Maki (formerly Rakach)

For the now defunct political party which used the name ‘Maki’, see Maki (defunct political party).

Maki (the Hebrew acronym for Israeli Communist Party), is an Israeli Communist political party. Originally named Rakach (Hebrew acronym for New Communist List), it was formed in 1965 by a group of communists (mostly Arabs) who left the party which used the name Maki at the time. Later on, years after the original Maki disbanded, Rakach assumed the name of its mother party in 1989 and has been using it ever since.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Platform
* 2 Hadash
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Platform[edit]

In contrast to those members who stayed in the original Maki, Rakach was uncritically supportive of all Soviet policies and as a result adopted an anti-Israeli line.[2] The party supports allowing the Arab refugees from the Israeli independence war to return to Israel,[3] a move which if carried out would lead to an Arab majority in the country and its unification with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as result.[4] Likewise, the party had a policy of cooperating with the PLO since the 70’s.[2]

The party seeks the formation of a Palestinian state,[5] despite the fact it is likely to pose a threat to Israel’s existence.[6] Maki calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights as well,[3] even though such a move will put Israel in great strategic risk.[7] By giving its backing to Hezbollah, Iran and Syria, Maki has managed to alienate even other radical leftists in Israel.[8]

## Hadash[edit]

In 1977 Maki joined forces with other left groups in order to create the political alliance Hadash (Hebrew acronym of Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) in 1977, and ever since then Maki no longer runs to the Knesset under its own name but as part of Hadash.[9] With that, Maki still retains an independent status within Hadash and is the dominant force within the alliance, as evident by the fact that 80 percent of the Hadash council is made up of mebers of Maki.[10]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ New Communist List (Rakach) on the Knesset’s website
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Meir Wilner, Israeli Communist Head, Dies at 85 - Forward
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties – The Communist Party of Israel
4. ↑ The Palestinian Arab Refugees: Arafat's Secret Weapon
5. ↑ Israeli peace and Left movements to rally for a Palestinian state in Tel-Aviv on June 4
6. ↑ ‘Tel Aviv will be like Sderot’ - Ynet
7. ↑ The Golan Heights and the Facts – Ariel Center for Policy Research
8. ↑ For example, see this article from the Israeli leftist magazine Challenge.
9. ↑ Hadash on the Knesset’s website
10. ↑ Communist Party likely to stick with Hadash – The Jerusalem Post

## External links[edit]

* Maki’s official website
* Rakach (Maki’s former name) on the Knesset’s website