As Israeli Vote Nears, Arab Apathy Is a Concern

 "Ahmad Tibi, a member of Parliament since 1999, said his United Arab List had joined with its two rivals, Hadash and Balad, in Facebook campaigns and election day efforts aimed at persuading voters to go to the polls, noting that in Israel’s coalition system, staying home bolsters the largest faction, in this case Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Beiteinu. 

“In South Africa, people were killed struggling to have one person, one vote,” Mr. Tibi said in an interview on Wednesday. “In Israel, there is discrimination in every part of life — education, infrastructure, employment. In only one thing there is equal rights: the day of the election. One person, one vote, Jews and Arabs. Those who are not participating are shooting their own legs.”" 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/world/middleeast/arab-apathy-raises-concerns-about-israeli-democracy.html?ref=middleeast&_r=2&

Ammar Awad/Reuters

Israeli newspapers have been calling on Arabs to vote. Supporters of the Arab-led party the National Democratic Assembly attended a campaign rally in December in the town of Nazareth.