The Communist Party of Israel, commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Maki (), is a communist political party in Israel that forms part of the Hadash political alliance. It was founded in 1965 as the New Communist List, or Rakah (), by an anti-Zionist faction of the original Maki.
History
Rakah was formed on 1 September 1965 due to internal disagreements in the original Maki, 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 in Israel. Shlomo Sand and Mahmoud Darwish were also Rakah activists.
The Eurocommunist faction, led by Sneh, remained in Maki. It was reported in the Soviet media that the Mikunis–Sneh group defected to the bourgeois-nationalist camp.
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.
thumb|left|upright=1.2|[[Meir Vilner addresses Rakah's 1976 convention]]
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. The party remains the leading force in Hadash, and publishes the Al-Ittihad and Zo HaDerekh newspapers.
Ideology and positions
Marxist-Leninist foundations
Maki is an anti-Zionist, Marxist–Leninist communist party. Organizationally, the party operates on the principle of democratic centralism, which it describes as a fusion of central policy execution and inner-party democracy.
The party defines itself as a revolutionary working-class movement aiming for a transition from capitalism to socialism. According to its constitution, Maki views late capitalism, globalization, and American imperialism as the root causes of global environmental destruction, social injustice, and the erosion of workers' rights.It envisions socialism not as a static system, but as a dynamically developing, humanistic society featuring working-class rule, social ownership of major production means, democratic economic planning, and political pluralism. The party similarly rejects what it terms "Arab reaction," emphasizing an internationalist, class-based division of society over national divisions.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and foreign policy
Historically, the party states it was the first in Israel to propose a two-state solution.
Maki advocates for the transformation of Israel into a secular, multiethnic state. In an interview with the American socialist magazine Jacobin on 17 November 2023, Eli Gozansky, a Jewish member of the party leadership, opined on whether the creation of one binational state was possible:
Furthermore, the party is staunchly anti-militarist. It supports the right to conscientious objectionand calls for the regional disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, urging Israel to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Domestic and social policies
Domestically, Maki's platform calls for the recognition of Arab citizens of Israel as a national minority and demands full civic and national equality, including an egalitarian citizenship law.
The party also emphasizes intersectional social struggles, advocating for full women's rights and an end to gender-based violence, as well as equality for Mizrahi communities.
|-
! 2
| 75px|Portrait of Tawfik Toubi
| Tawfik Toubi
| 21 May 1990 – 28 January 1993
| Succeeded Vilner during the 21st Congress, becoming the first Arab General Secretary of the party. He led until the 22nd Congress.
|-
! 3
| 75px|Portrait of Muhammad Nafa'
| Mohamed Nafa
| 1993 – 2002
| First term. Elected following the 22nd Congress and served until the 24th Congress.
|-
! 4
| 75px|Portrait of Issam Makhoul
| Issam Makhoul
| 2002 – 2007
| Elected at the 24th Congress in late 2002. Served concurrently as Maki's representative in the Knesset during the beginning of his tenure, stepping down at the 25th Congress.
|-
! (3)
| 75px|Portrait of Muhammad Nafa
| Mohamed Nafa
| 2007 – June 2015
| Second term. Re-elected at the 25th Congress in 2007, and again during the 26th Congress in 2012.
|}
Election results
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Lead candidate
!Votes
!%
!Position
!Seats
!+ / –
!Status
|-
!1965
| rowspan="7" |Meir Vilner
|27,413
|2.27
|New
|
| 3
|
|-
!1969
|38,827
|2.84
| 7th
|
|
|
|-
!1973
|53,353
|3.41
| 6th
|
| 1
|
|-
!1977
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" align="center" |Part of Hadash
| 5th
|
|
|
|-
!1981
| 5th
|
| 1
|
|-
!1984
| 5th
|
|
|
|-
!1988
| 7th
|
|
|
|-
!1992
|Tawfiq Ziad
| 8th
|
| 1
|
|-
!1996
|Ahmad Sa'd
|align=center colspan=2|Part of Hadash–Balad
| 7th
|
|
|
|-
!1999
| rowspan="5" |Mohammad Barakeh
|align=center colspan=2|Part of Hadash
| 12th
|
| 1
|
|-
!2003
| colspan="2" align="center" |Part of Hadash–Ta'al
| 9th
|
| 1
|
|-
!2006
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" align="center" |Part of Hadash
| 11th
|
|
|
|-
!2009
| 9th
|
| 1
|
|-
!2013
| 10th
|
|
|
|-
!2015
| rowspan="6" |Aida Touma-Suleiman
|align=center colspan=2|Part of the Joint List
| 3rd
|
| 1
|
|-
!April 2019
| colspan="2" align="center" |Part of Hadash–Ta'al
| 5th
|
| 1
|
|-
!September 2019
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" align="center" |Part of the Joint List
| 3rd
|
| 1
|
|-
!2020
| 3rd
|
|
|
|-
!2021
| 10th
|
| 2
|
|-
!2022
| colspan="2" |Part of Hadash–Ta'al
| 12th
|
|
|
|}