Maki (Hebrew: מק"י) is a communist political party in Israel and forms part of the political alliance known as Hadash. It was originally known as Rakah (Hebrew: רק”ח), and is not the same party as the original Maki, from which it broke away in the 1960s.
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Name
As is the case with many political parties in Israel, Maki is an acronym, standing for haMiflega haKomunistit haYisraelit (Hebrew: המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית), translated as Israeli Communist Party. The name Rakah was also an acronym, standing for Reshima Komunistit Hadasha (Hebrew: רשימה קומוניסטית חדשה), translated as New Communist List.
History
Rakah was formed in 1965 due to internal disagreements in Maki, the original Israeli Communist Party, saw a split between a largely Jewish group led by Sneh which recognized Israel's right to existence and were critical of the Soviet Union's increasingly anti-Israel stance, and a largely Israeli Arab group which was increasingly anti-Zionist. As a result, the pro-Palestinian faction (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. It was reported in the Soviet media that the demerged Mikunis-Sneh group defected to the bourgois-nationalist camp. The 1965 elections saw the new party win three seats, comprehensively beating Maki, who had slumped to just one. Their opposition to Zionism and the Six-Day War meant they were excluded from the national unity governments of the sixth Knesset. In the 1969 elections Rakah again won three seats. The 1973 elections saw a rise in support, the party picking up four seats. Before the 1977 elections the party joined up with some other minor left-wing and Israeli Arab parties, including some members of the Israeli Black Panthers to form Hadash (literally "new", a possible reference to Rakah's name; it is also a Hebrew acronym for The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality). In the meantime, the original Maki had disappeared after merging into Ratz in 1981. In 1989, members of Rakah decided to change the party's name to Maki to reflect their status as the only officially communist party in Israel. The party remains the leading force in Hadash to this day.
References
- ^ ‘’Mezhdunarodnaya Zizhn’’ -- cited in edition ‘’Välispanoraam 1972’’, Tallinn, 1973, lk 147 (Foreign Panorama 1972)
External links
- Official website (English)
- Party history Knesset website (English)
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