Balad (political party)

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Balad
בל״ד‎ • بلد
National affiliationNone
Formerly:
Joint List (2015–2019; 2020–2022)
Colours  Orange
Knesset
0 / 120
Most MKs3 (2003–2015; 2019–2021)
Fewest MKs0 (2022)
Election symbol
ض or ד
Website
www.altajamoa.org

Balad (Hebrew: בָּלַ״ד) is a left-wing to far-left Palestinian nationalist political party in Israel led by Sami Abu Shehadeh.[26]

Name

The party is known by the acronym of its Hebrew name, Brit Leumit Demokratit (

Arabic: التجمع الوطني الديمقراطي, lit.
'National Democratic Assembly').

Ideology

Balad defines itself as a "democratic party that represents the Arab citizens of Israel as a Palestinian Arab nationalist party".[27] Its stated purpose is the "struggle to transform the state of Israel into a democracy for all its citizens, irrespective of national or ethnic identity".[28] It opposes the idea of Israel as a Jewish state, and supports its creating a new "democratic and secular" state.

Balad also advocates that the state of Israel recognize Arabs as a

national minority, entitled to all rights that come with that status including autonomy in education, culture and media.[28]
Since the party's formation, it has objected to every proposed state budget.

The party supports the creation of two states based on

Palestinian state the return of Palestinian refugees and their families.[29]

History

Jamal Zahalka, a former leader of the party

Balad was formed and registered as a political party in 1995, by a group of young Israeli Arab intellectuals headed by

1999 elections, Balad ran on a joint ticket with Ta'al, headed by MK Ahmad Tibi
. They won two seats. However, a request was submitted that same year for the list to disband, and did so after the Knesset approved the request. Bishara remained its only member.

In 2001 party leader Azmi Bishara gave a speech in

trial was however cancelled, after The High Court of Justice ruled in favor of a petition submitted by Bishara where he protested that his speeches were protected by legal immunity, which is granted to all Knesset members in order to allow them to fulfill their duties. His parliamentary immunity
was immediately restored.

Prior to the

Central Elections Committee banned the party from running by a one-vote margin, claiming it did not respect Israel's legally-mandated status as a Jewish state and that its leader supported terrorism.[32] The move to ban Balad was initiated by Michael Kleiner, the leader of the right-wing Herut party, who alleged that Balad was "a cover-up for illegal activity" and that it "supports terror organizations, identifies with the enemy and acts against Israel as a Jewish and democratic state".[33] The Gush Shalom activist group criticized the decision saying it introduced into the committee the "aggressive, predatory and racist attitudes of the majority of the extreme right" who they believe favor banning all Arab MKs. Bishara personally responded to the Election Committee's charges that he supported Hezbollah by saying, "I believe that a people living under occupation [have] the right to fight against it, but I never called on the Palestinians to embark on an armed struggle against Israel. I never supported violent activity." The Elections Committee had also voted to ban Ahmad Tibi of the Ta'al party who had formed an electoral alliance with the left wing Hadash coalition.[34]

However, the bans on both parties were overturned by the

Misha'el Kheshin told the election committee that Bishara's past expressions of support for Hezbollah in Lebanon had angered him, although he voted to allow him to run in the elections because "Israel's democracy is strong and can tolerate irregular cases", and thought that there was insufficient evidence for the ban.[34] Balad won three seats in the elections, filled by Bishara, Wasil Taha, and Jamal Zahalka
.

In the 2006 elections Balad won three seats, which were taken by Bishara, Taha, and Zahalka. However, more controversy was to come when, after the 2006 Lebanon War, all three visited Syria and Lebanon in September 2006 and expressed solidarity for Hezbollah in its fight against Israel. Particularly strong statements were made by Bishara. They returned to Israel on 16 September, saying they planned to return to Syria again "if necessary". A police investigation was launched into their activities in enemy territories.[35]

Following this, Bishara was charged anew with supporting terrorism against Israelis, to which was added the charge of treason and various other criminal charges including receiving large sums of money from a foreign agent in return for his services, and money laundering. Although he promised to return from a few days' trip abroad to continue questioning by the authorities, after several weeks in other Arab states he instead resigned from the Knesset at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on 22 April 2007.[36] Bishara denied the charges but did not return to Israel to face court proceedings.[37] He was said to be "considering staying abroad because he feared a long term jail sentence and an end to his political career".[38] Bishara was replaced in the Knesset by Said Nafa. Abroad, Bishara actively promoted political charges of "apartheid" against Israel in various Arab and Western venues, travelling widely. Nevertheless, he continued to accept Israeli pension payments made to former Knesset members for nearly four years, until, in February 2011, the Knesset passed a bill revoking pensions for lawmakers who have evaded an investigation or trial for serious offenses.[39]

On 12 January 2009, Balad was disqualified from the

Operation Cast Lead, and said that he is not surprised by it "because the vote was taken for political motives due to the war atmosphere. ... The committee members sought to increase their popularity at our expense on the backdrop of the elections."[40] On 19 January Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, said that he saw no grounds to prevent the Balad from taking part in the election, and noted that the decision was based on "flimsy evidence". On 21 January the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the Committee's decision by a majority of eight to one. Zahalka said: "Balad stands by its platform. The court's decision is a victory to the Arab public and to anyone who seeks democracy. ... We call on everyone to back the notion of 'a people state' and a life of equality bar discrimination."[41]
Balad maintained its three seats in the Knesset after the 2009 elections.

All-Arab Joint List in the 2015 election

Ahead of the 2015 Knesset election, the electoral threshold was raised from 2% to 3.25%, forcing small parties into alliances.[42] While Balad had initially mulled a narrower cooperation with the southern branch of Islamist Islamic Movement in Israel, public pressure amongst its Arab constituency forced the party to give in to a larger alliance.[43] In January 2015, Balad signed an agreement with the other three Arab-dominated parties, Hadash, the United Arab List and Ta'al, to form a single Joint List,[42] an ideologically diverse list including communists, socialists, feminists, Islamists, and Palestinian nationalists.[44][45][46]

In March, Joint List leader Ayman Odeh explored the possibility of a limited surplus vote-sharing agreement with Meretz. After Hadash and the United Arab List had come out in favor of such a left-wing bloc, Balad however vehemently opposed the idea.[47][48][49] Though even within Balad, the more moderate faction around Jamal Zahalka was said to support an agreement, sided with the fundamentalist faction around party founder Azmi Bishara to ultimately veto any agreement with Meretz.[50] Meretz subsequently slammed the List for having chosen nationalism and separatism over Jewish–Arab solidarity.[51]

With 10.55% of the total vote, the Joint List received 13 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the

20th Knesset.[52]

Leaders

Knesset election results

Election Votes % Seats +/–
1996 With Hadash
1 / 120
1999[a] 66,103 1.9 (#14)
1 / 120
Steady
2003 71,299 2.26 (#11)
3 / 120
Increase 2
2006 72,066 2.30 (#12)
3 / 120
Steady
2009 83,739 2.48 (#12)
3 / 120
Steady
2013 97,030 2.56 (#11)
3 / 120
Steady
2015 Part of the Joint List
3 / 120
Steady
April 2019 With the United Arab List
2 / 120
Decrease 1
September 2019 Part of the Joint List
3 / 120
Increase 1
2020
3 / 120
Steady
2021
1 / 120
Decrease 2
2022 138,093 2.90 (#12)
0 / 120
Decrease 1
  1. ^ In alliance with Ta'al.

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ "Israel's Arab parties join forces to make gains in upcoming polls". Al Jazeera. 29 July 2019. Palestinian nationalist Balad
  3. ^ "Arab-led Joint List splits into 2 factions, shuffling political deck at last minute". The Times of Israel. 16 September 2022. Balad, a hardline Palestinian nationalist party
  4. ^ "Battling ex-allies and old foes, new Balad head seeks to rebalance party". The Times of Israel. 23 March 2021. Balad, a party whose down-the-line Palestinian nationalism makes it perhaps the most contentious faction in Israeli politics
  5. ^ "Arab Politics in the 2022 Election Campaign". Israel Democracy Institute. 18 October 2022. Balad, a party with a clear Palestinian nationalist orientation
  6. ^ "Arab MK calls for end to PA, renewal of Palestinian nationalism". Ynet. 26 April 2016. Balad views itself as part of the Palestinian national cause - not part of the Israeli left
  7. ^ "ביקורת בבל"ד: "הקורונה עצרה הכל, חוץ מהריצה לגנץ"". שיחה מקומית. 18 March 2020. בל"ד, שהוקמה אז כהתרסה לחד"ש, חרטה על דגלה שני עקרונות: זהות לאומית פלסטינית ו"מדינת כל אזרחיה".
  8. ^ Reimann, Anna (7 April 2019). "Kampf um den Alltag, nicht um den Traum von Palästina". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  9. .
  10. ^ "Balad party appeals its election disqualification to the High Court". The Times of Israel. 4 October 2022. Arab nationalist party Balad
  11. ^ "Balad". ECFR. The National Democratic Assembly (also known as Balad or Tajammu') is a secular Arab nationalist party
  12. ^ Guide to Israel's political parties, BBC News, 21 January 2013
  13. ^ "At campaign launch, Balad accuses ex-allies of putting economics ahead of ideology". The Times of Israel. 25 September 2022. In a rally featuring Palestinian flags and nationalist anthems, Arab anti-Zionist party's leaders express confidence they'll enter the next Knesset, despite current low polling
  14. ^ "Casting ballot, long-shot Balad head Sami Abou Shahadeh predicts 'election surprise'". The Times of Israel. 1 November 2022. With his hardline anti-Zionist Balad party
  15. ^ "Treat Israeli Arabs As People, Not Things". Israel Policy Forum. 7 March 2019. It is certainly the case that there are Arab parties, such as Balad, that are anti-Zionist in a genocidal way
  16. ^ Grigat, Stephan (2 March 2019). "Wahlkampf in Israel – ein Überblick". haGalil (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  17. ^ Houminer-Rosenblum, Aviad (14 March 2020). "Joint List — 4 Arab parties on 1 slate — is poles apart but strong together". Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Das sind die Parteien in der Knesset". Israelnetz (in German). 11 April 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  19. .
  20. ^ a b Schmid, Ulrich; al-Hiran, Umm (31 January 2017). "Verpasste Chancen im Land der Beduinen". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  21. ^ Föderl-Schmid, Alexandra (3 April 2019). "Ein Land, zwei Welten". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  22. CTech
    . Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Balad - The Israel Democracy Institute". The Israel Democracy Institute. In political terms, Balad is at the far left of the spectrum of Israeli parties, and it champions turning the State of Israel into a "state of all of its citizens.
  24. ^ "At an Israeli polling station, Arab voters struggle to be heard". Ynet. 1 November 2022. Balad, the far-left Arab party struggling to get into the Knesset
  25. ^ "Right-Wingers, Rabbis, Socialists & Arab Nationalists: A Guide to the Top 13 Israeli Political Parties Running in the 2022 Knesset Elections". HonestReporting. 19 September 2022. A far-left Arab party, Balad has contested Knesset elections both by itself and as part of mergers with other Arab parties.
  26. ^ Udi Shaham (23 January 2021). "Sami Abu Shehadeh wins Balad primaries". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  27. ^ "מצע בל"ד - التجمع". בל'ד היא מפלגה דמוקרטית המייצגת את האזרחים הערבים בישראל כמפלגה לאומית ערבית פלסטינית
  28. ^ a b National Democratic Assembly – NDA party website. Archived 23 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ^ "Balad National Democratic Assembly". The Israel Democracy Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  30. ^ "Balad: A country of all its citizens, cultural autonomy for Arabs". Haaretz. 23 December 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  31. ^ Joel Greenberg (28 February 2002). "Israel Tries Legislator For Praising Hezbollah". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  32. ^ a b "Poll ban on Arab Israelis lifted". BBC News. 9 January 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  33. ^ Yair Ettinger (14 November 2002). "Right-wing MKs launch bid to disqualify Arab parties". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  34. ^ a b Gideon Alon; Yair Ettinger (1 January 2003). "Election Committee disqualifies MK Bishara and Balad list". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  35. ^ Hillel Fendel (18 September 2006). "Arab Ex-MKs Questioned on Illegal Visit to Syria". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  36. Ynetnews
    . Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  37. ^ Rory McCarthy (24 July 2007). "Wanted, for crimes against the state". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  38. ^ Sheera Claire Frenkel (23 April 2007). "Report: MK Bishara leaves Egypt". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  39. Ynetnews
    . Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  40. Ynetnews
    . Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  41. Ynetnews
    . Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  42. ^ a b Lazar Berman (22 January 2015). "Arab parties finalize unity deal". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  43. ^ Elhanan Miller (4 March 2015). "After uniting Arabs behind him, Ayman Odeh looks to lead opposition". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  44. ^ Jodi Rudoren (24 January 2015). "Diverse Israeli Arab Political Factions Join Forces to Keep Place in Parliament". The New York Times. p. A4. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  45. ^ Ruth Eglash (10 March 2015). "Israel's Arab political parties have united for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  46. ^ Hazboun, Areej; Estrin, Daniel (28 January 2015). "As Arab MKs unite, a new political landscape emerges". Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  47. ^ Gideon Allon (13 March 2015). "'Meretz won't be in any coalition with Yisrael Beytenu'". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  48. ^ Ariel Ben Solomon (12 March 2015). "Zoabi denies 'Post' report she is willing to recommend Herzog form government". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  49. ^ Jack Khoury (8 March 2015). "The left is not doing Israeli Arabs any favors". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  50. ^ Nahum Barnea (13 March 2015). "Netanyahu, tragic hero of 2015 elections". Ynetnews.
  51. ^ Yarden Skop (9 March 2015). "Meretz slams Arab Joint List over failed votes accord". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  52. ^ תוצאות האמת של הבחירות לכנסת ה-20 [Actual results of the 20th Knesset elections] (in Hebrew). Central Election Commission. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.

External links

  • Arabs48 Newspaper affiliated with Balad (in Arabic)
  • Balad Knesset website