The Arab Democratic Party (; ), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mada (מד"ע), is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Between the mid-1990s and 2012 it was a faction within the

United Arab List The United Arab List (, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; , ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am (, ), is an Islamist and conservative political party in Israel and the political wing of ...

Background

The party was formed on 15 February 1988, towards the end of the term of the eleventh Knesset, when Abdulwahab Darawshe broke away from the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

to create his own faction in protest at the party's policy on the

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

. At the time of its founding, the party was the only solely

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

faction in the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

(although the Progressive List for Peace's only MK was an Israeli Arab, the party also had

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish membership), and the first since the demise of the original United Arab List in the 1981 elections. In the 1988 elections the party just crossed the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

of 1%, winning 1.2% of the vote and one seat, taken by Darawshe, and was again the only Israeli-Arab party to win a seat. The 1992 elections saw the party win two seats, though it remained the only Israeli Arab party with parliamentary representation. For the 1996 elections, the party ran in an alliance with the new

under the name Mada-Ra'am (the acronyms of each party). The alliance was successful, winning two seats. The party was also joined in the Knesset by a new Israeli Arab party, Balad, which had run in an alliance with

Hadash Hadash is a left-wing to far-left political coalition in Israel formed by the Israeli Communist Party and other leftist groups. History The party was formed on 15 March 1977 when the Rakah and Non-Partisans parliamentary group changed its ...

. After the 1996 elections, the party became a faction within the United Arab List, a position it retained until Taleb el-Sana broke away from the United Arab List in December 2012. The party contested the

2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...

as part of the Arab List, an alliance with the Arab National Party headed by Muhamad Kanan. The alliance received just 4,301 votes (0.11%), failing to win a seat. It submitted a candidate list for the 2021 elections under the name Ma'an – Together for a New Era, although it later withdrew from the elections and endorsed the

Joint List The Joint List (, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', , ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority political parties in Israel: Hadash, Balad (political party), Balad, the United Arab List and Ta' ...

, which it also committed to joining.

Election results

References

External links

Party history
Knesset website
Mada-Ra'am
Knesset website {{Authority control 1988 establishments in Israel Arab political parties in Israel Political parties established in 1988 Political parties in Israel