Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית الحزب الشيوعي الاسرائيلي
Leadership	Central committee
Founder	Meir Vilner Tawfik Toubi
Founded	1 September 1965 (1965-09-01) (as Rakah)
Split from	Maki (1948)
Headquarters	Nazareth, Tel Aviv
Newspaper	Arabic: Al-Ittihad Hebrew: Zo HaDerekh
Youth wing	Young Communist League of Israel
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-Zionism
Political position	Far-left
National affiliation	Hadash
International affiliation	IMCWP
Colours	Red
Knesset	2 / 120
Election symbol
ו‎
Website
maki.org.il
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

The Communist Party of Israel,^[a] commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Maki (מק״י), is a communist political party in Israel that forms part of the Hadash political alliance. It was founded in 1965 as the New Communist List,^[b] or Rakah (רק"ח), by an anti-Zionist faction of the original Maki.

Rakah was formed on 1 September 1965 due to internal disagreements in the original Maki, which was split between a largely Jewish and Zionist faction led by Moshe Sneh that was critical of the Soviet Union's anti-Zionist stance, and a largely Arab faction that was increasingly anti-Zionist.

As a result, the pro-Arab / pro-Soviet faction (including 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 in Israel. Shlomo Sand and Mahmoud Darwish were also Rakah activists.^[1]

The Eurocommunist faction, led by Sneh, remained in Maki.^[2] It was reported in the Soviet media that the Mikunis–Sneh group defected to the bourgeois-nationalist camp.^[3]

The 1965 Israeli legislative election saw Rakah party win three seats, comprehensively beating Maki as it slumped to just one. Rakah's opposition to Zionism and the Six-Day War meant that they were excluded from the national unity governments of the sixth Knesset. In the 1969 Israeli legislative election Rakah again won three seats. During the 1973 Israeli legislative election Rakah saw a rise in support as the party picked up four seats.^[4]

Before the 1977 elections the party joined with some other small left-wing and Arab parties, including some members of the Israeli Black Panthers to form Hadash. After the original Maki had disappeared after merging into Ratz in 1981, members of Rakah decided to change the party's name to Maki in 1989.^[5] The party remains the leading force in Hadash, and publishes the Al-Ittihad and Zo HaDerekh newspapers.

Maki is an anti-Zionist, Marxist–Leninist communist party.^[6][7] Organizationally, the party operates on the principle of democratic centralism, which it describes as a fusion of central policy execution and inner-party democracy.^[8][9]

The party defines itself as a revolutionary working-class movement aiming for a transition from capitalism to socialism. According to its constitution, Maki views late capitalism, globalization, and American imperialism as the root causes of global environmental destruction, social injustice, and the erosion of workers' rights.^[8][10]It envisions socialism not as a static system, but as a dynamically developing, humanistic society featuring working-class rule, social ownership of major production means, democratic economic planning, and political pluralism.^[8] While identifying as a Marxist-Leninist party, Maki officially acknowledges both the achievements and the historical failures of the 20th-century communist movement, stating that the party must learn from past mistakes without abandoning the pursuit of fundamental revolutionary change.^[8]

Maki states that it "swims against the current" of both Jewish and Arab nationalism. It officially rejects Zionism, arguing that Zionist ideology and practices generate racism and undermine democracy and equality.^{[11][12][13][14]} The party similarly rejects what it terms "Arab reaction," emphasizing an internationalist, class-based division of society over national divisions.^[13][15][9]

Maki strives to be a joint Jewish-Arab party. Acknowledging its historical role in shaping the political and cultural identity of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel, the party's platform also highlights the strategic challenge of achieving a political breakthrough among the Jewish public.^[8] To build a broader coalition around these goals, Maki initiated the creation of the Hadash alliance in 1977, aiming to unite various left-wing and environmental groups around an agreed-upon minimum program of peace, social equality, and environmental justice.^{[8][13][16][17][18]}

Historically, the party states it was the first in Israel to propose a two-state solution.^[13] It advocates for a just, comprehensive, and stable Israeli-Palestinian peace centered on ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside the State of Israel with West Jerusalem as its capital. It also calls for a resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem in accordance with United Nations resolutions.^{[8][13][19][20]}

Maki advocates for the transformation of Israel into a secular, multiethnic state.^[21] In an interview with the American socialist magazine Jacobin on 17 November 2023, Eli Gozansky, a Jewish member of the party leadership, opined on whether the creation of one binational state was possible:

In theory yes, but in reality no. For several important reasons: The first is that the Palestinian people want and have the right to independence. Second, mutual disbelief [in the possibility of one binational state] is enormous, certainly even more so after the latest massacres involving the two nations. Third, Israel is much stronger economically, so if the single state is established now, without a phase of independence for the Palestinians, apartheid and Jewish economic control will be perpetuated. In the future, after both countries exist in peace and prosperity, this solution is a possibility.^[22]

Furthermore, the party is staunchly anti-militarist.^[23][24] It supports the right to conscientious objection^[25][26]and calls for the regional disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, urging Israel to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.^[8][27][28]

Domestically, Maki's platform calls for the recognition of Arab citizens of Israel as a national minority and demands full civic and national equality, including an egalitarian citizenship law.^[8] It actively campaigns for workers' rights, the rights of foreign workers, and the protection of children and youth.^[8][29]

The party also emphasizes intersectional social struggles, advocating for full women's rights and an end to gender-based violence, as well as equality for Mizrahi communities.^[8][13][17] Maki supports the complete separation of religion and state, advocating for freedom of conscience, the abolition of religious coercion, and the right to freely choose between secular and religious lifestyles.^[8][17]

In accordance with the principle of democratic centralism, the party is collectively led by its Central Committee and Politburo. Within this structure, the highest operational position is the General Secretary (also referred to as the Secretary General). From its formation as Rakah in 1965 until 1990, the party was led by Meir Vilner. In 1990, Tawfik Toubi succeeded him, becoming the party's first Arab General Secretary. Since June 2015, the position has been held by the incumbent General Secretary, Adel Amer.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term	Notes
1		Meir Vilner	1 September 1965 – 1990	Led the party from its split as Rakah (codified during the 15th Congress in 1965) until its renaming to Maki in 1989. Retained leadership until his retirement at the 21st Congress in 1990.[30][31][32]
2		Tawfik Toubi	1990 – 1993	Succeeded Vilner during the 21st Congress, becoming the first Arab General Secretary of the party. He led until the 22nd Congress.[33][32][34]
3		Mohamed Nafa	1993 – 2002	First term. Elected following the 22nd Congress and served until the 24th Congress.[35][34][36]
4		Issam Makhoul	2002 – 2007	Elected at the 24th Congress in late 2002. Served concurrently as Maki's representative in the Knesset during the beginning of his tenure, stepping down at the 25th Congress.[37][38]
(3)		Mohamed Nafa	2007 – June 2015	Second term. Re-elected at the 25th Congress in 2007, and again during the 26th Congress in 2012.[35][38]
5	-	Adel Amer	June 2015 – Incumbent	First elected in June 2015 at the 27th Congress, and subsequently re-elected by the Central Committee following the 28th Congress, and again after the 29th Congress in 2026.[39][40][41][42]

Election	Lead candidate	Votes	%	Position	Seats	+ / –	Status
1965	Meir Vilner	27,413	2.27	New	3 / 120	3	Opposition
1969		38,827	2.84	7th	3 / 120		Opposition
1973		53,353	3.41	6th	4 / 120	1	Opposition
1977		Part of Hadash		5th	4 / 120		Opposition
1981				5th	3 / 120	1	Opposition
1984				5th	3 / 120		Opposition
1988				7th	3 / 120		Opposition
1992	Tawfiq Ziad			8th	2 / 120	1	Support
1996	Ahmad Sa'd	Part of Hadash–Balad		7th	2 / 120		Opposition
1999	Mohammad Barakeh	Part of Hadash		12th	3 / 120	1	Opposition
2003		Part of Hadash–Ta'al		9th	2 / 120	1	Opposition
2006		Part of Hadash		11th	2 / 120		Opposition
2009				9th	3 / 120	1	Opposition
2013				10th	3 / 120		Opposition
2015	Aida Touma-Suleiman	Part of the Joint List		3rd	4 / 120	1	Opposition
April 2019		Part of Hadash–Ta'al		5th	3 / 120	1	Opposition
September 2019		Part of the Joint List		3rd	4 / 120	1	Opposition
2020				3rd	4 / 120		Opposition
2021				10th	2 / 120	2	Opposition
2022		Part of Hadash–Ta'al		12th	2 / 120		Opposition

• Media related to Maki at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website