A growing number of Jews are voting for Arabs in Israel

THE AUDIENCE in Kfar Saba, a Jewish city near Tel Aviv, came from as far away as the Golan Heights in the north and Beersheva in the south. They crowded onto the terrace of a packed penthouse to hear a politician who promised to stop missiles from Gaza and counter hatred of Jews. With the crowd’s support, the politician continued, he could achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians via a two-state solution. None of that would have been unusual, except that the politician was Ayman Odeh (pictured), a jovial lawyer who heads the Joint List, a bloc of Arab-Israeli parties.After decades representing insular parties on the periphery of Israeli politics, Arab politicians have entered the mainstream. The Joint List is the country’s third largest bloc. It is courting the Jewish vote ahead of parliamentary elections on March 2nd. It has removed more pugnacious candidates and sees a place for itself in a centre-left government. Balad, the bloc’s most radical party, has put a Jew (of Iranian origin) on its list of candidates. The Joint List’s billboard campaign has an inclusive message. Posters in Yiddish promise ultra-orthodox Jews an end to conscription. Amharic ones vow to tackle police brutality against Ethiopians. “Let’s go together,” read the Hebrew ones.