Back to the Knesset? Israeli Arab vote in the 20th Knesset elections

Arab politics in Israel recorded several notable achievements in the March 2015 Knesset elections. Sixteen Arab and Druze candidates were elected to serve in the Israeli parliament, the largest number ever elected. In addition, Arab voter turnout increased significantly compared to previous election campaigns and reached 63.5%, its highest level since the early 2000s, thus reversing a period of political apathy caused by the events of October 2000. These results may indicate a turning point in the political behaviour of the Arab public, and that the Knesset has once again become a relevant arena of political influence for the majority of the Arab public. An analysis of voting patterns in the recent elections in the Arab sector suggests that these changes were spurred by the participation of the Joint List. In many Arab localities, support for the Joint List, which ran as a grouping of the major political parties that have represented the Arab public in recent years, was positively associated with a rising turnout compared to previous elections.