This has been the first time in the history of Israel that elections were held in conditions of war. On the eve of the elections, there was intensified military activity and there was great political tension.
In the election campaign, wild anti-Soviet and anti-communist incitement was carried out, and chauvinist instincts in the Jewish population were fanned. The government parties competed among themselves in nationalism.
Among the Arab population, the chief means used by the government parties against our party was political terror, threats and limitation of movement.
In regards to the economic situation, employment was almost full and there was a state of war “prosperity” though on the post-election horizon there were visible new taxes, rises in prices and devaluation of the Israeli lira, all intended to lower the wages and living a standard of the workers and popular masses in order to finance the Moloch of war.
There is an essential difference in the political situation between the Jewish and the Arab population.
In the Jewish population, chauvinism is still dominant. However, the prevalent policy of aggression and annexations is passing through a crisis. There is disappointment among the public regarding the promises given by the governing parties that the June War and the subsequent occupation would bring the people of Israel security and peace.
The facts of reality show that Israel had had never so many victims as in the period following the military victory in the June War.
There are many in the population who are no longer sure, as they had been before, of the correctness of the prevailing policy. But they do not yet see any positive way out and are affected by the official propaganda which alleges that the people of Israel has no choice but this: to kill and be killed, to live under conditions of permanent war.
The central slogan of our party in the elections was: There exists a choice, a stable “Peace is feasible!” This depends on the Israeli policy, on the abandonment of the line of war and annexations, on consent to peace without annexations, to full implementation of the Security Council Resolution of 22 November 1967.
Within the Arab population, there was a great progressive political awakening. The political terror acted as a boomerang against the rulers’ list, the Alignment. The level of political consciousness of the Arab toilers had remarkably risen. They rejected the chauvinist adventurist trends in the Arab population as well as tendencies to frustration, calling for submission to the government of oppression and national discrimination.
Among the government parties, no significant political struggle was waged during the election campaign. The altercation between them revolved around secondary political issues and on subjects which are not decisive.
Since the written and verbal platform of the Alignment dictated by the war minister Moshe Dayan, included demands for extensive territorial annexations, neither Gahal, nor the other rightist parties had anything to compete about with the Alignment on decisive political questions.
Also from the point of view of prostrating themselves before imperialism, particularly American imperialism, there was no difference between the ruling parties.
Adapted from 1969 information bulletin of the Communist Party of Israel. Photograph courtesy of Yossi Gurvitz. Published under a Creative Commons license.
