The failure of Palestinian leadership in Israel
Once the rising star of Arab politics in Israel, over the past few days Knesset member Ayman Odeh has shown that he lacks real leadership, choosing to follow the voices that call for violence.
Nazareth Mayor Ali Salam took a bold step in expelling the chairman of the Joint List, Knesset member Ayman Odeh, from his town Oct. 11, even if it caused a ruckus in front of the TV cameras. Palestinian-Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish was no less bold Oct. 14, when she spoke from the heart during a live broadcast, accusing the Arab Knesset members of fanning the flames and calling on them to come to their senses and help restore calm. Both moves attracted the media’s attention and hundreds of thousands of views on social media. Their bold, painful statements showed how weak the Israeli Arab leadership is, particularly those Knesset members from the Joint List.
Aharish, a successful young Muslim woman of 34, is a familiar media figure. She looked outraged when she launched her piercing, agonizing monologue, which was nothing short of an indictment of the Arab Knesset members. “I don’t see the Arab leadership trying to restore quiet. … They are inciting the public even more,” she said on Channel 2. “What kind of God would allow children to kill innocent victims? What kind of woman with a hijab, who prays to God, would pull a knife out of her bag and try to stab people? You’re encouraging thousands of young people to take to the streets. With your own hands, you’re ruining their future. These children are paying with their lives, with their blood, because of your incitement.”
