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Netanyahu Apologizes to Israeli Arabs, Not Leftists

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized Monday to members of Israel's minority communities, including Israeli Arabs, who were offended by remarks he made on election day last week.

Surrounded by Arab and other minority Israelis he invited to the Prime Minister's Jerusalem residence, Netanyahu said he didn't intend to offend anyone when he urged his supporters to counter leftist groups, backed by foreign money, who were busing Arabs to the polls to vote against him.

"I know that my comments last week offended some Israeli citizens and offended members of the Israeli Arab community," Netanyahu said. "This was never my intent. I apologize for this."

"At the same time," he added, referring to the Israeli group V-15, which spent money from other countries to organize a grassroots effort to defeat Netanyahu, "no foreign entity should be interfering with Israel's democratic process."

"I view myself as prime minister of each and every citizen of Israel, without any prejudice based on religion, ethnicity or gender," he said. "I view every citizen as my partner in building a more secure, more prosperous State of Israel and a nation that benefits the needs and interests of all our citizenry."

After his remarks, some of the Arab representatives hugged and kissed Netanyahu and chanted, "Bibi," the prime minister's nickname.

But one Arab Israeli member of the Knesset who didn't attend the gathering, Ahmad Tibi, said the apology wasn't good enough. The Arab parties, including Communists, sympathizers with radical Islamist groups, and some left-wing Jews, had united to maximize their leverage and try to prevent Netanyahu from winning another term.

Tibi said what Netanyahu should do is cancel the law passed last year that declares Israel to be a Jewish state.

But not all Arabs oppose Netanyahu or his Likud party. The party did well in some areas populated by Arabs, Bedouin, and Druze.

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About The Author

John
Waage

John Waage has covered politics and analyzed elections for CBN New since 1980, including primaries, conventions, and general elections. He also analyzes the convulsive politics of the Middle East.