is expected to complete its work by the end of the week, after which the parties are anticipated to officially announce their acceptance of the decision and the launch of the Joint List. Agreements have reportedly been reached regarding the top positions on the list, signaling progress in solidifying the alliance.

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We don’t want to wait until then. Therefore, we moved forward. And we are moving forward with forming a list of the three parties.