Israeli activists launch Arab-Jewish party ahead of elections

NAZARETH, Israel – Israeli peace activists on June 16 announced the establishment of a new political party based on Jewish-Arab partnership, ahead of national elections scheduled for later in 2026.

The party, called “A Place for Us All”, was launched in Israel’s largest Arab city of Nazareth and “aims to offer a new political home for Jews and Arabs who work toward peace, equality, social justice, and the fight against violence and crime,” a statement said.

It will be led by Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green, the co-directors of Israeli-Palestinian grassroots movement Standing Together.

Daood is the only woman currently heading a national political party in Israel and the first Palestinian woman to do so, the party said.

Most of Israel’s Arab minority identify as Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its creation in 1948. They represent about 21 percent of the country’s population.

“This is the last moment to save our society,” Daood said.

“We are being abandoned, murdered, our future is being burned – and I know that to fix this, it is not enough to only say what we are against. We also need to say what we are for,” she added.

In a statement, the party said it would focus on the “lack of security amid an ongoing war, the high cost of living, the housing crisis, planning and construction challenges, the lack of educational solutions, and the urgent issue that has been pushed to the margins – advancing an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.”

Green called for cooperation among opposition forces seeking to replace the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The launch event came a day after the veteran Israeli leader reiterated his intention to seek a new mandate in the planned polls, due to be held by the end of October.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has led his country through three years of war on multiple interconnected fronts and is facing mounting domestic criticism over his wartime leadership. AFP