Ra’am and Joint List | The surge of the other

Profiles On October 27, the day Israel went to the polls, the first election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the country recorded its highest voter turnout since 1999, at 77.7% But this was not the only story about the turnout. Israel’s often overlooked Arab citizens, who make up some 20% of the population, made an overwhelming case for representation and change that day by turning out in massive numbers to vote. Exit polls recorded by Channel 12 estimated their turnout at nearly 80%, the highest in at least a decade. For the far-right coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the election was a “war for our home”, but for Arab parties, the political mobilisation meant meaningful representation in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.