Balad (political party)
Balad בל״ד • بلد | |
---|---|
National affiliation | None Formerly: Joint List (2015–2019; 2020–2022) |
Colours | Orange |
Knesset | 0 / 120 |
Most MKs | 3 (2003–2015; 2019–2021) |
Fewest MKs | 0 (2022) |
Election symbol | |
ض or ד | |
Website | |
www | |
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 (
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
The party supports the creation of two states based on
History
This section needs to be updated.(September 2022) |
Balad was formed and registered as a political party in 1995, by a group of young Israeli Arab intellectuals headed by
In 2001 party leader Azmi Bishara gave a speech in
Prior to the
However, the bans on both parties were overturned by the
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
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
Leaders
- Azmi Bishara (1995–2007)
- Jamal Zahalka (2007–2019)
- Mtanes Shehadeh (2019–2021)
- Sami Abu Shehadeh (2021–present)
Knesset election results
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | With Hadash | 1 / 120
|
— | |
1999[a] | 66,103 | 1.9 (#14) | 1 / 120
|
|
2003 | 71,299 | 2.26 (#11) | 3 / 120
|
2 |
2006 | 72,066 | 2.30 (#12) | 3 / 120
|
|
2009 | 83,739 | 2.48 (#12) | 3 / 120
|
|
2013 | 97,030 | 2.56 (#11) | 3 / 120
|
|
2015 | Part of the Joint List | 3 / 120
|
||
April 2019 | With the United Arab List | 2 / 120
|
1 | |
September 2019 | Part of the Joint List | 3 / 120
|
1 | |
2020 | 3 / 120
|
|||
2021 | 1 / 120
|
2 | ||
2022 | 138,093 | 2.90 (#12) | 0 / 120
|
1 |
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0415567398.
- ^ "Israel's Arab parties join forces to make gains in upcoming polls". Al Jazeera. 29 July 2019.
Palestinian nationalist Balad
- ^ "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
- ^ "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
- ^ "Arab Politics in the 2022 Election Campaign". Israel Democracy Institute. 18 October 2022.
Balad, a party with a clear Palestinian nationalist orientation
- ^ "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
- ^ "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".
- ^ Reimann, Anna (7 April 2019). "Kampf um den Alltag, nicht um den Traum von Palästina". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-0521157025.
- ^ "Balad party appeals its election disqualification to the High Court". The Times of Israel. 4 October 2022.
Arab nationalist party Balad
- ^ "Balad". ECFR.
The National Democratic Assembly (also known as Balad or Tajammu') is a secular Arab nationalist party
- ^ Guide to Israel's political parties, BBC News, 21 January 2013
- ^ "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
- ^ "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
- ^ "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
- ^ Grigat, Stephan (2 March 2019). "Wahlkampf in Israel – ein Überblick". haGalil (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Das sind die Parteien in der Knesset". Israelnetz (in German). 11 April 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ISBN 978-0674011298.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Föderl-Schmid, Alexandra (3 April 2019). "Ein Land, zwei Welten". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- CTech. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
- ^ "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.
- ^ Udi Shaham (23 January 2021). "Sami Abu Shehadeh wins Balad primaries". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "מצע בל"ד - التجمع".
בל'ד היא מפלגה דמוקרטית המייצגת את האזרחים הערבים בישראל כמפלגה לאומית ערבית פלסטינית
- ^ a b National Democratic Assembly – NDA party website. Archived 23 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Balad National Democratic Assembly". The Israel Democracy Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Balad: A country of all its citizens, cultural autonomy for Arabs". Haaretz. 23 December 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Joel Greenberg (28 February 2002). "Israel Tries Legislator For Praising Hezbollah". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Poll ban on Arab Israelis lifted". BBC News. 9 January 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Yair Ettinger (14 November 2002). "Right-wing MKs launch bid to disqualify Arab parties". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ a b Gideon Alon; Yair Ettinger (1 January 2003). "Election Committee disqualifies MK Bishara and Balad list". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Hillel Fendel (18 September 2006). "Arab Ex-MKs Questioned on Illegal Visit to Syria". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- Ynetnews. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Rory McCarthy (24 July 2007). "Wanted, for crimes against the state". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Sheera Claire Frenkel (23 April 2007). "Report: MK Bishara leaves Egypt". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
- Ynetnews. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- Ynetnews. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- Ynetnews. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
- ^ a b Lazar Berman (22 January 2015). "Arab parties finalize unity deal". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Elhanan Miller (4 March 2015). "After uniting Arabs behind him, Ayman Odeh looks to lead opposition". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ruth Eglash (10 March 2015). "Israel's Arab political parties have united for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Hazboun, Areej; Estrin, Daniel (28 January 2015). "As Arab MKs unite, a new political landscape emerges". Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Gideon Allon (13 March 2015). "'Meretz won't be in any coalition with Yisrael Beytenu'". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jack Khoury (8 March 2015). "The left is not doing Israeli Arabs any favors". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Nahum Barnea (13 March 2015). "Netanyahu, tragic hero of 2015 elections". Ynetnews.
- ^ Yarden Skop (9 March 2015). "Meretz slams Arab Joint List over failed votes accord". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ 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.