With nearly 42% of ballots counted, PM’s bloc leads opposition 57-47; Arab parties hold remaining seats
With 41.9% of ballot boxes counted as of 5:58 a.m., partial results published by the Central Elections Committee give the pro-Netanyahu bloc 57 seats and the anti-Netanyahu bloc 47, while the predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra’am factions together hold the other 16 seats.
Parties currently below the 3.25% threshold: Reservists (2.7%), People of Israel (1.8%) and Charedi Public (0.3%).
The results are partial and will change as counting continues. Votes cast in double envelopes, including those of soldiers, are counted later.
The Times of Israel reports partial election results in which the pro-Netanyahu bloc leads 57 to 47, with 16 seats held by the Joint List and Ra'am. In its own voice it calls these "Arab parties" and "predominantly Arab" factions and never uses the word Palestinian, so a reader learns nothing of the national identity of the citizens these parties represent.
Erases a people's national identity
Serious
“Arab parties hold remaining seats”
Why this matters
In the summary line the outlet sums up the 16 seats as held by "Arab parties", in its own voice. This is not a quotation, an official party name or a poll label.
The impression it gives
A reader takes these parties and their voters to be a simple ethnic minority bloc inside Israel, with no connection to the Palestinian people.
The context
Survey evidence supplied with this article shows that most Arab citizens of Israel describe themselves in terms that include Palestinian. The article never uses the word Palestinian anywhere, so the label it chooses is the only identity a reader is given.
On the recordIn Sammy Smooha's April-June 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens of Israel, including Druze and Bedouin, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. This is historical survey evidence, not a 2026 percentage or proof of any individual's identity. Arab and Palestinian identities can coexist.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “Palestinian”.
“the predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra’am factions”
Why this matters
In the results sentence the outlet describes the two parties only by their Arab make-up. It gives this as its own description and offers no other identity.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking that "Arab" is the full description of who these parties are and whom they represent.
The context
Arab and Palestinian identities coexist. In survey evidence 61.9% of adult Arab citizens of Israel chose a self-description that included Palestinian. A fair results line can name the parties without cutting their voters off from that identity.
On the recordIn Sammy Smooha's April-June 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens of Israel, including Druze and Bedouin, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. This is historical survey evidence, not a 2026 percentage or proof of any individual's identity. Arab and Palestinian identities can coexist.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
With 41.9% of ballot boxes counted, the pro-Netanyahu bloc has 57 seats and the anti-Netanyahu bloc 47, while the Joint List and Ra'am, which draw their support mainly from Palestinian citizens of Israel, together hold the other 16 seats.