Arab Movement for Renewal (Ta'al)

Formal commitment: The Joint List's ten-point economic and social plan, published on its website and reported on 30 September 2026 by Zo Haderech, the Communist Party's weekly, under the title "Investing in life, not in wars" ^{[102, 85]}, calls for deep cuts in military spending, public housing for all who lack housing, rent capped at 20% of household income, raising the minimum wage to at least 70% of the average wage, free education from birth to doctorate, raising the basic allowance to 25% of the average wage, ending tax benefits for financial corporations and large companies, raising tax on financial gains (including stock-market gains) to 30%, exempting wage earners and self-employed people earning up to the average wage from income tax, cutting VAT to 10%, and cancelling privatisation programmes ^[102]. This is a plan of the joint list; no separate Ta'al economic platform was found.

Action: On 22 June 2026 Hadash–Ta'al and Ra'am jointly filed a no-confidence motion on "the economic situation, the cost of living and its effect on Arab society"; Tibi voted for it ^[67]. Tibi voted against the coalition's 2025 budget-arrangements laws that froze tax-bracket updates and taxed undistributed company profits (December 2024; passed 55-52 and 59-58), and against the 2026 economic arrangements law (March 2026; passed 62-55) ^{[68, 69, 75]}. He also voted against the state budgets for 2025 (25 March 2025 (the Knesset record files the vote under the sitting of 24 March), passed 66-52) and 2026 (30 March 2026, passed 62-55) ^{[107, 108]}.

Dated background (2012; action): The Aviation Services Law of 2012, known as "the Tibi law", requires airlines to compensate and assist passengers whose flights are cancelled or long delayed ^[95]. In June 2025 El Al asked the Transport Ministry to amend the law so that airlines would not have to pay compensation for flights cancelled during the June 2025 war with Iran ("Operation Rising Lion") ^[96].

Statement: In February 2026 Tibi said that if the state employed Arab university graduates equally in the civil service and the economy, it would gain workers and slow the drift of young people into crime; he noted that only 13% of Arab society is in the civil service ^[30].

Closest option(s): Direct help for households, through higher wages and allowances and subsidised basics (direct-support-for-households); the joint list's plan also includes state intervention such as higher taxes on large companies and financial gains (active-state-regulation). The evidence is a joint-list plan and opposition votes, not Ta'al-specific policy.

Formal commitment: The Joint List's "plan to eradicate organised crime", published on its website, says a "warlike approach" fuels violence and that crime cannot be fought "while weakening democracy" or the independence of the courts ^[103]. It proposes a new five-year development plan for Arab society (jobs, education, planning, business and infrastructure), support for victims of crime, stronger police investigation units, a dedicated organised-crime unit in the State Attorney's office, a national authority to coordinate police, tax and anti-money-laundering bodies, wider confiscation of criminal assets, action against illegal weapons and protection rackets, and protection for local councils, witnesses and officials threatened by crime groups ^[103].

Statement: In a February 2026 interview Tibi said most murders in Arab society are committed by crime organisations, and that fighting them is the responsibility of the state, meaning the police and the prosecution. He said community violence (such as murders of women and school violence) is the responsibility of Arab leaders, clergy, families and schools ^[30]. He said he had called "for 20 years" for the collection of illegal weapons, and that a state that "can bomb a weapons truck in Sudan" should be able to stop armed vehicles entering Arab towns ^[30]. He blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the government for the rise in crime, and said he would like Yoav Segalovitz or Yair Golan as public security minister in the next government ^[30]. He described local initiatives such as the volunteer guard in Kafr Qasim as a success but "a handful against the huge threat" ^[30].

Statement: In August 2023 Tibi said: "We supported the protection [racketeering] law but we will oppose administrative detentions, especially those Ben-Gvir is behind. I have always opposed administrative detentions, of Arabs and of Jews alike." Administrative detention means holding someone without trial ^[87].

Action: In February 2024 Tibi voted against the preliminary reading of the government-backed bill to expand measures against crime organisations, which passed 46-28 ^[63]. Hadash–Ta'al filed a no-confidence motion in July 2023 accusing the government of policies that strengthen crime in Arab society; Tibi voted for it ^[64]. On 6 July 2026 Ra'am and Hadash–Ta'al filed another no-confidence motion over "the continuing failure in the fight against crime"; Tibi voted for it ^[65].

Statement: In February 2026 Tibi said the Arab parties planned to escalate protests against crime, up to a three-day general strike of Arab workers ^[30]. Formal commitment: The Joint List's economic plan also calls for programmes to close gaps between Arab society and the rest of the country in education, housing, welfare, infrastructure, public transport and industrial zones, and for recognising Arab towns as development areas ^[102].

No statement by Tibi or Ta'al specifically on the July 2026 government decision to bring the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service) into the fight against crime was found (searched Hebrew, Arabic and English news, July–October 2026); the Joint List's crime plan does not mention the Shin Bet ^[103].

Closest option(s): Invest in Arab communities first (invest-in-arab-communities-first) together with a stronger police and prosecution effort under normal law, including weapons collection and no detention without trial (more-police-resources-normal-law). The Joint List's crime plan and Tibi's statements combine both; Tibi explicitly opposes administrative detention.

Statement (Joint List, 2026): According to a 7 October 2026 review of party platforms by Zo Haderech (the weekly of the Israeli Communist Party, which is Hadash's registered party within the Joint List), the Joint List demands an immediate and complete halt to military operations in Gaza, full withdrawal of all troops and lifting of the blockade, and its member parties called for a deal releasing all Israeli hostages in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners. It rejects Israeli control, applying sovereignty or renewed settlement in Gaza, and says Gaza's future should be decided only by the Palestinian people and its leadership, as part of a Palestinian state ^[84].

Statement: In February 2024 Tibi told The Jerusalem Post that the Arab public "opposed the killing of Israeli civilians on October 7 and said so", while describing Israel's bombing of Gaza as "war crimes" ^[77]. He said Gaza should be rebuilt with international and Arab help, that only Palestinians should choose their leaders, preferably by election, and that Hamas and Islamic Jihad could join the PLO and take part in elections, which, the Post noted, would require recognising Israel and rejecting violence ^[77]. He argued that only negotiations, not military pressure, had brought hostages back alive ^[77]. In a February 2024 interview with Newsweek he called on the US to stop the war and criticised President Biden for not doing so ^[78]. In June 2024 he said "we are against targeting civilians… in the south of Israel — any child, any woman" ^[79].

Statement: In February 2025 Tibi called President Trump's proposal to move Gaza's population out of the Strip "dangerous delusions" and said "the Palestinian people will remain in its homeland" ^[81]. In October 2025, when the last living hostages were released and Trump addressed the Knesset, Hadash–Ta'al MKs, led by Ayman Odeh and Tibi, planned to attend the session rather than boycott it ^[80]. In February 2026 he said "a child is a child" and that kidnapping and murdering children and killing them in air strikes on populated buildings are "both criminal"; he said 13 of his relatives, including two children, had been killed in Gaza ^[30].

Closest option(s): End the war completely, withdraw the army and hand control to a Palestinian government as a step toward a Palestinian state (end-war-full-withdrawal).

Statement: In May 2024 Tibi said he did "not want to interfere in Jewish wars" over the enlistment law: "Let them settle it among themselves." He added that if the law's failure depended on Arab votes, "we will vote against and bring down the government" ^[44]. In December 2025 he told his faction: "We are mobilised to bring down the government; we will not vote for the enlistment law" ^[45].

Action: On 10 June 2026 the Knesset passed in a preliminary reading, 56-43, a Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value ^{[46, 70]}. The Times of Israel described the bill as designed to anchor Torah study in law as equal to military service, after Haredi parties sought to preserve yeshiva students' exemptions following a 2024 High Court ruling ^[46]; according to Ynet, a clause explicitly equating Torah students with soldiers had been removed from the text after criticism ^[47]. The official vote record shows no Hadash–Ta'al or Ra'am MK voting ^[70]. After reports citing unnamed opposition sources said the Arab MKs had stayed away under an understanding with United Torah Judaism ^{[46, 47]}, those involved denied any such understanding, and the parties denied a formal deal ^{[48, 49]}. The Times of Israel wrote that the bill "might not have advanced" without the Arab MKs' absence, while Ynet noted that it would still have passed had the absent MKs voted against ^{[46, 47]}; the official tally (56-43, with the ten Hadash–Ta'al and Ra'am MKs absent) is consistent with Ynet's arithmetic ^[70]. Tibi did not vote at the first reading on 1 July 2026 (passed 63-53), when Bin Said and the Hadash MKs voted against ^[71]. Tibi voted against the law at its final reading on 13 July 2026, when it passed 63-52 ^{[72, 51]}.

Context: Critics, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, accused Tibi of helping the Haredi parties pass the bill ^[47]. The record does not show a direct contradiction of his stated position: the Torah-study Basic Law is a separate bill from the enlistment law he said he would not vote for, Hadash–Ta'al MKs did not vote for it at any stage, his May 2024 pledge to vote against if the outcome depended on Arab votes was not tested at the preliminary reading on the official tally, and he voted against it at the final reading ^{[44, 45, 70, 71, 72]}.

Statement: In February 2026 Tibi said he had sponsored a bill on exemption from service for reasons of conscience and that he "appreciates conscientious objectors" ^[30].

Closest option(s): Tentative: no one is forced to serve (voluntary-service-for-all). The mapping is tentative because it rests on indirect evidence: Tibi describes the Haredi enlistment dispute as an internal Jewish matter and supports exemptions on grounds of conscience. No Ta'al position on whether Haredi yeshiva students should be required to serve was found, and Tibi has said his votes on the enlistment law are meant to bring down the government.

Formal commitment: The Joint List's September 2026 plan calls for public housing for all who lack housing, rent capped at 20% of household income, restoring the Public Housing Law, large-scale building of rental or discounted homes by government companies, a state mortgage bank, and cancelling mortgage interest for young people and first-time buyers ^{[102, 85]}.

Statement: In February 2026 Tibi said planning authorities "choke" Arab towns and do not allow them to expand, so families build on private land without permits, and thousands of homes in the Negev, the Galilee and the Triangle are demolished ^[30]. He called for repealing the Kaminitz Law, which he described as allowing administrative enforcement without a court process and harsher penalties for building violations, calling it one of "the most terrible racist laws" ^[30]. He said Arab citizens moving to mixed cities such as Haifa, Karmiel, Lod and Ramla for safety was "their full right" ^[30].

Action: On 15 June 2026 Hadash–Ta'al and Ra'am filed a no-confidence motion over "the policy of demolition, exclusion and planning suffocation against Arab citizens"; Tibi voted for it ^[66].

Closest option(s): State-built affordable rental housing and rent regulation (state-led-affordable-rental), together with more planning and land for Arab towns. Ta'al's own emphasis is on planning and demolitions in Arab communities, which none of the options addresses directly.

Statement: Asked in February 2026 whether he supported an attack on Iran and a change of its regime, Tibi said: "I'm against wars. The war in Iran will destroy the whole Middle East… A diplomatic solution is better." He said he rejects "war for regime change", called the Iranian regime "totalitarian" and said it shoots protesters, but opposed what he called the "neighbourhood bully" policy he attributed to Netanyahu ^[30]. On 15 June 2026, after a US–Iran agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz, he said Trump's "greatest achievement is to open the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war began" ^{[83, 86]}.

Statement: At the Joint List's Hebrew campaign launch on 5 October 2026 Tibi presented the list as "the address for left-wing, liberal democratic Jews who want a party that opposes war and war crimes" ^[36].

No Ta'al statement specifically on Hezbollah or the fighting in Lebanon in 2026 was found (searched Hebrew, Arabic and English news).

Closest option(s): End military operations and seek regional peace through diplomacy (end-military-operations-regional-peace); the evidence is statements only.

Background: The IDI describes Ta'al as supporting an independent Palestinian state and a just solution to the refugee issue ^[6]. Statement (Joint List, 2026): According to Zo Haderech, the Joint List supports a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel on the 4 June 1967 lines (the pre-1967 border) with East Jerusalem as its capital, the removal of checkpoints and army infrastructure, and the evacuation of all settlements and outposts, which it calls the main obstacle to peace ^[84]. Joint List chair Jabareen has said the list would push for renewed negotiations with the Palestinian leadership toward a Palestinian state alongside Israel ^[28].

Action: On 22 October 2025 Tibi voted against the preliminary reading of the bill to apply Israeli sovereignty to the settlements in Judea and Samaria (it passed 25-24) and against the bill to apply sovereignty to Ma'ale Adumim ^{[54, 55]}. On 18 July 2024 he voted against a Knesset resolution opposing a Palestinian state (adopted 68-9) ^[56]. On 21 February 2024 the nine votes against the government's declaration rejecting unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state came from the two Arab parties; during the debate Tibi said a Palestinian state "will be established" despite the government's opposition ^[76]. On 30 October 2024 he voted for a proposed Basic Law to recognise a Palestinian state, which was rejected 9-47 ^[57].

Statement: In September 2026 Tibi welcomed a British decision to impose sanctions and a ban on trade in goods from Judea and Samaria, saying "better late than never" and calling the decision "brave and necessary" in view of what he called the escalating "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians there ^[82]. In February 2024 he said Israel had tried "settlements, occupation, destruction… there is only one thing it has not tried – ending the occupation and forming a Palestinian state" ^[77].

Statement: On the character of the state itself, Tibi opposes defining Israel as "Jewish and democratic", calling it "an oxymoron", and supports a model of "a state of all its nationalities" in which Arab citizens are recognised as a national minority ^[30].

Closest option(s): Two states on the pre-1967 border with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and evacuation of all settlements (two-states-pre-1967-border).

Action: Tibi voted against the first reading of the change to how judges are chosen (20 February 2023, passed 63-47) and against the first reading of the law limiting the "reasonableness" standard (11 July 2023, passed 64-56) ^{[52, 53]}. He voted against the law changing the attorney general's powers at its final reading on 15 July 2026 (passed 65-51) ^[73].

Statement: In March 2023 Tibi said "there is no doubt we firmly oppose the regime overhaul [changes to the judicial system] and will continue to oppose it" ^[88]. He also said the Supreme Court had "usually not given relief to Arabs and Palestinians", citing its rulings on the Nation-State Law, admissions committees, settlements, land expropriation and home demolitions, and that it was natural that Arab citizens did not flock to the protests ^{[88, 40]}. He said in March 2023 that he admired the protesters' persistence and would join them, and warned that if the legislation passed, "Arabs will be hurt" ^[40].

Closest option(s): Reverse the recent changes and protect the independence of the courts and the attorney general (repeal-changes-protect-independence). Tibi combines this with criticism of the Supreme Court's past record on Arab citizens' rights.

Action: On 17 July 2024 Tibi voted for two bills to set up a state commission of inquiry into October 7, each defeated 51-53, and on 19 March 2025 for a bill requiring a state commission of inquiry after certain events, defeated 39-51 ^{[109, 110]}. On 12 November 2025 he voted for two private bills to set up a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, which were rejected 45-53 and 44-52; Samir Bin Said voted for the first ^{[59, 60]}. On 24 December 2025, during the debate before the coalition's bill for an alternative, Knesset-based inquiry passed its preliminary reading 53-48, Tibi told the Speaker "you are a disgrace" ^[99].

Statement: At the 5 October 2026 campaign launch Tibi said the Joint List would vote immediately after the election to set up a state commission of inquiry into the failures that led to October 7 ^{[34, 36]}. In February 2024 he said Netanyahu "is responsible for the Israeli failure of October 7" ^[78].

Closest option(s): A state commission of inquiry whose members are chosen by the President of the Supreme Court under the existing law (state-commission-under-existing-law).

Ta'al has no published position on the Chief Rabbinate, Jewish marriage and conversion, or Shabbat arrangements (searched: Ta'al and Joint List platform reports, Tibi interviews 2021–2026, Hebrew, Arabic and English news). The IDI describes Ta'al as "secular in character" ^[6]. The evidence is Tibi's votes and statements:

• Action: On 7 June 2023 Tibi voted against a civil marriage and divorce bill, which was defeated 37-56 ^[111]. On 19 November 2025 he voted for a bill to run public transport on Shabbat, which was defeated 43-58 ^[112].

• Action: Hadash–Ta'al MKs were absent from the preliminary vote on the Basic Law on Torah study (June 2026); Tibi voted against the law at its final reading. The reports that linked the absence to an understanding with United Torah Judaism over the muezzin bill, and the denials, are set out in the Haredi enlistment section ^{[46, 70, 72]} (see the Haredi enlistment section).

• Statement: In October 2023 Tibi proposed a bill to raise penalties for desecrating the religious symbols and holy places of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, after attacks on churches and mosques ^[93].

• Statement: In March 2021 Tibi said he and Ta'al oppose pro-LGBT legislation and the Pride parade (see "LGBT rights" below) ^[94].

Closest option(s): Tentative and mixed. Tibi's vote against civil marriage is closest to keeping the status quo (keep-status-quo), while his vote for Shabbat public transport points toward more choice (more-choice-local-decisions). The mapping is tentative because it rests on two votes by the party's one long-serving MK and no stated party position.

Action: On 18 December 2024 Tibi voted for a bill to repeal Basic Law: Israel – the Nation State of the Jewish People, which was defeated 13-49 ^[113]. Statement: In February 2026 Tibi said he wants to legislate a Basic Law on equality, repeal the Kaminitz Law, "eradicate crime organisations", and open a university and a government hospital in an Arab town ^[30]. He has criticised the Supreme Court for not intervening against the Nation-State Law (2018), which defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people ^{[88, 79]}, and said in 2024 that after October 7 the country became "ethnocracy, only for Jews" ^[79]. He said Arab citizens make up a quarter of Israel's doctors and nearly half of its pharmacists, but thousands of Arab doctors and teachers cannot find jobs ^[30]. Tibi refers to Arab citizens as "Palestinian citizens of Israel" ^[77].

Statement: Tibi says Arab citizens have been persecuted for expressing sympathy with Gaza civilians since October 7. In June 2024 he said "hundreds of Arab citizens were hunted down, chased by the Israeli police for writing a post or a story empathising with the children of Gaza or saying no to the war" ^[79]. In February 2026 he said that after October 7 people in the Knesset called him a "terror supporter", and that he and Ayman Odeh had attended the funeral of Vivian Silver, who was killed at Kibbutz Be'eri, and met hostage families ^[30].

Action: Tibi voted against the April 2024 law allowing the government to shut down foreign broadcasters considered a security risk (used against Al Jazeera), which passed 71-10 ^[62]. In June 2025 Hadash–Ta'al and Ra'am announced they would boycott a meeting of opposition leaders in protest at opposition parties' support for impeaching Hadash's Ayman Odeh over a social-media post ^[100].

Statement: Tibi describes Arab MKs as "Arab members of Knesset, not Zionists" and says the parties can cooperate "not as Zionists but as proud Arabs" ^[30]. He has said "the Arab public supports the Palestinian people, because it is a part of it" ^[77]. He has long called for all four Arab parties to run together, saying in August 2025 that "the four Arab lists must run together on a joint slate" to raise turnout and "ensure the removal of Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir" ^[21].

Action: Tibi, represented by the legal aid group Adalah, petitioned the High Court of Justice against the policy restricting MKs' visits to Palestinian security prisoners, after his requests to visit Walid Daqqa and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for murder, went unanswered for months ^{[91, 92]}. The Shin Bet opposed a Tibi–Barghouti meeting, saying it was not based on anything Tibi had done but on concern that it would raise Barghouti's status ^[92]. On 12 April 2026 the court struck down the faction-based visit framework but unanimously rejected Tibi's specific request to meet Barghouti, citing classified security material; one justice wrote that Tibi appeared to have been treated unequally compared with other MKs ^[91]. In June 2026 Tibi voted against a bill to bar Red Cross visits to security prisoners, which was rejected 36-41 ^[74].

Action: On 10 November 2025 Tibi voted against the first reading of the bill imposing the death penalty on terrorists (passed 39-16) ^[58]. Tibi voted against the law at its final reading on 30 March 2026, when it passed 62-48 according to the official record (The Times of Israel reported 62-47) ^{[114, 97]}. Hadash–Ta'al called it "an official declaration of the institutionalisation of apartheid and racism" and said it would petition the High Court ^[97]. Tibi voted against the October 2024 law ending UNRWA's operations in Israel (passed 92-10) ^[61]. In an October 2024 committee debate on a bill to deport relatives of terrorists, Tibi asked whether the law would also apply to Jewish terrorists ^[98].

Statement: In March 2021 Tibi said in an interview with an Arabic channel: "We are against promoting the LGBT phenomenon", that he and Ta'al's MKs would vote against any pro-LGBT law, that he opposed a proposal to replace "father and mother" on official forms, and that "I oppose and Ta'al opposes" taking part in LGBT demonstrations ^[94].

Action: On 14 January 2026 Tibi voted against two bills to ban "conversion therapy" for minors, which were defeated 36-59 and 37-58 ^[115].

Statement: In October 2023 Tibi proposed raising penalties for desecration of the religious symbols of all three monotheistic faiths, saying attacks on mosques and other religious property had gone without arrests or enforcement ^[93]. The bill restricting mosque loudspeakers, which Hadash–Ta'al opposed, passed a preliminary reading on 1 July 2026, 50-36, with United Torah Judaism absent ^[50].

Dated background (2012; action): Tibi's Knesset biography says most of the roughly 12 laws he has passed concern social, economic and consumer matters ^[7]. The best known is the Aviation Services Law of 2012, known as "the Tibi law", which sets compensation and assistance for passengers whose flights are cancelled ^{[95, 96]}.

Statement: Tibi has called on foreign governments to act against Israeli government policy. In February 2024 he said the US could stop the war in Gaza and should not veto a UN Security Council resolution to end it ^{[77, 78]}. In September 2026 he welcomed British sanctions and a trade ban on goods from Judea and Samaria ^[82].

Statement: In September 2026 Tibi said the Arab parties would act immediately after the election, even without joining a government, to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, saying that electing the Speaker right after the election means "total control of the Knesset" ^[33]. On 5 October 2026 Jabareen said the Joint List would vote, even "without a government being formed", for a law barring people indicted for serious crimes from forming a government ^[36].