Israeli Actress Einat Weizman Throws Support Behind Arab-Israeli Political Party
by Zach Pontz
An Israeli actress threw her support behind the Arab-Israeli political party Balad on Sunday, saying it is “the only option for those who want to live in a true democracy.”
Einat Weizman wrote on the party’s Facebook page that Balad is the only party calling for real civil equality.
“In light of rising fascism, militancy and the strengthening of the extreme right, and overcoming the oppressive policies that trample human and civil rights on both sides of the Green Line, there is needed a new political order,” she wrote, according to a translation.
“With these trends there should be no compromise. Therefore I give my voice to the only party really challenging the hegemony of the Zionists and that calls for real civil equality. Other parties, both good and proper, offer different platforms of cooperation, but they are a step below the equality offered by Balad.”
Balad was disqualified from the 2009 elections by the Central Election Committee by a vote of 26 to three, with one abstention. It was disqualified on grounds that it does not recognize the State of Israel and calls for armed conflict against it. The ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court, but the party received less than 1000 Jewish votes and holds just three seats in the Knesset.