Bedouin Women Drive Arab Party Success in Israeli Election

Umm Khaled Fatoum returned from volunteering at a Jewish-Arab support center to find her son’s home demolished by bulldozers in the Bedouin village of Azzarnug. The demolition occurred under police escort, with no time for residents to remove belongings.

Fatoum targeted Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister who ordered the destruction of Palestinian and Arab homes, by voting against him. She joined a grassroots campaign to educate Bedouin women about their voting rights and the impact of their participation.

The campaign led to a tripling of voting rates in some Bedouin villages in the southern Negev region. This surge in turnout was part of a broader increase in Arab voter participation, which secured 19 Knesset seats for Palestinian-led parties.

The lowest Bedouin turnout was 62%, while the highest reached over 93%. This high turnout was crucial for the Islamist Ra’am party to exceed polling expectations. Netanyahu accused Palestinian-led parties of fraud and foreign support, but these claims were rejected by election organizers and activists.

Bedouin voters, who face systemic discrimination and frequent home demolitions, saw voting as a rare form of political expression. Activists emphasized that the rise in turnout was due to increased awareness, not corruption, and that voting was the only way to protest the state’s treatment of their community.

The Muslim Bedouin, a marginalized minority in Israel, have historically faced limited civil rights and are often targeted for demolition. Many live in unrecognised villages without basic services, and the state has designated much of the Negev as military training grounds. This lack of infrastructure made the election a critical moment for political engagement.

The rise in voter turnout was also driven by the fear of war, as unrecognised villages lack bomb shelters and warning systems. Rocket attacks on these communities have killed civilians, including children, and the absence of security measures has heightened the urgency for political action.