The Arab vote in Israel’s 2026 elections is shaping up to be particularly significant, with three parties—Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad—joining forces, while the Ra’am party of Mansour Abbas runs independently. We traveled to the Galilee city of Tamra to speak with residents and understand how they’re preparing for the elections.
Tamra is an Arab city in the Galilee with about 37,000 residents, serving as an important commercial hub that draws people from across the region. The election atmosphere here is palpable. Signs line the streets with the slogan “Wakfeh A Sotak”—”Everything depends on your vote”—aimed at encouraging turnout. Many here tell us they expect high voter participation this time, and everyone points to a common factor motivating them to vote: protest against the current government.
Tha’er Younes, a resident of the village Jadeidi-Makr, tells us with a touch of cynicism: “This is an excellent platform to say thank you to Ben-Gvir and Smotrich for strengthening us Arabs with all their racism to go to the polls and vote.” Adel Diab, an activist in Mansour Abbas’s Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated party, echoed similar sentiments: “I’m saying this on Channel 14. This time, our vote will be a kind of revenge for the racism that was implemented.” Despite statements by Liberman, Eisenkot, and Bennett that no government will be formed in partnership with Arab parties, Adel tells us: “We hope inshallah that Mansour Abbas will enter and be a partner in the government, and be a partner in a complete and cohesive society. We are 20 percent Arabs (of the state’s citizens).”
1+Outside the Al-Mas restaurant, we met Mohammed, a Dan bus company driver who lives in Jerusalem and doesn’t hold a blue ID card—still, it was an opportunity to hear what Arabs living in other areas think. According to him: “If I were voting, I would definitely vote for the left, or I would vote for Ahmad Tibi and Sami Abu Shehadeh.”
Throughout the day in Tamra, we were accompanied by Atef and Fouad al-Masri, father and son. Both are social activists who believe in the integration of the Arab public in the state and in coexistence, and have been active in several Zionist parties. In 2020, Fouad even served as deputy chairman of the Likud student cell.
1+Today, as Atef, Fouad’s father, tells us, they have a new candidate they support enthusiastically: “Gadi Eisenkot is a person who has transparency and credibility. I trust him and, as I told you, I’ll vote for him. In addition, he will bring great benefit to the State of Israel.” Arab Israelis aren’t hiding their anger, but they’re also not hiding their hope: this time, they say, they intend to get to the polls and make their voices heard.