**Conflict of interest**

This dialog caused Faraj Eben-Faraj to reformulate his political narrative in a way that rejected radicalism. Beyond natural rationalization, he also rejected radicalism for psychological reasons; as one who emotionally identified with his father, he could not accept the critique and the hate voiced by those two radical activists. On the whole, Faraj Eben-Faraj adopted a model of pragmatic-reformism, simultaneously rejecting both hierarchical and radical views, though

Based on his revises model, Faraj Eben-Faraj intervened in Lod's local politics in a new and different way. After being elected to serve on the Lod Municipal Council in November 2012, he acted pragmatically by developing social relations with the Jewish mayor (Yair Revivo, 2012–present) with whom he carried out serious reforms, including the construction and improvement of physical infrastructures, especially in the Arab neighborhoods, including:

Furthermore, a clear expression of Eben-Faraj's political leadership style is seen in the way he handled the aforementioned explosive issue of all the illegal construction of Arab homes. From 2014 to 2016, the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction launched a program in an attempt to achieve a broader solution to local-Arab's housing problem. Unlike the radicals, Eben-Faraj enthusiastically joined this program as a representative of Lod's Arab population. Unlike the hierarchical leaders, who tended to address such matters on a house-by-house or person-by-person basis (often granting nepotistic preferential treatment), Faraj Eben-Faraj insisted on solving this problem comprehensively and for the long-term. To do so, he utilized his academic knowledge as a lawyer and the reputation he had gained in his ingroup by nego-

To summarize, the above analysis points to an interesting relationship between social environment (at both macro and micro levels) and leadership. Eben-Faraj's biographical experiences became political narratives that, in turn, transformed into biographical resources, in this case, providing moral justification and motivation for his actions. These resources helped him achieve substantial practical and material benefits on behalf of the local Arabs

The study and understanding local leaders functioning under demeaning conditions in disadvantaged peripheral locations may seem to be a pointless or fruitless endeavor, if one accepts that there is insufficient autonomy and that these leaders' initiatives will inevitably be stymie. However, the empirical case studies presented above clearly contradict such structural logic. Examples were given of Jewish mayors and Israeli-Arab local leaders situated in disadvantaged places who, nonetheless, succeeded in promoting their original socio-political views and achieving practical, beneficial reforms. Though context does matter, the fact remains that the under similar conditions, distinct types of leaders came to power (even in same town): hierarchical versus egalitarian; pragmatic-reformers versus radicals, questioning the 'context

taking the best of each.

76 Leadership

bridges, roads and a club for local Israeli-Arab teenagers.

tiating with the Israeli establishment.

**6. Conclusions and discussion**

in Lod.

thesis'.

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
