MK Ghadir's decision not to join the Netanyahu-Gantz government reflects the typical conflict in Arab politics in Israel: the tension between clinging to principles and pragmatism. True, it is a personal decision to smell, and its determination to abide by elections, including the amendment of the National Law and the repeal of the law. But this is a dilemma that almost every Arab MK will face if he sticks to his ideology - and only in it.

Most of the Arab public in Israel, including the Druze community, has a great desire for the Knesset representatives to influence as part of the decision-making process. And yes, there is also a desire for them to enter into a coalition, any coalition. The era of the expectation of symbolic parliamentary representation or contentment in a permanent opposition role is over.

But the Arab public's ambition is faced by two refusals: the coalition leaders, right or left, from Rabin to Netanyahu, do not want to join an Arab party on "full", and on the contrary, MKs in the Arab parties also oppose serving in a government that may make decisions that run counter to the Their constituent principles and ideology, or to legitimize the government for their participation.

But against this approach, local politics can be modeled as an alternative. Why in mixed cities, such as Acre, Ramla or Lod, can BLD and Hadash join right-wing coalitions - while the government does not? A fact that you can - and that it also works.

Right. Israeli leaders are unwilling or unwilling to recognize the Arab parties as full partners in the government; They seek a Zionist consensus, and do not seek an Israeli consensus. The Arab parties seem to be more comfortable with the left parties, for reasons related to the concept of conflict and Arab-Jewish relations. But in contrast to the past, the political map is currently organized into two chunks: a right-wing bloc connected to religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, and a liberal-secular right-wing bloc, some of which is sometimes identified as "the center." Apart from the joint list and a few individual MKs in what remains of Labor and Meretz, what is left of the "once in a lifetime"? Every politician and politician who aspires to influence the coalition must learn to find ways to cooperate with the right, its various forms and its treason. In ideology. "It's not opportunism either. It's pragmatism.

Arab politicians must adopt a pragmatic approach, introduce conditions that the other party can also live with, and not start by imposing impassable red lines. Among us, if they adhere to a rigid national ideology, they will find it difficult to sit even in the government that Meretz will establish.

MK Ghadir's big "miss" does not only concern the interests of its constituency in the Druze community. It is about missing out on the opportunity to present such pragmatic Arab politics that does not involve renouncing ideological identity.