Peres urges Israelis to turn out to vote Tuesday

President Shimon Peres on Monday called on Israeli citizens to do their civic duty and turn out Tuesday to vote in the elections for the new Knesset.

Click here for exclusive Haaretz coverage of the elections in Israel

"Going to the polls tomorrow is doubly important," Peres said. "The significance is found not only in the right to choose the people who will stand at the head of our country and who will be responsible for its future, but also in the duty of every citizen to vote on behalf of the state, which is the only true democracy in the Middle East."

He went on: "These days, many try to denigrate the character of the State of Israel. However, we are a democratic country in the fullest sense of the word, and the vote tomorrow will be a statement by all of our citizens which will prove that the democracy of Israel is deeply rooted and broad in scope. We must articulate this position and go to vote tomorrow at the polls!

"I call on the Israeli public to take part in the elections, which are particularly important at this juncture because of the political, security, economic, and societal issues that the country will face in the near future. In order to remain free and democratic, every citizen should vote tomorrow, and thusly fulfill their duty to the state that we love and that we have invested ourselves in defending all of these years in search of peace."

Peres also Monday expressed his concern about anti-Israeli Arab sentiment being expressed in this year's election campaigns.

Israeli Arabs "are citizens with equal rights in Israel," Peres told Israel Radio. "All residents, with no difference of nationality, gender, or age, all have equal rights and responsibilities. This is the essence of a democracy."

Peres' comments came amid controversy stirred by the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party's election slogan "no loyalty, no citizenship", believed to be directed at Israeli Arabs whose loyalty to Israel is sometimes questioned.

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, whom polls show winning 15 seats or more, wants to annex settlements and place towns that house some of Israel's 20-percent Arab minority on the other side of a new border.

	Israel President Shimon Peres