ABSTRACT
The changing attitudes or Israeli Arabs, and especially the changing political significance of the Arab vote, have enhanced political opportunities for Arabs. In Israel's forty-year history, many Arab members of the Knesset who had been elected on lists affiliated with the Labor Party resigned during their terms and sought re-election on their own—but none had succeeded. As Israeli Arabs gained in self-confidence, security and pride, they increasingly saw voting for Rakah as an effective, relatively safe way to express discontent with their life in Israel and with discriminatory government policies. The depth of the division between Jewish annexationists and Jewish anti-annexationists has made those who favor territorial compromise increasingly willing to ally with Israeli Arabs. Strategic voting is part of a widely perceived shift of Israeli Arabs toward a new role in Israeli society—as an active political force rather than as an unprotected subject of exploitation or a repository of protest.
