Palestinian Jerusalemites Form List and File to Enter Upcoming Municipal Election, Bucking Decades of Boycott

At 9:00 p.m. Jerusalem time on September 21, 2023, a list of 11 Palestinians and 5 Israeli Jews, all residents of Jerusalem, was submitted to the municipal election board. Fees were paid and the list was accepted, thus marking a turning point in a long history of Palestinians’ largely boycotting municipal elections in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian list included a woman, a lawyer, a doctor, businesspeople, and community leaders. Geographically, the list included residents of a broad spectrum of neighborhoods: the Old City, Beit Hanina, Sur Bahir, and Kufr ‘Aqab, which lie beyond the Separation Wall. The list included two Christian Palestinians, a much larger percentage than the actual number of Christians that are still living in Jerusalem. At least two of the candidates are Palestinian citizens of Israel, while the majority are permanent residents of Jerusalem but not citizens.

As of the time of registration, the following Palestinians were known to be on the list:

• Lawyer (civil) Waleed Abu Tayeh
• Educator Sundos al-Hout
• Engineer M. Zeid
• Journalist E. Awad
• Doctor F. Suleiman
• Businessman M. Maraga
• Businessman M. Shobaki
• Educator D.I. Dajani
• Businessman Q. Thbeit

Lists have until October 8, 2023, to finalize the order of members’ names on the list, provide everyone’s full names, give the list an official name, and announce their program.

The municipal elections are scheduled to take place on October 31, 2023—in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have long boycotted these elections, largely declining to either run or vote in them.1

While Palestinians have formed lists and run or intended to run a few times in the past, at first glance, this new list appears to have broader representation—professionally, geographically, denominationally, and in terms of gender—and a greater chance of actual success.

No sooner had the list been released than bickering broke out over who would head the list, between female educator Sundos al-Hout and Abu Tayeh, a Nazareth-born longtime Jerusalem resident who initiated the plan and had announced his intention to form a list back in January 2023. At that time, he told the Jerusalem Post:

Controversy also arose as to the list’s name and program. A document saying that the list will be called “the Salah al-Din list” and containing strong language regarding Palestine and the fact that East Jerusalem is an occupied city has not been confirmed by all candidates. The full names and identities of those running for office were intentionally not released for fear that they would face harsh public attacks. Al-Hout, who was said to be the number one person on the list, complained to this reporter when a tweet published her photo with a caption that said she was the candidate for mayor. She angrily demanded that the tweet be removed, stating that she has been under tremendous family pressure.

The only candidate who has been willing to speak on the record from day one has been the initiator of the list, Waleed Abu Tayeh. The lawyer, who has been living in Jerusalem for 30 years, told Jerusalem Story that he is committed to working on local municipal issues, including the major problem of housing and housing demolitions, but that he purposely wants to avoid any political discussion.

The Palestinian media, including the well-read Al Quds Arabic daily, made no reference to the list. Advocate Abu Tayeh told Jerusalem Story that that the newspaper is willing to publish paid ads for the list but showed no interest in covering it as a news story. Opinion pages generally ignored the issue with a few columns attacking participation. Most of the Israeli media did not cover the story, nor did they carry any interviews with the candidates.

While the Palestinian mufti of Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories has publicly rejected participation in the municipal elections, to date, no official at the level of the presidency or government has made any statement in either direction.

On social media, a number of strong personal attacks have been posted against the idea, and many observers doubt that this list will be able to garner enough votes to cross the threshold. But the fact that the list is representative of various professions, locations, and backgrounds makes it unique and precedent-setting.

Below is a document that some of the candidates have said was the basis of their agreement to join the list. It is neither final nor agreed upon by all at this time. According to the two key members of the list, Abu Tayeh and al-Hout, the content of the statement is not binding on them; although they are not opposed to it per se, they need to be sure that both the name Salah al-Din and the program listed in the document are allowable under Israeli municipal election laws and regulations:

Candidates appear to have now agreed on using the initials of S.D. as the shortened, possibly less political name, of their list. Many other issues are being worked out regarding the order of the list and the actual program on which they will run.

All has to be completed by October 8.

Once approved, they will be able to begin their public election campaign leading to Election Day on October 31.