Mansour Abbas supports national-civil service for Arabs: "The right is giving up sovereignty in favor of criminal organizations"
In an interview at the National Security Conference of ynet and INSS, the Ra'am chairman argued that two factors prevent Arabs from realizing their citizenship: "One of the factors is the fear of inviting us to the coalition, the second factor is Arab political forces that only ask that the state solve the problem of crime and violence."
Ra'am chairman MK Mansour Abbas said on Monday at the National Security Conference of ynet and "Yedioth Ahronoth," in cooperation with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), that he supports the promotion of national-civil service for youth in Arab society.
"There is an essential need for this in Arab society, both at the community level and at the general level," Abbas said in an interview with former MK Ofer Shelah, currently head of the "Israel's National Security Policy" program at the INSS. "Promoting a civil service outline will answer the needs of Arab youth and the general Israeli expectation."
Against the backdrop of the opposition's decision to refrain from including his party in a future government, Abbas stated: "There is a campaign of intimidation, yet Arab citizens today are, in their vast majority, law-abiding. They want to integrate, so open the gates for them. Allow an Arab party that seeks to promote integration and take collective responsibility to be part of the solution. Those who do not allow Arab citizens to realize their citizenship are driven by two factors. One is the fear of inviting us into the coalition. The other is Arab political forces that want separation and only ask that the state solve the problem of crime and violence. But what is your responsibility? Come and take responsibility, and say 'I want to be part of the solution'."
Abbas added, addressing opponents of joining the coalition: "Every state has a responsibility for what happens in its territory, especially regarding personal security. Arab society is part of the national security of the State of Israel. What is happening in Nazareth does not interest the state. Precisely the national camp, with its right-wing pride, is giving up sovereignty in favor of criminal organizations. There is no monopoly today on the use of force in Israel. There is a state within a state, and it is not the normative Arab citizens, but the criminal organizations."
Relations after October 7
When asked about the state of Jewish-Arab relations following the October 7 massacre, Abbas replied: "There is no doubt that it increased suspicion. There was a danger of flare-ups, but the condemnation was wall-to-wall. I always quote former Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, who said regarding the Arabs: 'exemplary behavior, zero incidents.' I think the Jewish-Arab relationship fabric has proven itself and is immeasurably stronger than all the prophets of doom. We live in the shadow of an ongoing conflict, but I believe in the civil cohesion that has proven itself."
Regarding the "change government" his party supported from the outside, Abbas said: "The experiment proved itself; we proved that it is possible to work together. We proved that it is possible to bring a party from the right side of the map, Yamina, together with the edge of the Zionist map, Meretz, to serve all citizens. Their interest now is to delegitimize Ra'am and Mansour Abbas, because we can contribute to replacing the current government. The change government was immeasurably better than the right-wing government in full."
On political strategy, he concluded: "I am the type of political leader who prefers to build public support by being clear about what I stand for. When we started, only 5% of the Jewish public supported the idea of a government with an Arab party; today, it is at least 40%. When asked whether they prefer a unity government or a change government with Ra'am, 70% support it. I don't have complaints against any party leader; let them do what they think serves their political interest."
