The Arab-led Joint List party is calling for broad support from both Jewish and Arab voters in Israel’s upcoming October elections in an effort to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The party’s chairman, Yousef Jabareen, delivered the appeal during a Hebrew-language campaign event held Monday in Tel Aviv.

Jabareen framed the election as a choice between continuing the current right-wing government, which he described as responsible for ongoing violence, and forming a strong Joint List coalition that would represent all citizens of Israel, regardless of ethnicity or religion. “We call on the entire public, Arabs and Jews: Come to us. Let’s build together a home of dignity, a home of equality, a home of hope,” he said.

Deputy leader Ahmad Tibi, second on the party’s Knesset list, expressed confidence that the Joint List could secure 10 parliamentary seats—an improvement on recent polls placing them at seven to eight—and help bring an end to what he described as an “evil government.” The Joint List has historically seen better results when its constituent Arab parties run together rather than separately.

While the Joint List emphasizes the need to address rising crime in Arab communities and pursue equality for Arab citizens, it also aims primarily to remove Netanyahu and far-right figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from power. The party supports the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of its platform. However, it faces political challenges as many Israeli opposition leaders have ruled out forming a coalition with Arab parties, and the other prominent Arab party, Ra’am—led by Mansour Abbas—has distanced itself from the Joint List and sought to position itself as a potential coalition partner.

The Joint List’s campaign launch followed the withdrawal of Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad faction within the alliance and the third-listed candidate, who stepped down after indications from the Supreme Court suggested it would uphold his disqualification from the election. The legal challenge against Abu Shehadeh was submitted by Otzma Yehudit and Ben-Gvir. Despite this, the Supreme Court overturned several other disqualifications issued by the Central Elections Committee, allowing the Joint List, Ra’am, and joint candidate Ofer Cassif to run.

At the event, Cassif, sixth on the Joint List slate, condemned what he described as a rise in fascism and racism in Israel. “Only the Joint List stands against this murky wave of fascism and racism,” he said, urging left-wing voters to support the party. “Leftists, come home. Leftists, come back home, to the Joint List,” Cassif added, appealing for a broad coalition to challenge the existing government ahead of the elections.