Labor-Hatnuah Union Nixes Word ‘Zionist’ From Ads to Appeal to Arab Voters
by JNS.org
JNS.org – In a bid to appeal to Israeli Arab voters, the joint Labor-Hatnuah campaign that is challenging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March’s elections has apparently decided to remove any mention of the parties’ Zionist agenda from election ads.
The joint ticket formed by Labor leader Isaac Herzog and Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni has been informally named the “Zionist Camp,” but a campaign ad aired by Israel’s Channel 10 on Tuesday evening, with hopes of appealing to Israeli Arab voters, made no mention of word “Zionist” and referred to the joint ticket as the “Labor party for peace and equality.”
A Labor source told Israel Hayom that the ad in question was released prior to the party’s union with Hatnuah, and that “Zionist Camp” was not the ticket’s official name. The final decision on the official name will be made only after Labor’s primaries next week, which will determine the makeup of its Knesset list.
Another Labor source said both parties believed a Zionist agenda, including the name “Zionist Camp,” would be perceived as problematic by some among their voter base, particularly the Israeli Arab voters the parties are courting. The parties’ joint campaign, said the source, still needs to review the matter.