Arab Israeli activist Somaya Bashir said she is running in primaries for the left-wing Democrats party to advocate for issues facing the Arab community and to advance Arab-Jewish partnership, in a conversation Monday with The Times of Israel.

Bashir announced on her Facebook page Sunday that she would be running in the party’s primaries, making her the left-wing party’s first potential Arab candidate.

A psychologist and longtime activist from the northern village of Jatt, Bashir has established several non-profits, including “We Have No Other Land,” and has been a leader in the non-profit Women Wage Peace and a prominent figure in anti-government activist Moshe Radman’s organization “Anchor for the Future.”

Radman, who joined the Democrats last month alongside several other activists, celebrated the news, tweeting in response that it was “an honor that she is joining.”

Bashir said that as a hijab-wearing woman from a traditional village, she debated whether she wanted to enter the political fray, knowing the criticism she would face. But at 50, she told the Times of Israel that she has waited long enough.

“I haven’t seen any change, so I decided to do it. If I don’t, nobody else will,” she said.

“The Arab community is burning, and nobody is doing anything,” she continued, pointing to the ongoing wave of crime and deadly violence plaguing Arab towns, in addition to a lower quality of life for Arab citizens.

Rampant homicides, mostly........

© The Times of Israel