From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Leaders of left-wing group Standing Together launch ‘truly equal’ Arab-Jewish party
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Leaders of the Arab-Jewish left-wing movement Standing Together launch a new political party called Makom Lekulanu (“A Place for Us All”) ahead of upcoming national elections, pledging to advance a platform centered on “truly equal” Jewish-Arab partnership.
The new party will be led by Standing Together national co-directors Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green, who are taking a leave of absence from the movement to focus on the party.
Speaking at the party’s launch in Nazareth, Daood calls this “the last moment to save our society.”
“We are being abandoned, murdered, our future is being burned,” she says, arguing that efforts to replace the government must be accompanied by a positive vision. Referring to the prime, national security and finance ministers, she adds, “Not only will we be part of the struggle to replace Netanyahu, Ben Gvir and Smotrich, but we will also lead the struggle for Israeli-Palestinian peace, national and civil equality, and social justice.”
Green tells The Times of Israel that the party aims to offer a model of Jewish-Arab partnership largely absent from Israeli politics.
“It’s time to have a truly equal Jewish-Arab partnership,” he says. “I don’t think this means an Arab representative in a Jewish party or a Jewish representative in an Arab party. Jewish-Arab partnership can start in the same political party.”
The largely Arab party Hadash, which is running jointly with other Arab parties, holds a designated seat on its list for Jewish candidates, while many Jewish-majority parties including the left-wing Democrats reserve a slot for an Arab candidate. The ruling Likud party has a reserved spot that is generally held by a Druze lawmaker.
Daood will head the slate, making her the only woman currently leading a national political party in Israel. The party in addition calls her the first Palestinian woman to lead a national party in Israel. Green will occupy the second slot.
Other candidates on the new party’s slate include Haifa City Council member Sally Abed; activist Itamar Avneri; Yonatan Zeiger, the son of Vivian Silver, the peace activist killed in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack; and activist Ghadir Hani.
A spokesperson stresses that the party is entirely independent, including legally and financially, from Standing Together.
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