Ta'al

For a military rank, see Aluf.

Ta'al תע״ל‎ •الحركة العربية للتغيير
Hebrew name	תנועה ערבית להתחדשות‎
Arabic name	الحركة العربية للتغيير
Leader	Ahmad Tibi
Ideology	Arab nationalism [5] Israeli Arab interests [6] Anti-Zionism [12] Secularism
Political position	Big tent [16]
National affiliation	Balad (1999) United Arab List (2006–2013) Joint List (2015–2019; 2019–2021; 2021–2022)
Knesset	1 / 120
Most MKs	3 (2020)
Election symbol
נ‎
Website
a-m-c.org (Archived)
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

The Arab Movement for Renewal, commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Ta'al, ^[a] is an Arab nationalist political party in Israel led by Ahmad Tibi.

History

Ta'al was founded by Tibi in the mid-1990s. It ran in the 1996 elections under the name Arab Union, but received only 2,087 votes (0.1%). For the 1999 elections it ran as part of the Balad list. Tibi won a seat, and broke away from Balad on 21 December that year. In the 2003 elections the party ran on a joint list with Hadash, with Tibi retaining his seat.

On 7 February 2006 Tibi left the alliance with Hadash. For the 2006 elections the party ran on a joint list with the United Arab List, running as Ra'am–Ta'al (Ra'am is the Hebrew acronym for the UAL). On 12 January 2009, the Ra'am–Ta'al list was disqualified from the 2009 elections by the Central Elections Committee. Twenty-one committee members voted in favor of its disqualification, with eight members voting against and two members abstaining. Tibi said the decision was related to Operation Cast Lead, claiming "this is a racist country. We are accustomed to these types of struggles and we will win" and that "this decision strives for a Knesset without Arabs that will only lead to the increased solidarity between the Arab public and its leadership". He said he would appeal to the Israeli High Court of Justice. ^[17] On 21 January the High Court of Justice overturned the Committee's decision unanimously. Tibi welcomed the decision and said: "We have beaten fascism. This fight is over but the battle is not. Racism has become a trend in Israel ... the court's decision has righted a wrong by Kadima and Labor". ^[18] The list won four seats, with Tibi retaining his place in the Knesset.

The party was part of the Joint List in the 2015 election, before it withdrew in January 2019, ^[19] though it decided to rejoin the alliance for the September 2019 election ^[20] and ran as part of it in the 2020 election as well. ^[21] It left the alliance again on 28 January 2021, ^[22] until it rejoined once again on 3 February. ^[23]

Ideology

Ta'al supports an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 green lines and a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state established alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Ta'al has been often described as secular. ^{[24] [25] [26]} Despite this the party was an ally of the Islamist United Arab List (Ra'am) and ran on their list between 2006 and 2015. Additionally their leader Tibi has been heavily criticized for homophobic comments in 2019. ^[27] Tibi is a Muslim himself. ^[28]

The party is described as (Arab) nationalist ^{[25] [26]} but more moderate compared to Balad. ^[29]

Election results

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Status
1996	Ahmad Tibi	2,087	0.07 (#19)	0 / 120		Extraparliamentary
1999		Part of Balad		1 / 120	1	Opposition
2003		With Hadash [b]		1 / 120		Opposition
2006		With Ra'am		1 / 120		Opposition
2009				1 / 120		Opposition
2013				1 / 120		Opposition
2015		Part of the Joint List		1 / 120		Opposition
Apr 2019		With Hadash [b]		2 / 120	1	Snap election
Sep 2019		Part of the Joint List		2 / 120		Snap election
2020				3 / 120	1	Opposition
2021				2 / 120	1	Opposition
2022		With Hadash [b]		1 / 120	1	Opposition

Notes

1. Ta'al is a Hebrew abbreviation for Tnua Aravit LeHithadshut Hebrew: תְּנוּעָה עֲרָבִית לְהִתְחַדְּשׁוּת, lit.  'Arab Movement for Renewal'. Its Arabic name is al-Haraka al-'Arabiyya li-t-Tagyir (Arabic: الحركة العربية للتغيير, lit.  'Arab Movement for Change')
2. Hadash-Ta'al

References

1. "Arab parties rally for votes in Israeli election". The Guardian. 26 October 2022. Arab nationalist party Ta'al
2. "The political odyssey of Ayman Odeh". Fathom Journal. Ahmad Tibi's Arab nationalist Ta'al party
3. "Knesset Elections 2021: A Guide to Israel's Political Parties". Israel Policy Forum. 10 March 2021. Ta'al, a secular Arab nationalist party
4. "Arab Politics in Israel: A Balance Sheet of Five Knesset Elections (2019–2022) and the Challenges of the Future". Israel Democracy Institute. 25 December 2022. moderate Arab nationalism (Ta'al)
5. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
6. "Israel Political Parties: Arab Movement for Renewal (Ta'al)". Jewish Virtual Library. Ta'al's philosophy centers around the desire to see Israel's Arabs recognized as a national minority with equal civil rights
7. "New Palestinian Political Party in Israel". Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. Ta'al with secularist and anti-Zionist tendencies
8. "'Bibi or Tibi' is about Zionism, not racism". Israel Hayom. 3 December 2019. The four Arab parties vary in character with Tibi's and its rival Balad being secular anti-Zionists
9. "Israeli Elections 2022: A Rundown of Israeli Parties and Their Leaders". Israel Today. 18 October 2022. Ta'al is more right-wing economically. Both are anti-Zionist and support the creation of a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
10. "Israeli Arabs say no to Palestine". The Jerusalem Post. 4 February 2020. Ahmad Tibi, a viciously anti-Zionist member of Israel's parliament
11. "The Treatment of the Holocaust in the Writings of Darwish and Tibi: Critique or Identification?" (PDF). Lancaster University. Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament and a known anti-Zionist
12. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}
13. ""הרעיון עדיין תקף": הפוליטיקה הערבית אחרי פירוק המשותפת". Mekomit. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
14. "Ta'al". European Council on Foreign Relations . 27 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
15. Udi Shaham (29 January 2021). "As Election Day approaches, Arab society is more fractured than ever". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 29 January 2021.
16. ^{[13] [14] [15]}
17. Glickman, Aviad (12 January 2009). "Arab parties disqualified from elections". Ynetnews. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
18. Glickman, Aviad (21 January 2009). "Arab parties win disqualification appeal". Ynetnews. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
19. "Arab MK Tibi breaks away from the Joint List". Maariv Online. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
20. Adam Rasgon (29 July 2019). "Nationalist Balad party announces it will run on Joint List in autumn elections". The Times of Israel . Retrieved 3 August 2019.
21. Rasgon, Adam (3 March 2020). "Headed for 15 seats, Joint List chief claims 'huge' success, cites Jewish voters". The Times of Israel . Retrieved 28 January 2021.
22. Staff writer; Aaron Boxerman (28 January 2021). "Knesset panel approves Joint List's breakup after talks with Ra'am faction fail". The Times of Israel .
23. Amit Segal (3 February 2021). "Joint List's breakup: Ra'am will run alone in the upcoming election". News 12. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
24. Staff writer (28 January 2021). "Arab Joint List in Israel set to split ahead of March election". Middle East Eye . Retrieved 28 January 2021.
25. Jonathan S. Tobin (23 November 2019). "Who are the real anti-Zionists in Israel?". Israel Hayom . Retrieved 29 January 2021.
26. Marcy Oster (29 July 2019). "Israel's four main Arab political parties, after split, will again run as a bloc". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 29 January 2021.
27. Aaron Boxerman (25 March 2021). "How Islamist Ra'am broke Arab politics and may win the keys to the government". Times of Israel . Retrieved 18 September 2022.
28. "אחרי המהומות: ח"כ אחמד טיבי עלה למסגד אל-אקצא והתעמת עם לוחמי מג"ב". N12. 4 April 2022.
29. Joshua Leifer (16 February 2021). "Israel's Islamists Side with Netanyahu". Jewish Currents . Retrieved 19 September 2022.

External links

• Ta'al Knesset website