Hadash חד״ש | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Hebrew name | החזית הדמוקרטית לשלום ולשוויון |
| Arabic name | الجبهة الديمقراطية للسلام والمساواة |
| Secretary | Amjad Shbita |
| Founded | 7 March 1977 |
| Merger of | Rakah Aki Shasi [1] Black Panthers (partial) Other Arab and left-wing groups [2] |
| Headquarters | Haifa, Israel Nazareth, Israel |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing [9] to far-left [10] |
| National affiliation | Joint List (2015–2019; 2020–2022) |
| Colors | Red and Green |
| Knesset | 4 / 120 |
| Election symbol | |
| ו | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Hadash, [a] officially the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, [b] is a left-wing to far-left political coalition in Israel formed by the Communist Party of Israel (Maki) and other groups.
Hadash was formally established on 7 March 1977 in Tel Aviv, [11] [12] [13] [14] following a resolution by the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of Israel (Rakah) held in December 1976, [12] [15] in preparation for the 1977 elections. The congress called for a "broad front of all peace-loving and democratic forces" to provide a political alternative to the ruling Labor and Likud blocs. [15] The coalition adopted the Hebrew letter "Vav" (ו) as its electoral sign. [12] [11]
The founding member organizations and adhering groups included: [12] [16] [17] [14]
The coalition was organized under a central directing board representing all component parts to manage the election campaign and ensure ongoing cooperation. [12] [11] [13] The founding declaration established a "minimum program" consisting of six core principles: [11] [12] [16] [13]
While Hadash was founded as a broad political alliance, most of its original non-communist constituent groups eventually left the coalition or fizzled out over time. The Black Panthers faction led by Charlie Biton, for example, broke away from Hadash during the 12th Knesset on 25 December 1990 to establish an independent parliamentary faction. [23] Similarly, the Israeli Communist Opposition (Aki) gradually waned following the deaths of its principal leaders, Esther Vilenska (d. 1975) and Shmuel Mikunis (d. 1982).
Today, the structure of the Hadash coalition revolves mainly around the Communist Party of Israel and its affiliated mass organizations, alongside independent left-wing activists. The current constituent groups comprising the Front are:
From 2008 to 2017, the joint Arab-Jewish social movement Tarabut Hithabrut operated as a faction within Hadash. The organization aimed to bridge the divide in Israeli oppositional politics by connecting campaigns against the occupation with domestic struggles for social justice and equality. [36] [37] [38] [39]
In January 2015, former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg joined Hadash. [40]
In 2018, Hadash activists were involved in creating joint Jewish-Arab anti-occupation movement Standing Together. [41]
In its first electoral test, Hadash won five seats, an increase of one from Rakah's four. [42] But in the next elections in 1981 the party was reduced to four seats. It maintained its four seats in the 1984 elections, gaining another MK when Muhammed Wattad defected from Mapam in 1988. The 1988 election resulted in another four-seat haul, though the party lost a seat when Charlie Biton broke away to establish Black Panthers as an independent faction on 25 December 1990. The 1992 elections saw the party remain at three seats. [42]
In the 1996 elections the party ran a joint list with Balad. Together they won five seats, but split during the Knesset term, [43] [23] with Hadash reduced to three seats. The 1999 elections saw them maintain three seats, with Barakeh and Issam Makhoul replacing Ahmad Sa'd and Saleh Saleem. [42]
In the 2003 elections Hadash ran on another joint list, this time with Ahmed Tibi's Ta'al. The list won three seats, [44] but again split during the parliamentary session, leaving Hadash with two MKs, Barakeh and Makhoul. [23]
In the 2006 elections Hadash won three seats, with Hana Sweid and Dov Khenin entering the Knesset alongside Barakeh. The party won an additional seat in the 2009 elections, taken by Afu Agbaria. [42]
In the 2013 elections, Hadash maintained its four seats, with Barakeh, Khenin, Sweid, and Agbaria all returning to the Knesset. [42]
Ahead of the 2015 elections, Hadash joined forces with Balad, Ta'al, and the United Arab List to form the Joint List. As part of this broader alliance, Hadash increased its representation to five seats, introducing new MKs such as Ayman Odeh, Aida Touma-Suleiman, and Yousef Jabareen, alongside veteran Dov Khenin. [45]
The Joint List temporarily fractured prior to the April 2019 elections, leading Hadash to run on a joint ticket with Ta'al. This alliance secured Hadash four seats, with Ofer Cassif entering the Knesset. [44] The Joint List was subsequently re-established for the September 2019 and 2020 elections, yielding five seats for Hadash in both rounds. In the 2021 elections, Hadash's representation within the Joint List was reduced to three seats, held by Odeh, Touma-Suleiman, and Cassif. [45]
For the 2022 elections, Hadash once again ran on a unified list with Ta'al, winning four seats. On 23 June 2025, Hadash MK Youssef Atauna resigned from the Knesset as part of a rotation agreement and was replaced by Ta'al MK Samir Bin Said. [44] [46]
Hadash is a left-wing party that has supported a socialist economy [47] and workers' rights.[ needs update ] It emphasizes Jewish–Arab cooperation, and its leaders were among the first to support a two-state solution. Its voters are principally middle-class and secular Arabs, many from the north and Christian communities. [48] It also drew 6,000–10,000 far-left[ verification needed ] Jewish voters during national elections in the 2010s. [49] [ needs update ]
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The party supports evacuation of all Israeli settlements, a complete withdrawal by Israel from all territories occupied as a result of the Six-Day War, and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It also supports the right of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees. In addition to issues of peace and security, Hadash is known for being active on social and environmental issues. [50] [ unreliable source? ] In keeping with socialist ideals, Hadash's environmental platform, led in the 2010s by Maki official Dov Khenin, [51] calls for the nationalization of Israel's gas, mineral, and oil reserves. [52] [ needs update ]
Hadash has called for the recognition of Palestinian Arabs as a national minority within Israel. [53] It has in recent times included elements of Arab nationalism in its platform. [54]
Hadash shifted to a more Arab nationalist appeal after running on a joint list with Ta'al in 2003. [55]
In 2015, Hadash declared its support for international campaigns against companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. [56]
On 1 November 2009, then party leader Mohammad Barakeh was indicted on four counts for events that occurred between April 2005 and July 2007: assault and interfering with a policeman in the line of duty, assault on a photographer, insulting a public servant, and attacking an official who was discharging his legal duty. [57] [58] The charges related to his role in a protest against Israeli government policy, and were considered controversial mainly by those who opposed such protests.[ citation needed ]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2025) |
In the Knesset elections held on March 28, 2006, Hadash, a far-left coalition made up of the Israeli Communist Party and other leftist groups, garnered three Knesset seats (out of 120).
Among the signatories of the above declaration: Hadash, CPI, Young Communist League of Israel, ... Democratic Women Movement of Israel – TANDI
Hadash is adhering to its socialist origins and asking to nationalize the gas, mineral and oil reserves.
It has also spearheaded Knesset legislation on environmental issues (it describes itself as red-green).