The Israeli Communist Opposition ( he, אופוזיציה קומוניסטית ישראלית, ''Opozitzia Komunistit Yisra'elit''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Aki (אק"י), was a small communist organization in

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 ...

. The group was founded in 1973 by former

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 ...

member

Esther Vilenska Esther Vilenska ( he, אסתר וילנסקה‎ 8 June 1918 – 8 November 1975) was a Lithuanian Jewish Israeli communist politician, journalist and author who served as a member of the Knesset for Maki between 1951 and 1959 and then aga ...

after she left

Maki Maki may refer to: People *Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name) *Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) Places *Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran *Maki, Rigan, Ke ...

. Vilenska had emerged in the spring of 1972 as a leading voice against the Maki leadership, accusing it of 'right-wing deviations'. Vilenska and her followers argued that the alliance should include more radical forces, such as

Uri Avnery Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for two ...

's Meri. When Meri was not included in the alliance, Vilenska's group participated in the Meri list in the 1973 Knesset election. In the end, the Maki Central Committee expelled her and her associates from the party. Aki was formed by her followers, and was labelled a "splitting, neo- Rakahist tendency" by Maki. Aki had a predominantly Jewish membership. The group opposed both Maki and Rakah. The organization published the monthly ''Hedim'' (הדים, 'Echoes') in Hebrew from

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, with Vilenska as its editor between 1974 and 1975. It also issued a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

publication, ''Undzer shtime'' (אונדזער שטימע, 'Our Voice'). Ahead of the elections to the 12th congress of

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

, Aki formed a joint list with the

Blue-Red Movement Siah ( he, שי"ח, an acronym for ''Smol Israeli Hadash'', ( he, שמאל ישראלי חדש, "Israeli New Left")) was an Israeli left-wing group active between 1968 and 1973. Reuven Kaminer describes them as "the major force of the student left i ...

and HaOlam HaZeh. In 1975, former general secretary of Maki

Shmuel Mikunis Shmuel Mikunis ( he, שמואל מיקוניס, 10 August 1903 – 20 May 1982) was a communist Israeli politician and member of the Knesset from 1949 until 1974. Biography Born in Polonne in the Russian Empire (today in Ukraine), Mikunis immi ...

resigned from that party in protest at its merger process with

Moked Moked ( he, מוקד, lit. "Focus") was a left-wing political party in Israel. Background Moked came into existence during the seventh Knesset, when Maki (which had one seat, held by Shmuel Mikunis) merged with the Blue-Red Movement, which was ...

, and joined Aki instead. Aki held a national conference on 5 July 1975, with around a hundred participants; Vilenska and Mikunis led the meeting. The conference elaborated a programme for the organization. Vilenska died on November 9, 1975.

References

{{Authority control Communist parties in Israel Defunct political parties in Israel Jewish socialism Political parties established in 1973 1973 establishments in Israel Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Secular Jewish culture in Israel