The Arab Israeli rapper Tamer Nafar released a new song on April 4, five days before Israelis head to the polls. Called Nafar hopes the song, “Tamer Must Vote,” will get Arab voters to surge to the polls. “Either we vote / Or end up/ Outside of the homeland,” he sings.

In October 2016, Culture Minister Miri Regev had demanded the cancellation of an appearance by Nafar at the Haifa Festival on the ground that he rejects Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The month before, she had boycotted an appearance because he would sing lines from a song by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

In the new song, Nafar highlights the issues Arab voters are deliberating in considering whether to boycott the election: “Did they deal with poverty? Did they bring us schools and jobs? After all, we only see them out there during elections. Why should I lose a day's work? I voted last time and it fell apart.”

He then asserts, “For my brothers and sisters in '67, I'm going to vote. For the March of Return, I'm going to vote. It doesn't make sense for me to give up a tool when I hardly have any tools. For all the refugees, I’m going to vote. For domestic violence victims, I’m going to vote so that I can sing for those who boycott me instead of talking to them on the transfer trucks.”