The storm in the Arab parties, the disappointment from Gantz who joined the coalition and the shaky functioning of the opposition • MK Tibi fires in all directions and declares: "Flexibility also has a limit"
"I am fulfilling a mission and do not want to be a minister"
Photography:
Danny Shem Tov, Spokeswoman for the Knesset
At the end of the interview with Dr. Ahmad Tibi (61), the oldest Arab MK in the Mishkan, with 21 years of experience, I asked him if he was not frustrated that he had not held any executive position to date, and also in the future his chances of being a government minister are slim. He did not hesitate and replied: "There is nothing frustrating about that.
I represent my public and fulfill a mission, and I do not want to be a minister.
This is not my ambition.
My ambition is to make an impact.
I still feel I can contribute.
When I feel I can no longer, I will make sure to update you. "
The first part of the interview was devoted to a storm that recently hit the joint list, following the rapprochement between MK Mansour Abbas (chairman of the RAAM faction) and the prime minister. I asked Tibi what he thought of Abbas' conduct, which does not rule out cooperation with the Likud Bezalel Smutrich, and even stated that he might support French law that would prevent Netanyahu's ouster, Tibi replied that "this statement is wrong and has no place.
I hope he was wrong in expression and not in essence.
I understand that an MK wants to achieve for his public, and that is legal and legitimate, but there are things that are not negotiable in principle. When there is an indictment against the prime minister and he wants to evade his trial, I can tell you for sure - no Arab MK will dare to vote for Rescue for Netanyahu. "
How do the joint list accept MK Abbas' latest statements, because if she does not change a disk - she will lose her right to exist?
"His remarks have provoked a sharp debate in the joint list and in the Arab public in general. We think this government is bad, and it would be good if it passed away. Netanyahu systematically incites against us and delegitimizes us. I understand that politics is a flexible thing, but flexibility also has a limit."
Photo: Channel 20
The internal dispute in the joint list could lead to the dissolution of the partnership between the four parties that make it up?
"The leaders of the four parties say the recent events will not lead to the dissolution of the partnership, and I hope we are all right. The added value of the joint list was the unity, which gave us 15 seats in the election. We instilled hope among voters that we will have more power to influence. "To bring achievements to the Arab public, but Bnei Gantz shattered that hope when he joined the government, and we began to feel that hope was disappointed. There is no doubt that we also made mistakes in our conduct and tried to correct them, and then the public debate erupted following Abbas' conduct."
Are you not worried about the recent polls, in which you drop from 15 to 10-11 seats?
"The results of the polls do not satisfy me. Part of the decline lies in the internal controversy that has become public against the will of the public. But in the past we started election campaigns with worse polls. In the 2015 election the Arab public was fascinated by ideological disagreements, we managed to work together. "That recipe does not work so well. I try to mend the rifts that have been created. To some extent I succeed. Pluralism and different opinions do not harm unity. However, many rifts will shatter unity."
50% of all morbidity is in Arab localities.
why?
"After the end of the second closure, people thought we had won the corona. As a doctor, I am authorized to say that the corona is a dangerous disease, and gatherings, including weddings, cause the disease to break out. In a limited forum. "
Does the Arab public not understand that it is showing irresponsibility?
"Certainly. Anyone who does so is doing an irresponsible egotistical act. Our clergy, the monitoring committee, the heads of the authorities and our MKs are calling on the public to respect the instructions.
I, for example, since the outbreak of the corona do not go to weddings but only call to greet and say 'from Brock', and I also do not go to comfort mourners but only comfort on the phone.
It is not easy for a public figure, but it is a personal example. "
Archive photo: Newsenders
In retrospect, are you sorry that you recommended to the president to impose the government train on Bnei Gantz?
"It was a frog we swallowed, not from Mordechai's love but from Haman's hatred. It was not an easy step. We explained to the public that we were doing this to overthrow Netanyahu. We argued and in the end we made a painful decision, and the result was disappointing. "In blue and white, there are good people with good intentions, but as soon as they joined the Netanyahu government, they became prisoners in a cage."
Are you satisfied with the functioning of the opposition?
"The function of the opposition is on the face of it. It is not a homogeneous body. There are no joint discussions between us. Sometimes I consider expressing distrust in the opposition."
Are you disappointed with the peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates and with Bahrain?
"Trade, tourism and normalization agreements can be signed with the whole world and his wife, but as long as no agreement is signed with the Palestinians it is not peace, because peace is made by people who were in a bloody conflict or war. I very much want an Israeli-Palestinian peace, end the conflict and establish a state "Palestinian alongside Israel. Netanyahu is proud that he made the agreements with the Gulf states without progress in negotiations with the Palestinians. In my opinion, this is not an issue to be proud of, because it only perpetuates the conflict and prolongs it."
"The Arab is discriminated against when he is alive, and even after his death"
MK Ahmad Tibi has sharply criticized the police's treatment of criminal and protection organizations in the Arab sector. About two weeks after the joint list's chairman, MK Ayman Odeh, spoke in the Knesset plenum with great excitement about 94 Arab citizens killed in the past year by Arab criminals, he says Tibi because “I also talk about it from personal experience.
My uncle was murdered in a mosque in Ramla eight years ago, and to this day the murder has not been solved and the killer continues to roam free. "
Are the police not working to locate the killers?
"The police in Israel are strong and professional, and they have the necessary tools to deal with criminal organizations. They have succeeded in eradicating crime in Netanya, but for some reason they are unable to do so in Arab localities because the government has not yet decided to eradicate crime in the Arab sector. "Both when he is alive and when he dies. The rate of deciphering murders in Arab society is smaller than in Jewish society."
Do the police treat murder in the Arab sector with less seriousness and concern than among the Jews?
"Israel treats the Arab population and what happens inside it as a backyard. There are those who believe that it is not terrible for the Arabs to kill each other and that there is protection or collection of sponsorship fees. It may be serious, but not like in Tel Aviv and Herzliya. The most serious in the Arab sector. Now because of the corona and economic hardship, the gray market has gone up. The facts prove that when a Jew was shot or killed by an Arab, the Arab was arrested within days. All murders of Jews were solved by the police. Arab and they have not been deciphered.
"There have been such cases in Taibeh, Tira and other localities. We have been asking the government for years to address violence in Arab society. We demanded a government decision and even passed a draft of the government plan. This is a step in the right direction, although there are quite a few holes in this plan."
