The Israeli Communist Party, commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Maki (Hebrew: מק״י), is a far-left, communist and anti-Zionist political party in Israel that forms part of the political alliance known as Hadash. It was originally known as Rakah (רק"ח), an acronym for Reshima Komunistit Hadasha ("New Communist List"), after breaking away from the original Maki in the 1960s.
Israeli Communist Party
המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית
الحزب الشيوعي الاسرائيلي | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leadership | Central committee |
| Founder |
|
| Founded | 1 September 1965 (1965-09-01) |
| Split from | Maki |
| Headquarters | Nazareth, Tel Aviv |
| Newspaper | Al-Ittihad |
| Youth wing | Alliance of the Israeli Communist Youth |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Far-left |
| National affiliation | Hadash |
| International affiliation | IMCWP |
| Colours | Red |
| Knesset |
3 / 120
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| Election symbol | |
| ו | |
| Website | |
| maki | |
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Rakah was formed on 1 September 1965 due to internal disagreements in Maki, the original Israeli Communist Party, which was split between a largely Jewish and Zionist faction led by Moshe Sneh that was critical of the Soviet Union's anti-Zionist stance, and a largely Arab faction that was increasingly anti-Zionist.
As a result, the pro-Arab/pro-Soviet faction (including Emile Habibi, Tawfik Toubi and Meir Vilner) left Maki to form a new party, Rakah, which the Soviet Union recognised as the "official" Communist Party. Shlomo Sand and Mahmoud Darwish were also Rakah activists.[7]
The Eurocommunist faction, led by Sneh, remained in Maki.[8] It was reported in the Soviet media that the Mikunis–Sneh group defected to the bourgeois-nationalist camp.[9]
The 1965 Israeli legislative election saw Rakah party win three seats, comprehensively beating Maki as it slumped to just one. Rakah's opposition to Zionism and the Six-Day War meant that they were excluded from the national unity governments of the sixth Knesset. In the 1969 Israeli legislative election Rakah again won three seats. During the 1973 Israeli legislative election Rakah saw a rise in support as the party picked up four seats.
Before the 1977 elections the party joined with some other small left-wing and Arab parties, including some members of the Israeli Black Panthers to form Hadash. After the original Maki had disappeared after merging into Ratz in 1981, members of Rakah decided to change the party's name to Maki in 1989.[10] The party remains the leading force in Hadash, and owns the Al-Ittihad newspaper.
| Election | Lead candidate | Votes | % | Position | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Meir Vilner | 27,413 | 2.27 | New |
3 / 120
|
 3 |
opposition |
| 1969 | 38,827 | 2.84 | 7th
|
3 / 120
|
|
opposition | |
| 1973 | 53,353 | 3.41 | 6th
|
4 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | |
| 1977 | Part of Hadash | 5th
|
4 / 120
|
|
opposition | ||
| 1981 | 5th
|
3 / 120
|
 1 |
opposition | |||
| 1984 | 5th
|
3 / 120
|
|
opposition | |||
| 1988 | 7th
|
3 / 120
|
|
opposition | |||
| 1992 | Tawfiq Ziad | 8th
|
2 / 120
|
1 |
support | ||
| 1996 | Ahmad Sa'd | Part of Hadash–Balad | 7th
|
2 / 120
|
|
opposition | |
| 1999 | Mohammad Barakeh | Part of Hadash | 12th
|
3 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | |
| 2003 | Part of Hadash–Ta'al | 9th
|
2 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | ||
| 2006 | Part of Hadash | 11th
|
2 / 120
|
|
opposition | ||
| 2009 | 9th
|
3 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | |||
| 2013 | 10th
|
3 / 120
|
|
opposition | |||
| 2015 | Aida Touma-Suleiman | Part of the Joint List | 3rd
|
4 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | |
| April 2019 | Part of Hadash–Ta'al | 5th
|
3 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | ||
| September 2019 | Part of the Joint List | 3rd
|
4 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | ||
| 2020 | 3rd
|
4 / 120
|
|
opposition | |||
| 2021 | 10th
|
2 / 120
|
2 |
opposition | |||
| 2022 | Part of Hadash–Ta'al | 12th
|
3 / 120
|
1 |
opposition | ||
הספרות העיונית-מחקרית על אודות המפלגה הקומוניסטית בארץ אינה רבה. הסיבה לכך – היותה מפלגה קטנה, אופוזיציונית, נרדפת ומושמצת, אנטי-ציונית, שהתנגדה למנדט הבריטי ולמדיניות של ממשלות ישראל.[The theoretical-research literature about the Communist Party in Israel is not much. The reason for this - being a small, oppositional, persecuted and slandered, anti-Zionist party, which opposed the British mandate and the policies of the Israeli governments.]
Following the Soviet change of heart regarding Israel in the early 1950s, Maki reverted to the anti-Zionist positions that had characterized it in Mandatory times. From that time onwards, it positioned itself as an anti-establishment party that opposed Israel's pro-Western alignment, rejected mass-immigration of Jews to Israel, and called for the establishment of a socialist regime and for self-determination for Israeli Arabs.
האנטי-ציונות המוצהרת של המפלגה הקומוניסטית[The declared anti-Zionism of the Communist Party]