In advance of the upcoming elections, the Arab and Jewish-Arab political parties in Israel formed a joint list, uniting to meet the new electoral threshold and ensure seats in the Knesset. How has this merger affected public attitudes in Israel’s Arab society? What other recent developments are shaping Arab views and expectations for the upcoming elections?
Listen to a conference call with MK Hanna Sweid, retiring after three terms in the Knesset with the the Jewish-Arab party, Hadash, and Arik Rudnitzky, of Tel Aviv University’s Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, for a discussion of the issues and developments affecting attitudes in Israel’s Arab society, and their significance for these elections and beyond.
Click here to listen.
Event details:
Wednesday, March 4th at 12:00 PM, ET
Call details provided upon RSVP
About the Speakers
MK Hanna Sweid
MK Sweid enterred politics as head of Eilaboun local council in 1993, a position he held until 2003. He was first elected to the 17th Knesset in the 2006 elections as a member of Hadash, the Jewish-Arab national socialist party. Placed second on Hadash’s list, his was the highest seat held in a decade by a Christian elected representative. Sweid retained his seat in the 2009 & 2013 elections, and will not run again in 2015. Prior to serving in the Knesset, Sweid was head of the Arab Center for Planning and Building between 2003 and 2006. He was appointed head of the National Planning and Building Council in 1996, serving as its first Arab council. From 1993-2003 Sweid was the head of council for his home town of Eilaboun. Between 1990-1992 he was a researcher and lecturer at the University of Reading in England. Sweid is a civil engineer with a doctorate in Urban Planning from the Technion in 1988. Sweid lives in Eilaboun with his wife and three children.
Arik Rudnitzky
Arik Rudnitzky serves as Project Manager of Tel Aviv University’s Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. He holds MA (magna cum laude) and BA degrees in Middle Eastern History from the Faculty of Humanities and MBA degree from the Faculty of Management, both at Tel Aviv University. Mr. Rudnitzky has been studying Israeli Arabs issues for more than a decade. His fields of expertise cover political, national and social developments in the Arab society in Israel, as well as government policies on Arabs in Israel.