Hadash

Foundation and original program

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 Communist Party of Israel (Rakah)
• The Black Panthers of Charlie Biton's faction (several others in Saadia Marciano's faction joined the Left Camp of Israel)
• Elected local officials from Arab towns and villages
• The Israeli Left Socialists (Shasi)^[18][19]
• Members of various kibbutzim
• The Israeli Communist Opposition (Aki), which had been founded by former Maki leader Esther Vilenska prior to her death in 1975, and was later joined by Shmuel Mikunis.^[14][20][21]
• A circle of academics, including Daniel Amit and other public figures.^[12][22][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]}

1. Just and stable peace: A settlement based on the total withdrawal of Israel from territories occupied in 1967, recognition of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and an independent state alongside Israel, and the participation of the PLO as the recognized representative of the Palestinian people in the Geneva Peace Conference.
2. Workers' rights: Defense of the interests of workers in production and services, and the rights of residents in impoverished urban neighborhoods.
3. Equality for Arab citizens: The elimination of all forms of national discrimination and the recognition of the Arab population in Israel as a national minority with secure equal rights.
4. Elimination of ethnic discrimination: An end to communal discrimination against Mizrahi Jews, supported by the allocation of special funds to raise their socio-economic and cultural status.
5. Democratic freedoms: The protection and expansion of democratic freedoms against the threat of right-wing or fascist forces.
6. Women's rights and secularism: Securing full equal rights for women, the cancellation of discriminatory legislation, and the prevention of religious coercion to ensure freedom of opinion and faith.

Current formation

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:

• Maki (The Communist Party of Israel)
• Banki / YCLI (The Young Communist League of Israel), which serves as the youth wing of Maki.^[24][25]
• Tandi (Movement of Democratic Women in Israel), an affiliated socialist feminist organization.^[24][26][27]
• The Druze Initiative Committee, a leftist Druze organization, opposed the conscription of Druze into the Israel Defense Force and actively assists conscientious objectors.^{[28][29][30][31][32]}
• Independent non-partisan Jewish and Arab public figures, academics, activists and municipal leaders who run on the Hadash list, or support it's aims, but are not formal card-carrying members of the Communist Party.^{[24][33][34][35]}

From 2008 to 2017, the joint Arab-Jewish social movement Tarabut Hithabrut [he] 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]

Electoral history

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]

Social and economic policy

Hadash has historically advocated a socialist-oriented economy, including an expanded welfare state, workers’ rights, and opposition to privatization and widening inequality.^[49][50][48] Party materials and external profiles commonly describe Hadash as prioritizing labor rights and social justice alongside democratic liberties and equal citizenship.^[51][47]

Peace process and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Hadash has long supported a negotiated peace based on Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel (commonly framed as a two-state solution).^[52][48][47] A published platform of Hadash in the 1990s called for removing Israeli settlements established in territories occupied since 1967 and addressing the Palestinian refugee issue "in accordance with UN resolutions," while supporting a division of sovereignty in Jerusalem as part of a final agreement.^[52] Hadash has also supported non-violent political and diplomatic efforts intended to end the occupation, including international pressure focused on settlement activity.^[53][54]

Equality, minority rights, and Jewish–Arab partnership

Hadash emphasizes Jewish–Arab cooperation and equal civil and national rights, including calls to recognize Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel as a national minority and to advance equality in political, economic, and cultural life.^[55][56][48] External profiles similarly describe the party as promoting a “shared society” between Jews and Arabs as a central part of its ideology.^[47]

Environmental and "red–green" politics

Hadash has also been associated with environmental justice initiatives alongside its socioeconomic agenda, particularly during the period when MK Dov Khenin was a prominent party figure on environmental issues.^[57] Party and allied materials have linked environmental policy to opposition to privatization and to greater public control over natural resources and royalties.^[58][59]

Electorate

Hadash’s electorate has been described as predominantly Arab and largely secular, with significant support in northern localities and among some Christian communities.^[60] It has also attracted a number of Jewish voters on the far left; one report estimated that Hadash drew roughly 6,000–10,000 Jewish voters in national elections during the 2010s.^[61]

Histadrut and sectoral unions

Hadash‑affiliated activists have taken part in elections and representative bodies within the Histadrut, Israel’s main trade union federation. In the 2023–2024 Histadrut elections, representatives identified with Hadash and Maki were elected to union committees and national bodies as part of left‑wing and opposition slates, reflecting the coalition’s continued presence in organized labor frameworks.^[65]

Maki and Hadash sources described these results as part of a broader effort to strengthen a left‑wing, social‑justice‑oriented bloc within the Histadrut, emphasizing opposition to privatization, subcontracted employment, and erosion of labor protections.^[66]

Teachers’ unions

Hadash and Maki have been particularly active within Israel’s teachers’ unions, including the Israel Teachers Union and associated representative bodies. Party‑identified activists participated in internal union elections and were elected to local and national committees, campaigning on platforms focused on teachers’ wages, job security, opposition to privatization in education, and equal funding for Arab and peripheral schools.^[67]

Coverage in the Israeli press has noted the involvement of Hadash‑aligned educators and union representatives in broader labor disputes affecting the education system, including protests over working conditions and resistance to proposed reforms.^[68][69]

Through its sustained participation in union politics and workers’ struggles, Hadash has sought to link parliamentary activity with organized labor, viewing trade unions—particularly in the public and education sectors—as a central arena for advancing social equality and workers’ rights in Israel.^[70]

Chairpersons

More information Portrait, Name ...

Portrait	Name	Term	Notes
	Meir Vilner	1977–1992	Founding chairman [94] [95]
	Tawfiq Ziad	1992–1994	Also served as mayor of Nazareth [96]
	Saleh Saleem	1996–1999
	Mohammad Barakeh	1999–2015	Also served as secretary-general [97] [98] [99]
	Ayman Odeh	2015–2023	Previously secretary-general [100] [97] [101] [102]
	Issam Makhoul	2023–2025	[103] [104] [105]

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