Rakah party

Rakah (New Communist List) is the name of a branch of the Communist Party of Israel (a majority of its members are the Arabs). Communist of Israel party by the name of Maki divided into two branches in 1965. A branch in which Jews are the majority is still called Maki.
Rakah party as a Communist Party was founded in 1919. In that year, a group of leftist immigrant Jews founded Socialist Workers Party in Palestine. The party later was renamed the Palestine Communist Party and in 1924, it joined the Union of Communist Parties (Comintern) and it was recognized as branch of the union in Palestine. Since mid-twenties, a number of workers and Arab intellectuals were attracted to the party. Palestine Communist Party, according to its transnational and non-class ideology and its vision of the question of Palestine as the liberal and patriotic issue and consistent with the positions of the Soviet Union, was opposed to Zionism and the domination of England on Palestine and it confirmed Palestinian Arabs' independence and their struggle against Jewish immigration into the country and it supported repeated uprisings of Palestinians and Arab revolts (1936 to 1939), and called its members to participate. The positions of the party, especially during the Great Arab Revolt in Palestine led to tensions and disagreements among members of the Jewish and Arab members of the party. Over time, stress and the conflicts were intensified, so that in 1943 the party divided into three branches: a branch for Arabs in the name of liberal Patriotic community that continued its activities; the other branch belongs to the Jews who remained isolated from the Zionist movement; the third small branch that communicated with some Zionist parties.
At the same time by announcement of the formation of Israel government in 1948, Communists consolidated their ranks once again, and the Communist Party of Israel (known as Maki) was formed. The Party recognized the State of Israel and its symbols and organs and at the same time, it supported the return of Palestinian refugees and compensation to them and also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state in part that belong to the Palestinians in accordance with resolution 1947 of the UN. In 1955, a leftist group led by murine Moshe Sineh after the split of the party, joined the Communist Party of Israel.
Communist Party of Israel still remained as the enemy of Zionism and imperialism and confirming the Soviet Union and its position and it strongly rejected all internal, external and security policies of all Israeli cabinets. In the fifties and the first half of the sixties bold and ceaseless it struggled against racial discrimination and the imposition of martial law and repression against Israeli Arabs and the expropriation of their land. The party generally confirmed Arab nationalist movement in the region (led by Jamal Abdel Nasser) and the overall goals and the struggle for completing political and economic freedom. Over time the impression was created in the minds that while Communist Party of Israel is a Jewish – Arab party with communist and transnational ideology, it is one of the national parties of Palestine and the defender of Arab Nationalism.
The mentality and the practical struggles of Communist Party of Israel caused the party to face great acknowledgment of Arabs residing in Israel, so that the number of Arabs, who joined the party, was growing, and in the successive Knesset elections more of them voted in favor of the party. This led to more hostility of the party towards Zionism and more confirm on national wishes and struggles in the region. With this background in addition to growing discontent of Jewish circles of the party about how the Union of Soviet acted with Jewish citizens and country policy in favor of Arabs in the Middle East led the party to be divided into two branches in 1965: a branch with majority of Jews led by Shmuel Mikonys and Moshe Sineh and another branch with the majority of Arabs led by Meir Filner and Tofigh Tubi. The first branch in the name of Maki and second one in the name of Rakah continued to operate. In the parliamentary elections held in that year, Rakah won three seats in the Knesset, but only one Maki candidate was able to enter Knesset. Result of this election made it clear well that who are real voters of the party. What makes the result more obvious is that Maki branch gradually lost its power and in the early seventies this branch completely disappeared.
Shortly before the general elections in 1977, Rakah with a number of Arab nationalists intellectuals and a number of leftist Jews formed the "democratic for peace and equality" front (abbreviated Hadash) to participate in the elections. Political program of Hadash to participate in the elections was including the following points: the immediate withdrawal from all occupied lands in 1967 war, including Jerusalem; to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the occupied territories after the withdrawal of Israeli army from it and recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the official representative of the Palestinian people. The other provisions of this program are as follows: to defend the rights and interests of workers working in urban and rural areas in manufacturing and services, the cancellation of policy of discrimination and oppression against the Arabs residing in Israel in all fields, dismantling all aspects of policy of racial discrimination and guaranteeing the rights of the residents of poor neighborhoods and towns; defense of freedom and democracy and omitting the threat of fascism, the equal rights of men and women in all fields.
Although Hadash is still existing, and Rakah participate in Knesset elections under its name Rakah, most people that helped Rakah to form Hadash excluded from this front over time. In the late Eighties and early Nineties and following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bloc of socialism and the changes and developments in the Arab area, Rakah faced thought confusion and acute organizational crisis and by inner conflicts, which continued for more than two years, a number of prominent leaders came out of it and Mio Filner and Tofigh Toubi (two old leaders of the party) assigned leadership of the party to fresh young elements; Rakah found Palestinian and Arab nature than Jewish nature. Putting an Arab character named Tofigh Ziad at top of electoral list of the party in the 1992 election shows the fact. Despite the crisis and the implications and completion of other Arab parties with aim of attracting votes of the Arabs, and the results of the elections showed that Rakah is still the largest and most powerful party among the Arabs though compared with the results of elections in 1988, it has lost a quarter of its power in the Knesset.
Rakah (or Hadash) acquired 3 to 4 seats in the Knesset in all parliamentary elections in the years 1965 (the year of installations of Rakah) and 1992, except in elections in 1977 that was held shortly after the formation of Hadash and won 5 seats in the Knesset. In elections, Arabs are the main base of Rakah and a few Jews also vote in the favor of the party. Arabs who vote in favor of Rakah have increased from 23 percent in 1965 to 29 percent in the elections of 1969, 37% in the elections of 1973 and 51% in the 1977 elections. As can be seen, in the same period, the percentage of Arab voters in favor of Rakah was upward and its peak was in the 1977 elections. But in the years 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1992, it had a downward trend and they were 38%, 32% (in years 84 and 88) and 23%. One of the factors that reduced the chance of Arabs for Rakah (under the banner of Hadash) in recent decades is rise of pioneer list for Peace (1984) and the Democratic Party Arab (1988) as two rivals in Arab areas in addition to activities of Zionist parties in the areas.
Despite decades passing after Rakah formation, political program of the party (either individually or in the form of Hadash) has not changed much in terms of the nature and components of this program remained intact. On domestic issues, Rakah calls for full equality of Arabs and Jews in Israel, an end to racial discrimination against Arabs and cooperation of leading characters in two sides to achieve common goals. In the field of conflict of the Arabs and Israel it wants to achieve comprehensive peace and justice between Israel on the one hand and the Palestinians and the Arab states on the other hand; Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied territories, including Eastern and Arab Eastern Jerusalem; Palestinian statehood and to recognize the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
Rakah regarding electoral base has high and broad Arab support from various social strata, especially workers, intellectuals and youth. According to the reports, which Rakah said in 1969, members of the party are made of 57% of workers, 20% of the employees, 8% individual practitioners, 8% craftsmen and 5% housewives. Although later there was no such a report released, it can be assumed that its membership did not essentially have differences.
Party Rakah since formation so far has had significant activities in the cultural background in addition to political activities and struggles, and it has published a number of cultural and literary periodic newspapers and journals by efforts of Arab writers and journalists and it had a large share in preservation of national and ethnic identity of Arab minority living in Israel.
The party's most important journals: Al-Ittihad newspaper and monthly .
Party's organizational structure consists of: Library of Congress, the State Council, the Central Committee and Political Bureau.
Number of seats of the Rakah party at different periods of the Knesset: sixth Knesset (1965) 3 seats, the seventh Knesset (1969) 3 seats, the eighth Knesset (1973) 4 seats; ninth Knesset (1977) 5 seats; Tenth Knesset (1981) 4 seats ; the eleventh Knesset (1984) 4 seats; the twelfth Knesset (1988) 4 seats and the thirteenth Knesset (1992) 3 seats.