Da'am Workers Party

The Da'am Workers Party (Arabic: حزب دعم العمالي, Hebrew: דעם מפלגת פועלים, romanized: Da'am Mifleget Po'alim) is a revolutionary socialist Jewish–Arab political party in Israel,[7][8] where it is commonly known by the acronym Da'am (Arabic: دعم, Hebrew: דע"ם‎). It calls for political and social revolution in favor of workers' rights, the nationalization of key industries, Jewish–Arab coexistence, and gender equality.[7][8]

Da'am Workers Party
דעם מפלגת פועלים‎
حزب دعم العمالي
LeaderAsma Agbarieh
Nir Nadar
Ya'akov Ben Efrat
Yoav Gal Tamir
ChairmanYoav Gal Tamir
Founded1995 (1995)
Split fromDrerech HaNitzoz
IdeologySecularism
Communism[1]
Marxism[2]
Eco-socialism
Revolutionary socialism
Postnationalism
Non-Zionism[3]
One-state solution[4]
Political positionLeft-wing[5] to far-left[6]
Knesset
0 / 120
Election symbol
ד‎‎ (1996)
קם‎‎ (1999)
קם‎‎ (2003–2013)
ץ‎‎ (2019–)
Website
daam.org.il
Marching under the Da'am banner, International Human Rights March, Tel Aviv, 7 December 2012

Name

The name "Da'am" originates from Arabic and is a reverse acronym for the name Organization for Democratic Action (Arabic: منظمة العمل الديمقراطي, munaẓẓamāt al-ʿamal ad-dīmuqrāṭiyy). The name also means "support" in Arabic.

History

The party was founded in Haifa in 1995 as a result of splitting process in the communist camp of Israel; in 1960 Matzpen was founded by former members of the Israeli Communist Party and in the 1970s former members of Matzpen founded three organisations, one of them was The Workers Alliance-Avangard, then in 1977 former members of Avangard founded Derech HaNitzoz. Former members of Derech HaNitzoz established Da'am in 1995.

In the 1999 elections the party won only 2,151 votes (0.06%), well below the electoral threshold of 1.5%. The 2003 elections saw a fall in support to just 1,925 votes, though its percentage (0.06%) remained roughly the same due to a reduced turnout. Nevertheless, it still did not pass the threshold. In the 2006 elections the party more than doubled its support, winning 3,692 votes (0.11%). However, with the raising of the threshold to 2%, it was even further away from obtaining even a single seat in the Knesset.

In the 2009 elections it again failed to pass the threshold and did not receive any seats. In the 2013 elections it received 3,374 votes (0.09%) and again did not obtain a seat in the Knesset. The party did not contest the 2015 elections. In the 2019 elections the party campaigned with the slogan "Green Economy — One Country", after it decided to support a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict based on post-nationalism instead of a Palestinian state and to emphasize its support for eco-socialism.[9]

Ideology

The party is a joint Arab–Jewish party emphasizing class identity over ethnic or national ones. It is strongly left-wing, supporting workers' rights (particularly those of Israeli Arabs), opposing discrimination, and holding an internationalist worldview. The party had supported the right of the Palestinian people to found an independent state based on the 1967 borders until 2018, after which the party supported a one-state solution based on civic nationalism. The party is against Israeli unilateralism and occupation of the Palestinian territories. It also opposes political Islam.

Members of the party were involved in the establishment of the Workers Advice Center, "an initiative for building an independent labor association". Ma'an offers support to unemployed and unorganised (non-Union) workers.

In the 2015 Israeli legislative election, it was the only political party in Israel headed by an Israeli Arab woman, Asma Agbarieh.

The party produces the monthly English-language magazine Challenge,[10] as well as the Arabic al Sabar[11] and the Hebrew quarterly Etgar.[12]

References
  1. Ruth Eglash (21 January 2013). "Arab-Israeli woman a rising voice in the wind". USA Today. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. David Merhav (21 February 2013). "Against the tide: Daam's long journey". Yonatan Preminger, translator. Da'am Workers Party. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. Da'am Workers Party (27 December 2014). "'Anyone but Bibi' Strengthens the Israeli Right Wing". New Politics. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2015. Editors' note: The Da'am Workers Party is an Israeli revolutionary socialist organization formed by Palestinian and Jewish activists in 1995.
  4. "Da'am platform for 2019 election". Da'am Website. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. "More than just a Tel Aviv trend? Da'am Workers Party aims to unite Jews and Arabs over welfare". Haaretz. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. Yitzhak Laor (3 February 2013). "The 'power' of Facebook". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  7. "About Da'am". Da'am Workers Party. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  8. Diaa Hadid (18 January 2013). "Jewish-Arab party makes long-shot election bid". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  9. "Da'am platform for 2019 election". Da'am Website. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. "CHALLENGE – An e-magazine covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict". Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  11. "الصبّار، مجلة سياسية ثقافية مستقلة". www.alsabar-mag.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  12. "21 אתגר". Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
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