ODA Builds Its Electoral Base

THE ORGANIZATION FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION (ODA – Da'am in Arabic) received 1950 votes in the recent Israeli elections. The number is low, to be sure. To gauge its significance, however, one must keep two facts in mind: first, the ODA proclaimed a message that, until its campaign, was unheard of in Israeli elections: it called on the Arab working class to unite, it made a leftist critique of the Oslo Accords, and it publicly proclaimed its support for conscientious objection. Second, by means of its campaign, the party built a solid infrastructure for future activities. It had warned its supporters that it would not draw enough votes in this election to enter the Knesset. Thus, all who voted ODA understood they were investing their ballots in building a political future.

The ODA focused its campaign in two main sectors: the Arab working class and the Israeli Left.

The ODA gave voice to the need of Arab workers for a party and a political home. This message introduced a change into the discourse of the Arab population in Israel. In the political "golden era" of that population (the 70's and 80's), the discourse focused on the national question. In the decade following Oslo, it degenerated into squabbles over chairs and status. When the Arab parties supported the path of the Zionist Labor Party, their programs lost independent content.

In the 45-day campaign, the ODA held 40 seminars (or "home gatherings") in the homes of Arab workers. Here the problems of the Arab working population were discussed in connection with the local and the global situations. We talked about the needs of the workers and their families. The other parties have neglected these, confining their actions to the middle class and to the representatives of the larger clans.

The ODA inspired hope for clean politics. The purchase of votes in the Arab village is a matter of routine. ODA activists made the point, in talks with the workers, that a party that buys their votes owes nothing to them once elections are over, since they already got their "wage". In contrast, when a worker chooses a party platform, campaigns for it voluntarily, and casts his vote without pay, the party is obliged to work for him, in turn, throughout the year.

The ODA mobilized 150 workers, most of whom had no previous political experience and no privileged "status" within their communities. This, we believe, was one of our most impressive accomplishments in the campaign. Most distributed flyers for the first time in their lives; hung banners from their windows for the first time in their lives; argued for a party with their friends for the first time in their lives. These campaign workers are worth much more than the millions of shekels other parties spent, hiring people to paste their posters on every pole. The true measure of the ODA's achievements in the Arab sector, then, is not the number of votes received on election day, but how many new supporters and activists it has managed to mobilize for the future.

A week after the elections, 70 workers from those most active in the ODA election campaign gathered in order to examine the results and look for ways to increase the party's strength. Here is the statement of one such worker, Nassim Athamneh from Kfar Kara.

"I must admit that as a worker, I had lost my trust in all the Arab parties, which only tout empty slogans. At first I thought I wouldn't vote, but then I encountered the ODA and its ideas. Though we had very little time to act, as a new party, what's important is the fact that a great many workers, like myself, understood the urgent need to take responsibility for changing the face of our society, both politically and economically."

In the leftist Jewish milieu, the ODA conducted an unusual campaign. This sector, like the Arab, has lived in a political vacuum ever since the Oslo Accords. (On the roots of this vacuum, see p.8.) In the 90's, the ODA was the only leftist party that avoided falling into the Oslo trap. Now it has put issues on the campaign agenda that had never been there before. One, as said, was its public support for conscientious objection. ("The refusers," we stated in our TV ad, "are the conscience of society.") Another: the ODA called on Israel's Left to join forces with radical voices throughout the world that reject globalization. Third, we repeatedly voiced our opposition to the Bush Administration and its war against Iraq.

Many leftists are disappointed with their established parties, Meretz and Hadash. ODA campaigners in the Jewish sector discovered an extraordinary openness among these voters, who have not yet given up. The discussions lasted long into the nights, touching basic ideological questions like that of the relation to Zionism and Socialism. There were 15 such meetings throughout the country during the 45-day campaign. The ODA's position grew stronger among the Left, as evinced by its ability to draw large numbers to its ongoing weekly platform opposing the war against Iraq. (See p. 16.)

ODA Builds its Electoral Base

Why I Voted DA'AM (ODA)