It is a weird thing, honestly. When you talk about Israeli politics today, people usually think of a binary split: religious nationalists on one side and secular liberals on the other. But there is this outlier that has been around since before the state even existed. The Communist Party of Israel, or Maki, is basically the oldest political movement in the country that hasn't changed its name every five minutes. It’s the party that refused to go away, even when the Soviet Union collapsed and the rest of the world moved on.
Most people don’t realize that the Communist Party of Israel isn’t just some fringe group of radicals in Tel Aviv cafes. It’s a foundational piece of the country’s history. It’s also the only party that has consistently maintained a joint membership of Jews and Arabs for decades. That is a huge deal. In a region where everything is segregated by identity, Maki tried to do something different. They wanted to build a movement based on class, not ethnicity. Did it work? Well, it’s complicated.
Where the Communist Party of Israel Actually Came From
Maki didn't just appear out of nowhere in 1948. It actually traces its roots back to the Palestine Communist Party (PCP), which was founded way back in 1919. Back then, they were trying to navigate a nightmare of a political landscape. They had to deal with the British Mandate, the rising Zionist movement, and the Arab national movement. It was a mess.
The party eventually split and reformed multiple times. By 1948, the Communist Party of Israel was officially established. Interestingly, they were one of the few groups that actually supported the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Why? Because Stalin said so. Moscow’s word was law back then. This put them in a strange position where they supported the creation of a Jewish state while also demanding the creation of an Arab state alongside it.
The early years were rough. Ben-Gurion hated them. He famously said he would never include "Herut or Maki" in his government. To him, they were agents of a foreign power. And he wasn't entirely wrong. The party followed the Kremlin’s line with a devotion that seems kind of wild by today's standards. When the USSR turned against Israel in the 1950s, Maki found itself increasingly isolated.
The Great Split of 1965
If you want to understand why the Communist Party of Israel looks the way it does now, you have to look at 1965. This was the year everything broke. The party basically ripped itself in two along ethnic and ideological lines.
One group, led by Moshe Sneh, wanted to be more "Israeli." They started to embrace Zionist ideas and criticized the Soviet Union's increasingly anti-Israel stance. The other group, led by Meir Vilner and Tawfik Toubi, stayed loyal to Moscow and focused heavily on the rights of the Arab minority within Israel.
The Vilner-Toubi faction became Rakah (New Communist List). For a long time, Rakah was the party for Arab voters in Israel because they were the only ones standing up to the military government that controlled Arab towns until 1966. Eventually, Rakah took back the name Maki. But the damage was done. The dream of a perfectly balanced, 50-50 Jewish-Arab workers' utopia had hit a wall of nationalist reality.
The Hadash Connection
You can’t talk about the Communist Party of Israel without talking about Hadash. In 1977, Maki helped form a broader coalition called Hadash (The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality).
This was a smart move. It allowed the communists to team up with non-communist Arab nationalists, social activists, and even some Black Panthers (the Israeli version, which fought for Mizrahi rights). Hadash became the face of the party in the Knesset.
When you see Ayman Odeh or Ofer Cassif on the news today, you’re seeing the modern face of this legacy. They aren't all "communists" in the 1920s sense of the word. Some are environmentalists. Some are feminist activists. But the core organization, the money, and the infrastructure? That still belongs to Maki.
Why Does Maki Still Matter?
You might think a party that gets maybe 3% or 4% of the vote is irrelevant. But Maki punches way above its weight class.
First off, they are the "conscience" of the Israeli left, for better or worse. While Labor and Meretz have drifted or disappeared, Maki has stayed exactly where it was. They have been calling for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital since the 1960s. Back then, that was considered treason. Now, it’s a standard (if currently unpopular) diplomatic position.
Secondly, they provide a unique space. It’s one of the few places in Israel where a Jewish professor from Jerusalem and an Arab worker from Nazareth sit in the same room and vote on the same party platform. That kind of "jointness" is rare. It’s also fragile.
There’s a lot of tension. Younger Arab voters are increasingly leaning toward more nationalist parties like Balad or religious ones like Ra'am. Meanwhile, the Jewish left has largely abandoned Maki for more mainstream liberal parties. Maki is stuck in the middle, trying to convince people that class struggle is more important than national identity. In 2026, that is a very hard sell.
The Ofer Cassif Controversy
If you follow Israeli news, you've heard of Ofer Cassif. He’s currently the only Jewish member of the Knesset from the Hadash-Ta'al list. He’s also a member of Maki.
Cassif is a lightning rod. He’s been threatened with expulsion from the Knesset multiple times. He calls out the military occupation in terms that make most Israelis extremely angry. For the Communist Party of Israel, he represents their commitment to "internationalism." For their critics, he’s proof that the party is anti-Zionist to its core.
The party's stance on the current conflict is equally polarizing. They demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and a "two states for two peoples" solution. They reject the idea of a "Jewish state" if it means one group has more rights than another. They want a "state for all its citizens."
Internal Dynamics: The Things Nobody Tells You
Inside the party, things aren't always harmonious. There is a generational divide. The "old guard" still loves their Marx and Lenin. They talk about the means of production and the proletariat.
The "new guard" is much more focused on intersectionality. They care about LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, and systemic racism. Sometimes these two worlds clash. Imagine a 70-year-old trade unionist trying to debate a 22-year-old climate activist about the relevance of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. It’s a trip.
Also, the party has its own newspaper, Zo HaDerekh (This is the Way), and an Arabic version called Al-Ittihad. These aren't just blogs. Al-Ittihad is actually a daily newspaper with a massive history in Arab society. It was the training ground for some of the greatest Palestinian poets and writers, like Mahmoud Darwish and Emile Habibi.
Myths vs. Reality
Let's clear some stuff up.
Myth 1: They want to turn Israel into North Korea.
Honestly, no. Modern Maki is more like a very radical social democratic party with a communist aesthetic. They want high taxes on the rich, universal healthcare, and massive public housing projects. They aren't out there trying to nationalize your local falafel stand.
Myth 2: They are just an "Arab party."
While most of their voters are Arab, their leadership and ideology are strictly binational. This is a point of pride for them. They lose sleep over this. If they ever became a purely Arab party, Maki would effectively cease to exist as it was intended.
Myth 3: They are irrelevant.
Check the protest lines in Tel Aviv or Haifa. The red flags you see? Those are Maki members. They are the backbone of the "anti-occupation" protest movement. They provide the organizers, the flyers, and the ideological grit that keeps the far-left moving.
How to Engage with Maki’s Legacy
If you’re trying to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beyond the headlines, you actually have to look at Maki’s archives. You have to see how they tried to navigate the 1950s and 60s. It shows a side of Israeli history that is often erased—a history of people trying to find a "third way" between Zionism and Arab Nationalism.
What can you actually do with this info?
- Follow their media. If you want to see a perspective you won't get on mainstream Israeli TV, read the English translations of Zo HaDerekh. It’s a window into a different world.
- Look at the local level. Maki is very active in local municipalities, especially in places like Nazareth and Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Their work on housing rights and labor disputes is where they actually get things done.
- Study the 1965 split. If you’re a history buff, this is the most fascinating part. It mirrors the splits happening in communist parties across the globe during the Cold War, but with the added pressure of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Communist Party of Israel is a living fossil, sure. But it’s also a reminder that politics doesn't always have to be about which "tribe" you belong to. Even if you disagree with everything they stand for, you have to admit: staying alive in Israeli politics for over 100 years is a feat in itself.
They’ve outlasted the USSR. They’ve outlasted the original Labor party. And they’re still there, waving red flags in the middle of a desert of nationalism.
Actionable Insights for Research
If you are digging deeper into this topic, focus on these specific areas to get a clearer picture of their current influence:
- Analyze the Joint List breakup: Look at how Maki (within Hadash) navigated the split with more conservative Arab parties like Ra'am. This explains the current tension between "class" politics and "identity" politics in Israel.
- Labor Unions: Track the party's influence within the Histadrut (Israel's national labor federation). They still have a presence in the "power stations" of the economy, even if it's smaller than it used to be.
- The "Two-State" Evolution: Trace their platform from the 1940s to today. It is one of the most consistent documents in Middle Eastern history, which is both their greatest strength and their biggest weakness. It makes them predictable, but also incredibly stubborn in a changing world.