“I am ready to join a center-left government,” declared Knesset member Ayman Odeh, chairman of the predominantly Arab-unified Joint List Party, in an interview with journalist Nahum Barnea that appeared in Yedioth Ahronoth on Aug. 30. This raises an important question: Was he giving people real grounds for hope, or was it just election spin? Given the circumstances, it looks like the answer is a resounding yes to both questions.

Anyone who keeps track of Knesset member Odeh’s remarks will remember that in April 2019, during round one of the current elections, he said in an interview with the Globes newspaper that he would not rule out supporting a Blue and White coalition from the outside. This time, Odeh went a few steps further by saying that he would actually join such a coalition, with the express purpose of being part of the government. If the unprecedented happens and an Arab party is part of the next coalition, it would change all the rules of the game. 

At the same time, it is worth remembering that this is the same Ayman Odeh who speaks frequently to the media about a partnership between Jews and Arabs, only to align himself with competing voices in the Joint List when the moment of truth finally arrives. There’s no shortage of examples either, such as boycotting the funeral of former President Shimon Peres in 2016; refusing to sign a vote-sharing deal with Meretz in 2015 because of Balad’s refusal to cooperate with a Zionist party (Balad is one of the factions composing the Joint List); and withdrawing the party’s participation in a Saturday morning cultural event in the Arab sector because of Balad’s opposition to inviting former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former security official Ram Ben Barak. (Full disclosure: This author organizes Saturday morning cultural events in the Arab sector.)

What all of this means is that Knesset member Odeh is apparently not made of the same materials as leaders bold enough to stand up to opposition. It also means that it is up to him to prove that what he said was more than just political spin. At the same time, it is also up to the party with pretentions of being able to replace the current government — i.e., the Blue and White party — to prove that it is serious in its ambitions. And that party has yet to miss an opportunity to slam the door in the face of the Arab sector.