Israel’s Arab Land Union Party came in an unexpected second to incumbent Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Likud Party in Israeli elections last week Boston University’s mock elections, that is.
The elections, organized by the BU Students for Israel, were administered by the organization Upstart Activism through a website where college students across the nation voted for the same parties Israelis did in the actual elections on Jan. 28, but not entirely with the same results.
Though the popular student vote at BU went to Sharon’s Likud party in both elections, the Arab Land Union Party received a close second with 22 percent (114 votes) to Likud’s 34 percent (175 votes). Four hours before the mock elections closed, the Arab Land Union Party was actually three percent ahead.
Approximately one-sixth of the population in Israel is Arab.
In response to the strong student support of the Arab Land Union Party, BUSI President Jackie Belkin said, ‘the overall goal [of the mock election] was to show that Israel is a democracy and that all legal Israelis can vote, including Arabs.’
Mike Figa, a senior in the College of Engineering who has been active in support of Palestinians, said there was not an organized attempt by pro-Palestinian students to vote in the elections, though there was talk of the election.
‘People were like – yeah, go vote, but there wasn’t anything organized,’ he said.
Figa said he voted for the pro-peace Meretz party in the mock election.
Manny Benmahou, BUSI vice president and organizer of BU’s version of the mock elections, said the event was promoted to engage the student body in a debate over the region.
‘Israel is the only democracy in the region,’ he said. ‘It is of paramount importance that we encourage debate about what is going on in Israel.
‘This is the only case where Jews, Arabs and Christians can vote in free elections in the Middle East,’ he said later.
According to Benmahou, Israel’s democracy is a rarity in the region, the structure of which should be emulated by Arab nations.
‘Try to find a church or a synagogue in Saudi Arabia, much less a voting booth,’ he said.
He said that in conducting the mock elections ‘we educated ourselves that was our main goal.’
‘Regardless of what party won, the message is that democracy won,’ Benmahou said. In reference to the strong support of the Arab Land Union Party, Benmahou said, ‘that could be a reality.’
But Figa called the Arab Land Union Party’s strong showing in the mock election ‘ironic’ because ‘3.5 million Palestinians who live within Israel’s borders can’t vote or anything like that.’