Maki (Hebrew: ", an acronym for HaMiflega HaKomunistit HaYisraelit (Hebrew: ?? ), lit. The Israeli Communist Party) was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.
[edit] History
Maki was formed in 1948 from the remnants of the Communist Party of Palestine that were left within the borders of the new state of Israel, and had both Jewish and Israeli Arab members. The party was not Zionist, but recognized Israel, though it denied the link between the state and the Jewish diaspora and asserted the right of Palestinians to form a state in accordance with the United Nations resolution on partition. The party was part of the World Communist Movement and was an uncritical supporter of the Soviet Union.
In the first Knesset elections in 1949 the party won 3.5% of the vote and four seats, which were taken by Shmuel Mikunis, Eliezer Preminger, Tawfik Toubi and Meir Vilner. During the session, Preminger left the party and set up the Hebrew Communists before joining Mapam.
In the 1951 elections Maki won 4% of the vote and five seats, with Emil Habibi and Esther Vilenska entering the Knesset. During the session, the Prague Trials of 1953 caused the pro-Soviet Labour Zionist party Mapam to break with the Soviet Union. Unhappy at the decision, Mapam members Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction before joining Maki. The party was also involved in the fall of the Moshe Sharett's fifth government, when it and Herut brought a motion of no-confidence over the government's position on the trial of Malkiel Gruenwald, who had accused Dr. Israel Kastzner of collaborating with the Nazis.
In the 1955 elections, Maki's share of the vote increased again as it claimed six seats in the Knesset. However, the 1959 election saw the party perform poorly, winning only three seats.
The 1961 election campaign was helped by the ruling coalition's involvement in the Lavon Affair and the party gained five seats. However, in 1965 internal disagreements saw a split between a largely Jewish group led by Sneh which recognized Israel's right to existence and were critical of the Soviet Union's increasingly anti-Israel stance, and a largely Israeli Arab group which was increasingly anti-Zionist. Sneh's faction retained the name Maki while the pro-Palestinian faction (Tawfik Toubi and Meir Vilner) left to form Rakah, which the Soviet Union recognised as the "official" Communist Party. It was reported in the Soviet media that the demerged Mikunis-Sneh group defected to the bourgois-nationalist camp[1].
The 1965 elections were a disaster, as the party retained only one seat, and was comprehensively beaten by Rakah who gained three seats. The party repeated its poor performance in the 1969 elections despite its support for the Six-Day War.
In 1973 Maki became part of the pro-peace party, Moked, and subsequently disappeared as an independent party. Moked won one seat in the 1973 elections. Later it became part of Left Camp of Israel (in 1977), then Ratz (in 1981).
In the meantime, Rakah had become the leading force in the Hadash alliance, which it joined in 1977. In 1989, several years after Maki's demise, Rakah decided to change their name to Maki to reflect their status as the only officially communist party in Israel. Maki remains the leading force in Hadash to this day.
Hadash (Hebrew: ") is a left-wing political party in Israel. Hadash defines itself as a 'Jewish-Arab Party'. Most of its voters and leaders are Israeli Arab citizens of Israel. It has three legislators in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Name
• 2 Background
• 3 Policies and ideology
• 4 Representation in the Knesset
• 5 Current Knesset Members
• 6 Former Knesset Members
• 7 References
• 8 External links
[edit] Name
As is the case with many political parties in Israel, Hadash is an acronym, standing for haHazit haDemokratit leSHalom veleShivyon (Hebrew: ?? ), translated as The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, and is also the Hebrew word for "new", a possible reference to its main founder, Rakah (a Hebrew acronym for New Communist List). In Arabic, the party is known as al-Jabha al-Dimokratiya lil-Salam wa'al-Musawa (Arabic: ????)
[edit] Background
Hadash was formed during the term of the eighth Knesset when Rakah joined with several non-parliamentary groups, including some members of the Black Panthers (several others joined the Left Camp of Israel) and other left-wing non-communist groups.
Within the Hadash movement, Rakah (which was renamed Maki, a Hebrew acronym for Israeli Communist Party, in 1989) has retained its independent status.
In the 1996 elections the party ran a joint list with Balad. Together they won five seats, but split during the Knesset term,[1] with Hadash reduced to three seats. In the 2003 elections Hadash ran on another joint list, this time with Ahmed Tibi's Ta'al. The list won three seats,[2] but again split during the parliamentary session, leaving Hadash with two MKs.
[edit] Policies and ideology
The party supports evacuation of all Israeli settlements, a complete withdrawal by Israel from all territories occupied as a result of the 1967 Six-day War, and the establishment of a Palestinian state in those territories. It also supports the right of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees.[3] In addition to issues of peace and security, Hadash is also known for being active on social and environmental issues. [4]
Hadash defines itself as a non-Zionist party, originally in keeping with Marxist opposition to nationalism. It calls for recognition of Palestinian Arabs as a national minority within Israel. [5]
Mohammad Barakeh (Hebrew: , Arabic: , born July 29, 1955) is an Israeli Arab politician and General Secretary of the Hadash Movement (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. As one of the Knesset's few Israeli Arab members, he is often treated as a spokesman for the Israeli Arab community by Israel's media.
He is from Shfar'am, in the North District of Israel. He is married, has three children and currently lives in Tel Aviv.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Political career
o 1.1 From student leader to parliamentarian
o 1.2 Extremist threats
o 1.3 Violence in Shfar'am
• 2 External links
[edit] Political career
[edit] From student leader to parliamentarian
Mohammad Barakeh first became politically involved as a student at Tel-Aviv University in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was head of the Association of Arab Students in Israel, and among the founders and major activists of "CAMPUS" (the Hebrew - " - acronym of "Student Social and Political Involvement Group"), which united left-wing Jewish and Arab students in a joint struggle against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and for full equality of Arabs in Israel.
In that time, he had formed extensive political partnerships and personal friendships with Jewish fellow students, many of which continue up to the present. The rented apartment where he lived for many years on top of an old building at Rothschild Boulevard in downtown Tel-Aviv was a well-known rendezvous for political meetings and also the venue of sometimes boisterous student parties lasting deep into the night.
Among numerous other political actions, the first demonstration against The Lebanon War - held on the war's third day, June 7, 1982, dispersed by police with considerable violence, and still well-remembered by veterans of the Israeli Peace Movement - was planned at a dramatic meeting held in Barakeh's Tel-Aviv apartment.
Following the end of his studies, Barakeh returned to his hometown of Shfar'am, a place with considerable importance in the internal politics of Israel's Arab citizens, and took up political activity in the local Communist Party branch. The well-known record of his student days added to his prestige and standing in a party which - though most of its members and voters are Arab - has a high regard for joint Jewish-Arab action, as a supreme ideological as well as organizational principle.
With the party's "Change of Guard", following the retirement of its long-time leader Meir Vilner in 1990, Barakeh was elevated to be one of its parliamentary represntatives and was re-elected again and again up to the present.
He is considered a good speaker in both Arabic and Hebrew, popular among the party's grassroots, and one of its mainstays in often tough contests with rival parties. While active on the Knesset floor and producing a ceaseless stream of oppositional initiatives, Barakeh considers his parliamentary job to also include frequent participation in and walking at the head of demonstrations, both in various parts of Israel and in the Occupied Territories. His parliamentary status did not prevent him from being hit on various occasions by police batons and by tear gas canisters shot by soldiers.
[edit] Extremist threats
In February 2005, Barakeh was threatened by Kahanist activist (and now-outlawed Kach party leader) Baruch Marzel over his pivotal support for Ariel Sharon's evacuation compensation bill, a move that paved the way for Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. In a letter, Marzel wrote to Barakeh: "the evacuation bill was passed with your backing, and now it is only a matter of time before it is implemented on other sectors of society, including you and your friends." Marzel wrote that Barakeh's vote "in favor of expelling Jews from their homes in Gaza and the northern Samaria" would result in "appraisers [being] sent to your home to estimate its value."
Barakeh appeared unintimidated by the threats, and issued a warning of his own in response to the letter: "In Israel we have freedom of movement, and Baruch Marzel may come to Shfar'am, but if he violates my privacy I cannot vouch for his well-being."
[edit] Violence in Shfar'am
On August 4, 2005, an AWOL Israel Defense Forces soldier, Eden Natan-Zada, opened fire while aboard a bus in the city, killing four Israeli Arab citizens (two Christian and two Muslim) and wounding twenty-two others. While reloading his rifle, Natan-Zada was overcome by nearby Shfar'am residents and beaten to death. The shooting, believed to have been in protest of the disengagement plan, prompted outrage amongst Shfar'am's residents.
That Natan-Zada was killed after having been subdued generated controversy as to whether or not the crowd's actions were justifiable self-defense or defense of others. Barakeh warned that protests could erupt should police seek criminal charges over Natan-Zada's lynching: "Normally when someone stops a terrorist from continuing to kill he is considered a hero, but in this case it is the heroes who are sitting on the defense stand" (see [1]).
Issam Makhoul (Arabic: ??, Hebrew: ', born 18 July 1952), is an Israeli politician. As the Secretary General of Maki (the Israeli Communist Party), and together with the Central Committee of the party, he directs all communist activities in Israel as well as being responsible for relationships with communist parties in other countries. An Israeli Arab sociologist, he is a former member of the Knesset for Hadash (of which Maki is a major faction). In late 2003, he was the target of a failed assassination attempt, when a car bomb exploded beneath his vehicle as his wife was backing it out of their driveway.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Biography
• 2 Political career
o 2.1 Knesset activities
o 2.2 Assassination attempt
o 2.3 Current activities
• 3 References
• 4 External links
[edit] Biography
Born in 1952, Makhoul studied philosophy and sociology at the University of Haifa, gaining a BA. During his time at university he also became chairman of the National Union of Arab Students. After graduating he worked as a sociologist, and was a member of the Amil Toma Institute for Political and Historical Research. He is married to Suad.
[edit] Political career
[edit] Knesset activities
Makhoul was elected to the Knesset in 1999 on Hadash's list, and re-elected in 2003. He was an active critic of Israel's nuclear weapons program, and in 2000 was the first Knesset member to attempt a break in Israel's "nuclear ambiguity" policy by prompting an open debate on Israel's atomic program. He is also a supporter of Mordechai Vanunu, the former Israeli nuclear technician who was imprisoned for revealing details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986, and had called for Vanunu's release on several occasions.
[edit] Assassination attempt
On 24 October 2003, Makhoul and his wife were preparing to leave their home in central Haifa; Makhoul took his Knesset-supplied Ford, and his wife took their personal Honda, Makhoul's primary transportation prior to Knesset service. Makhoul reversed the Ford out of the driveway, and his wife started the engine of the Honda, intending to pick up their twin children from school. The Honda's ignition sparked an explosion, flooding the vehicle in flames. Suad Makhoul escaped the blast unhurt.[1] In May 2005, two young Jewish men (Alexander Rabinovitch and Eliran Golan) were convicted of obtaining explosive materials for criminal purposes.[2] The two were conspiring to murder prominent Arab figures in Haifa, including Makhoul.
[edit] Current activities
Makhoul lost his seat in the 2006 elections. Since then he has been involved in improving ties between Maki and the Communist Party of China.