The Arab and Jewish citizens behind the Going Together To Vote campaign are trying to drum up the Arab vote ahead of Israel's elections. Photos: Suheil Diab
Going Together To Vote says it addresses voters in Arabic and Hebrew with messages of 'common principles of peace, equality and social justice'.
Tuesday's vote is the fifth Israel general election in four years, and Going Together To Vote believes Israeli Arab voters can help to break a deadlock in their country's elections.
Banners and vuvuzelas were part of the campaigning as the group arrived to talk to football fans at an Israeli second division match between teams from Haifa District and Nazarth.
Statistics show that election participation by Arab Israeli and Palestinian Israeli voters is low. They make up about 20 per cent of Israel's population but less than half plan to cast a ballot. Apathy is one of Going Together To Vote's biggest hurdles.
The Arab and Jewish campaigners of Going Together To Vote put on a brave face. They fear the rise of far-right politicians in Israel, whose popularity is soaring in this campaign.
Two hours before the kick-off between Israeli second division football teams Hapoel Umm Al Fahm and Maccabi Ahi Nazareth, Suheil Diab and his fellow volunteers were busy unfurling banners and unwrapping vuvuzelas in the car park of Acre’s football stadium, in the north of the country.
They were up and ready long before the trickle of supporters started to arrive.
The group, Going Together To Vote, was made up of Arab and Jewish campaigners who were trying to encourage Israel’s Arab community to participate in Tuesday's elections.
Mr Diab said the match between two Arab teams was a perfect chance to tell his community why he chooses to vote and why they should, too.
“I am a Palestinian citizen of Israel. I think the interest of our society is to participate more in elections and bring more representatives for Arabs in the Knesset,” he said.
“Our organisation is unique because it is a collaboration of Arabs and Jews,” he said, flipping over a bilingual pamphlet.
“The messages we try to convey in Arabic we do in Hebrew, too. Most of the main parties in Israel are talking to either Jews or Arabs, not both at the same time. This separation has been forced on us since 1948. We want to change it.”
For Mr Diab and his colleagues, the first step in doing so is “starting from the grass roots of Jewish and Arab communities, underpinning our messages with the common principles of peace equality and social justice”.
Rather than just ideological, he also highlighted the immediate technical importance of the Arab vote during these elections.
“Through better democratic participation, Arabs and Jews can come together to conclude the endless cycle of elections that we have seen during the past three years.”
Tuesday's vote is the fifth in four years after repeated failures to form governments or keep them stable to the end of their terms. Analysts said that failure to deliver a clear winner could put Israel on course for a sixth round of voting.
Participation of Arab Israeli and Palestinian Israeli voters is low — while they make up about 20 per cent of Israel's population, polls show less than half plan to cast a ballot. That figure is down significantly from 2016's 63.5 per cent turnout for the community.
But Going Together To Vote puts on a brave face.
A supporter of former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party on the campaign trail at Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on polling day's eve. Reuters
Officials sort ballot papers before a polling station opens to the voters of Kiryat Arba, a Jewish settlement in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir at the ballot box on general election day in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish settlement in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
An Israeli soldier casts a ballot at Kerem Shalom Army Base in the south of Israel, close to the border with the Gaza strip. AFP
An election campaign billboard by Blue and White party on a bridge in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv. Reuters
A billboard for Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party in Jerusalem. AFP
An billboard for the far-right Religious Zionist party led by Bezalel Smotrich. AFP
An election campaign bandwagon and a chance for a selfie as Benjamin Netanyahu aims to return Likud to power. AFP
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish power) party, greets supporters. AFP
Israelis hang a poster of Likud party candidate Benjamin Netanyahu in the southern city of Beersheva in the run up to Israel's election on November 1. AFP
A popsicle break beneath an election campaign hoarding for Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas political party near Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. Israelis are back at the polls for a fifth time in less than four years. AP
Knesset member Sami Abu Shehadeh, second left, head of the nationalist Balad party, meets Israel's Palestinian citizens during his election campaign tour in Musmus village. AP
An election hoarding for Sami Abu Shehadeh's Balad party campaign in Umm Al Fahm. Israel’s Palestinian citizens could be central to breaking the country’s political deadlock. AP
A campaign poster of National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz in the southern city of Beersheva. AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses supporters from behind a security screen beside his wife Sara, right, and Likud member Miri Regev during a campaign rally in the northern city of Tirat Carmel. AFP
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit, at an event in Tel Aviv. Getty
National Unity leader Benny Gantz makes an address in Tel Aviv. AFP
Since 2019, Israel has had four inconclusive elections, which resulted in two short-lived coalition governments. AFP
Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a campaign rally at Migdal HaEmek in the Northern District of Israel. AFP
A giant image of National Unity's Benny Gantz looks over one of the motorways into Tel Aviv. Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid leads a fragmented coalition spanning left to right. Reuters
Polls suggest Prime Minister Yair Lapid's camp is set for a weaker showing than in the last election. AP
Prime Minister Yair Lapid speaks at an event in the city of Rishon Lezion in Gush Dan. AP
In Jerusalem, a Netanyahu supporter blows a shofar, made of a ram's horn. AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to form a 'strong, stable and national' government. Reuters
A poster of Arab politician Ahmad Tibi of the Ta'al party in his home town of Taibe in Gilboa region. Reuters
They say they fear the rise of far-right politicians, a number of whom have enjoyed soaring popularity in this campaign.
Itamar Ben-Gvir is running on a manifesto that includes the complete annexation of the West Bank and the formation of a government body to encourage Palestinian migration.
If Mr Ben-Gvir’s opponents fail to win enough seats on Tuesday, he still stands a good chance of being part of Israel’s next government. Therefore, they see the Arab vote as essential in preventing this.
Arab political leaders have been campaigning hard, imploring the community to vote.
“I am certainly aware that most members of Arab society want the extreme right to remain in the opposition,” Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab party Ra’am and the first Israeli Arab party member of an Israeli Cabinet, said on Sunday.
Some at the match outside the stadium in Acre are receptive to this message.
But that is not always the case. In Acre’s old city, a half-hour walk away, the reception in the run-up to the election was less warm.
Itamar, one of the group’s volunteers, said he is still shaken by the experience as he explains people were shouting at him that they would not take part and nor would their families.
“Honestly, we felt resentment. People were hurting. You could see the pain in their eyes. Staring at me, knowing I was Jewish, they considered me as part of the problem,” he said.
And even in the calmer atmosphere in the stadium’s car park, some in the crowd still expressed reservations.
While Itamar was setting out a detailed survey of how Israeli politics went wrong in recent years, two Arab teenagers came over to ask which party Going Together To Vote was campaigning for.
“We don’t want you to vote for a particular party, we just want you to vote full stop,” Itamar told them.
The boys asked him what he meant.
The exchange highlights the challenge for groups like Going Together To Vote. They face not just voter fatigue after multiple rounds of voting but are trying to overcome deep suspicion and distrust of the entire system.
Itamar said he is sticking to his cause.
“We are in this together. Israel needs its Arab voters to keep the far-right out. I, a liberal Zionist who cares about the future of my country, need them personally. There may not be a second chance,” he said.
When the crowd had passed into the stadium, the campaigners started to pack up as the drumbeat and cheers from inside grew louder and the game began.
In the end, the Arab supporters got a lively match in which a player was sent off and a 3-0 victory for Hapoel Um El Fahem was the result.
The committed members of Going Together To Vote, along with all liberals in the country, will be hoping for a similar rally from Arab voters to head off the far right and prevent the need for a further election.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic Started: October 2023 Founder: Namrata Raina Based: Dubai Sector: E-commerce Current number of staff: 10 Investment stage: Pre-seed Initial investment: Undisclosed
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), EsekaiaDranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), JaenBotes (Exiles), KristianStinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), EmosiVacanau (Harlequins), NikoVolavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), ThinusSteyn (Exiles)
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
