By Dov Waxman
On March 12, 2018, As’ad Ghanem, a political scientist who teaches at the University of Haifa, gave a talk at Northeastern entitled “Restoring Faith – The Politics of Empowerment among the Palestinians in Israel after Oslo.” Professor Ghanem is one of the leading experts on Arab-Jewish relations in Israel, one of the most prominent Arab citizens of Israel in Israeli academia, and also a well-known intellectual and political activist within the Arab community. In his talk, he discussed a number of important recent developments and trends in the politics of the Arab minority in Israel, such as the emergence of a new generation of Arab political leaders; the expansion and empowerment of civil society groups within the Arab community; and the politicization of Islamic activism in Israel. In what was a largely upbeat assessment of the Arab minority’s place in Israeli society and politics, Professor Ghanem ended by highlighting the success of the “Joint List,” an alliance of Arab parties. In the last Israeli elections held in 2015, the “Joint List” won 13 seats and became the third largest party in the current Knesset.
Read the rest of the Spring 2018 Haverim newsletter here:
