The Democratic List of Nazareth ( he, רְשִׁימָה דֶּמוֹקְרָטִית שֶׁל נָצְרַת, ''Reshima Demokratit shel Natzrat''; ar, قائمة الناصرة الديمقراطية) was an

Arab satellite list The Arab satellite lists, Arab lists, or satellite parties were Israeli Arab satellite parties formed for the purposes of electoral support of Mapai (and later the Labor Party), and other Zionist parties between 1948 and the mid 1970s.Rebecca K ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the only

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

party to win seats in the

first Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

. The party, which was sponsored by

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

"Mapai's decision to become politically active among the Arabs was undertaken with some hesitation. There was nothing in its history or ideology to attract the Arabs or win their support. For a start, the party did not even accept Arabs as ranking members, on the grounds that no Arab could be a loyal member of a Zionist party. The party's "experts" on Arab affairs soon suggested solutions, however, for these and other difficulties. Arab participation would be in the form of special lists drawn up before each election on the basis of residence and religious sect from among the party's hangers on. The party machine would undertake financial and influential support of these lists, thus "freeing" then from having to set up their own political apparatus. The allegiance of the successful candidates to the party and their support for the party's position would thus be guaranteed."

was so named as it was based in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, the largest

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

city in Israel.

History

In the 1949 elections, the Democratic List of Nazareth gained 1.7% of the vote and two seats in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

. It was represented by

Seif el-Din el-Zoubi Seif el-Din el-Zoubi ar, سيف الدين الزعبي, he, סַיִף אֵל־דִּין אֶל־זעֻבִּי; in Hebrew his name was most often written without niqqud (as is standard) as . (1913 – 26 June 1986) was an Israeli-Arab po ...

and

Amin-Salim Jarjora Amin-Salim Jarjora ( ar, أمين سليم جرجورة, he, אָמִין־סָלִים גָ׳רְג׳וֹרַה; 1886 – 20 August 1975) was a Christian Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Democratic Lis ...

. The party was sponsored by Mapai, as Ben Gurion was keen to include Israeli Arabs in the functioning of the state in order to prove

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s and Arabs could co-exist peacefully and productively, and during the 1950s several other Israeli Arab parties associated with Mapai appeared. As a result of the association, the party was part of the coalitions that formed the first and second governments during the first Knesset. The party did not run in the 1951 election, although el-Zoubi was elected on the list of the

Democratic List for Israeli Arabs The Democratic List for Israeli Arabs ( ''al-Qā'ima al-dīmũqrāṭiyya li-'arab Isrā'īl'', he, רשימה דמוקרטית לערביי ישראל, ''Reshima Demokratit LeAravei Yisrael'') was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History In ...

. Jarjora did not return to the

, but went on to become Mayor of Nazareth in 1954, a position he filled until being replaced by el-Zoubi in 1959.

References

External links

Nazareth Democratic Party
Knesset website {{Israeli political parties Defunct political parties in Israel Arab political parties in Israel Nazareth Political parties established in the 1940s 1940s establishments in Israel Political parties disestablished in the 1950s 1950s disestablishments in Israel