Surveillance research: New page: Joint List, electoral alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel

2026-11-10T12:35:38Z

New page: Joint List, electoral alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel

New page

{{short description|'''Electoral alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel, formed in 2015 and revived in 2026'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Joint List
| image = Joint List MKs submitting lists, 22nd Knesset election (Zaher333, 2019).jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Joint List members of the Knesset submitting the list for the 22nd Knesset election, August 2019. Photograph: Zaher333, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| type = Political alliance (Knesset electoral list)
| founded = {{Start date|2015|01|22}}
| founder = [[Hadash]], [[Balad]], [[Ta'al]] and the [[United Arab List]] (Ra'am)
| location = Israel
| area_served = Israel
| key_people = [[Ayman Odeh]]; [[Ahmad Tibi]]; [[Yousef Jabareen]] (heads the 2026 list); [[Sami Abu Shehadeh]] (Balad)
| services = Joint candidate list for [[Knesset]] elections (13 seats in 2015, 13 in September 2019, 15 in March 2020, 6 in 2021 and 11 in 2026)
| remarks = Known in some English-language reports as the '''Joint Arab List'''. Ra'am left the alliance before the 2021 election and ran separately in 2026.
}}
The '''Joint List''' (Hebrew: ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet''; also called the '''Joint Arab List''') is an electoral alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel. It was formed shortly before the March 2015 [[Knesset]] election, combining the three Arab parties [[Balad]], [[Ta'al]] and the [[United Arab List]] (Ra'am) with the Arab-Jewish party [[Hadash]], after Israel raised the electoral threshold from 2 per cent to 3.25 per cent in 2014.<ref name="IDI">Israel Democracy Institute, [https://en.idi.org.il/israeli-elections-and-parties/parties/the-joint-list/ The Joint List] ''Israel Democracy Institute'', accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="JTA2015">Jewish Telegraphic Agency, [https://www.jta.org/2015/01/25/politics/israel-3 Israel's Arab parties form joint Knesset slate] ''JTA'', 25 January 2015, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref> It won 13 seats in 2015, split before the April 2019 election, reunited for September 2019 and March 2020 (winning 15 seats in 2020), lost [[United Arab List|Ra'am]] before the 2021 election, and was revived by Hadash, Ta'al and Balad in August 2026, winning 11 seats in the election of 27 October 2026.<ref name="IDI" /><ref name="NewArab2026">Monjed Jadou, [https://www.newarab.com/analysis/how-record-palestinian-vote-has-unsettled-israeli-politics How a record Palestinian vote has unsettled Israeli politics] ''The New Arab'', 3 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref>

== Formation in 2015 ==
Balad and Ra'am-Ta'al signed a unity deal with Hadash and the Islamic Movement on the night of 22 January 2015, to run on one ticket in the March election. ''The Times of Israel'' reported that the list would be headed by [[Ayman Odeh]], a Haifa lawyer and political newcomer who had been elected leader of Hadash days earlier, followed by [[Masud Ghnaim]] (Ra'am-Ta'al) and [[Jamal Zahalka]] (Balad); [[Ahmad Tibi]] (Ra'am-Ta'al) took the fourth slot. [[Hanin Zoabi]] (Balad) was placed seventh and [[Dov Khenin]] of Hadash eighth.<ref name="ToI2015">Lazar Berman, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150126041046/http://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-parties-and-hadash-finalize-unity-deal/ Arab parties finalize unity deal] ''The Times of Israel'', 22 January 2015, archived 26 January 2015, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref> The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported the list as formed the following day and noted that the parties joined because they feared that running separately they could fall short of the new threshold.<ref name="JTA2015" />

The list ran a Hebrew-language campaign alongside its Arabic one. [[Re'ut Mor]], its Hebrew-language spokeswoman, told ''The Jerusalem Post'' in February 2015 that the aim was to keep and if possible increase the Jewish vote that Hadash had attracted.<ref name="JPost2015">Ariel Ben Solomon, [https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/NGO-stresses-nonpartisan-plan-to-increase-Israeli-Arab-voter-turnout-391855 'Nonpartisan' campaign launched to increase Israeli-Arab voter turnout] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 23 February 2015, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref>

== Member parties ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Parties in the Joint List
! Party !! Description in the sources !! Joint List membership
|-
| [[Hadash]] || Arab-Jewish socialist party; its leader headed the 2015 list<ref name="JTA2015" /> || 2015; September 2019–2021; 2026
|-
| [[Balad]] || Secular Arab party, described in 2026 as representing pan-Arab nationalism<ref name="JTA2015" /><ref name="JPost2026">Ruth Eglash, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-913628 Israel's Arab parties hold key to coalition if Israel's leaders accept them] ''The Jerusalem Post'' (JTA), 2 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref> || 2015; September 2019–2021; 2026
|-
| [[Ta'al]] || Arab party, described in 2026 as promoting Arab civic rights and equality<ref name="JPost2026" /> || 2015; September 2019–2021; 2026
|-
| [[United Arab List]] (Ra'am) || Joined in 2015 as Ra'am-Ta'al and the Islamic Movement; left the alliance before the 2021 election; ran separately in 2026 under [[Mansour Abbas]]<ref name="IDI" /><ref name="NewArab2026" /> || 2015; September 2019; March 2020
|}

== Election results ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Joint List results in Knesset elections
! Election !! Votes !! Seats !! Share of valid votes
|-
| 2015 (17 March) || 446,583 || 13 || 10.6%
|-
| September 2019 || 470,211 || 13 || 10.6%
|-
| March 2020 || 581,507 || 15 || 12.7%
|-
| 2021 || 212,583 || 6 || 4.8%
|-
| 2026 (27 October) || 500,755 || 11 || 8.8%
|}
The table follows the Israel Democracy Institute's record of the list's results.<ref name="IDI" /> The institute notes that internal struggles broke the alliance up ahead of the April 2019 election, and that Ra'am left it before 2021. It has no entry for the 2022 election.<ref name="IDI" /> ''The New Arab'' says the alliance fell apart after its record result in 2020.<ref name="NewArab2026" />

== The 2026 election ==
In August 2026 Hadash, Ta'al and Balad revived the Joint List under [[Yousef Jabareen]], while Ra'am under Mansour Abbas ran separately to keep its freedom to join a coalition; the two lists signed a surplus-vote agreement.<ref name="NewArab2026" /> On 23 September the [[Central Elections Committee]] voted 18 to 5 to bar the Joint List, Ra'am and the Balad leader [[Sami Abu Shehadeh]] from the ballot; the lists appealed to the Supreme Court and were allowed to run, although Abu Shehadeh withdrew from the race.<ref name="NewArab2026" /><ref name="JPost2026" /> The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra'am 8, a combined 19 seats, with Arab turnout reported at about 80 per cent against 53.2 per cent in 2022.<ref name="NewArab2026" /><ref name="JPost2026" />

After the vote, [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] wrote on X that the election had been "stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism", and members of [[Likud]] alleged fraud and foreign interference.<ref name="JPost2026" /> ''The New Arab'' reported that on election day the head of the [[Shin Bet]], [[David Zini]], described the vote as secure and police said they had no evidence supporting the Likud allegations, but that two days later the Central Elections Committee's chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg, ordered the Shin Bet to investigate suspected foreign funding behind the Arab turnout.<ref name="NewArab2026" /> At a press conference with the attorney general and the Shin Bet chief, Sohlberg said the investigation was serious and ongoing but would not change the results.<ref name="JPost2026" />

== Shin Bet monitoring ==
In June 2015 the Shin Bet questioned the Joint List's media consultant Re'ut Mor about an upcoming Gaza flotilla and about her views on Zionism, the army and the boycott movement; ''Haaretz'' described her as a media consultant for the "Joint Arab List".<ref name="Cohen2015">Gili Cohen, [https://www.haaretz.com/2015-08-18/ty-article/.premium/idf-monitoring-bds-groups-around-the-world/0000017f-e8ec-df5f-a17f-fbfe6f3c0000 Israel's Military Intelligence Monitoring Dozens of BDS Groups Around the World] ''Haaretz'', 18 August 2015, archived at [https://archive.ph/pIjXP archive.ph/pIjXP], accessed 9 November 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Re'ut Mor]]
* [[Shin Bet]]
* [[Delegitimization Department]]
* [[Knesset]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Palestine]]

Joint List - Revision history

Surveillance research: New page: Joint List, electoral alliance of Arab-majority parties in Israel