Recently Haaretz’s weekend edition published a long interview, seven pages in the Hebrew version, with the veteran Communist Party of Israel leading member Tamar Gozansky, a former Hadash MK. She entered the Knesset in July 1990 as a replacement for veteran Hadash MK Tawfik Toubi and retained her seat in the 1992 elections, after which she chaired the Knesset’s joint committee on early childhood. She was reelected in 1996 and again chaired the joint committee on early childhood. Following a third re-election in 1999 she became chairwoman of the committee on the rights of the child and the special committee for school dropout rates.
Archiv: Communist Party of Israel (in Hadash coalition)
Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel Slams Trump’s Calls to Ethnically Cleanse Gaza
According to Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman, “Trump’s Imperialist plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza and take it under American occupation is a declaration of another criminal war on the Palestinian people of Gaza. The people of Gaza will stay on their land, and they will rebuild it.” According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “Facing the notion of Arab deportation and exile — ‘transfer’ — we must stand up and say sharply and simply: It will be impossible because we will not allow it. Even if we must lie down under the wheels of trucks. Even if we must blow up the bridges. There will be no mass deportation by force, because we will not allow it to happen, internationally known author Amoz Oz wrote this statement in his 1990 Manifesto ‘On Democracy and Obedience’.” “Now is the time to follow his wisdom and humanity and unite under one calling: No transfer, no ethnic cleansing, yes to peace and a Palestinian State!”, he added.
Next Thursday in Berlin: A Meeting with Prominent Activists in the Anti-War Movement in Israel
A meeting with Reem Hazan and Sapir Sluzker-Amran, two prominent activists in the anti-war movement in Israel, who are fighting against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and advocating for an end to the occupation will be held in Germany next Thursday, January 9, 2025, 18:00 at Heiners Bar, Weserstraße 58, Berlin-Neukölln 12045.
In a conversation hosted by the Berlin-based group Israelis für Frieden (Israelis for Peace), Hazan and Sluzker-Amran will discuss the link between Israel’s current war crimes and the deep-rooted heritage of discrimination and oppression within Israeli society—targeting the Arab-Palestinian minority as well as Mizrahi Jews and other marginalized communities, and their analysis and experiences from the past 15 months of struggles against intense state violence and oppression within a public opinion that supports the war. In addition, they will share their perspectives on the situation and potential paths toward a future of equality and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Jeremy Corbyn and KKE Delegation Meets Hadash MK Ofer Cassif
British political leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed today, Saturday, November 23, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif at the Peace & Justice Project office in London. “Dr Cassif was suspended from the Knesset for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. We need more brave voices like his to bring about justice for the Palestinians,” said Corbyn to journalists.
On Friday, a delegation from the International Relations Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) met with Cassif, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Israel, during his brief stay in Athens.
Left-wing Jewish MP Ofer Kassif expelled from Knesset for six months
Israel‘s parliament has expelled a prominent left-wing Jewish MP over his support for South Africa‘s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
Ofer Kassif, the only Jewish MP for the left-wing Hadash party, will be suspended for six month after accusing Israel of committign war crimes in Gaza.
Tens of Thousands Across Israel Protest Far-Right Govt and for the Release of Hostages
(November 10, 2024)
Protests calling against Netanyhau’s government and for the release of hostages were also held Saturday evening in Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa, Kfar Sava, Raanana Junction, Nes Ziona, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat, Rehovot, Karkur Junction, the southern Shaar HaNegev crossroad, Zikhron Yaacov and other localities. Five people were arrested in Jerusalem, Haifa and Karkur. At Haifa the police attacked again a protest vigil at Central Carmel, Activists from the Anti-Occupation Bloc, among them Hadash activists, demanded the end of the deadly war in Gaza and Lebanon and during the protest cops confiscated signs against the massacre in Gaza
Knesset Passes McCarthyistic Law Allowing Far-Right Government to Fire Teachers
The bill was attacked during the debate in the plenum by Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi, who retweeted a statement by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) arguing that its purpose was “to regulate the discourse in schools and to harm teachers whose statements and worldview do not coincide with those of the education minister and the political parties controlling the Education Ministry.”
“The purpose of the law is to threaten teachers and principals of Arab schools, to mark them and make them a target for surveillance and persecution,” the rights group stated, arguing that the tools already at its disposal before the current law were “adequate and sufficient.” “The law severely violates the rights to expression, employment and pedagogical autonomy of teachers and administrators,” it added. The teachers’ unions also opposed the bill.
Knesset Advances Legislation to Disqualify Hadash and Arab Lawmakers
Among the acts that would be construed as support for terror would be visiting the family of an attack suspect.
According to the proposal sponsored by Likud MK Ofir Katz, a candidate can be banned by the Central Election Committee without needing the final approval of the High Court of Justice, as is currently required. The proposed law is at base to ban Hadash and Arab parties from participating in the election, as well as weaken the Supreme Court’s power to overturn the decision. Furthermore, since left-wing and Arab voters do not belong to the right-wing camp, blocking participation of Hadash and Arab parties will also benefit the current far-right governing coalition electorally and increase its chances to win the next election.
Israel Parliament Fight: Ben-Gvir, Other Israeli Knesset Members Clash Over Deportation Bill
A Knesset committee session on a controversial bill that proposes deporting relatives of terrorists erupted into a heated altercation, involving shouting and personal insults. The session escalated after MK Ofer Cassif opposed the bill, leading to a tense exchange with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who labeled Cassif a “terrorist.”
Following Stormy Debate, Knesset Advances Bill to Expel Family Members of ‘Terrorists’
The bill would give authority to the interior minister, after holding an arraignment, to expel the family member “to the territory of the Gaza Strip, or a different expulsion destination, depending on the circumstances.” The expulsion would apply for seven to 15 years for an Israeli citizen and 10 to 20 years for a noncitizen. According to the bill, the Israel Police has “all of the authorities given to it by law, including the authority to enter any place, remove from it any person, and use reasonable force to do so.”
The debate before the vote was heated, as far-right MKs who supported the bill accused MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), who opposed the bill, of being a “terrorism supporter.” At one point, Knesset ushers had to physically stand between Cassif and MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit) who brutally attacked the Communist lawmaker.
As Cassif entered the hearing, a woman told the Cassif that he should be “ashamed of his position,” and far-right lawmakers began shouting at Cassif, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling him a “terrorist.” As Cassif addressed the committee, which he called a “gathering of fascists,” lawmakers screamed at him to leave and called on chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) to have him removed from the room. “Lucky you didn’t bring your pager,” one MK quipped, referring to the mass attack attributed to Israel that saw thousands of Hezbollah pagers explode on the men carrying them.”
Netanyahu’s Far-right Coalition Decided to Ban Hadash
Netanyahu’s coalition decided to ban Hadash and is still unclear which legislation will be used to ban Islamic Ra’am party. This is done under the false accusation of “support for terrorism”.
According to the political correspondent Daphna Liel of Channel 12 at the beginning of next the week, a bill by the chairman of the coalition, MK Ofir Katz (Likud), will be brought to the legislative committee to allow the disqualification of lists and Arab members of the Knesset.
The bottom line of the bill is proof of “mass manifestations of support for terrorism” will no longer be required and it will be possible to be satisfied in individual cases to disqualify a candidate and a list.
Hadash MKs: The Bloodshed in Gaza and Lebanon Must Stop Now
According to Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman: “32 years ago, when Israel killed Abbas Musawi, the co-founder of Hezbollah, the Israeli media announced that the ‘era of Hezbollah was over.’ The desire for revenge leads to blindness, and the intoxication of power makes one forget the lessons of history – as well as the captives and abductees in Gaza, and the war that has been going on for a year.” “The policy of assassinations not only violates international law, but also does not bring us closer to a real security or a stable solution and drags the entire region to the brink of an all-out war. Politicians, both in the coalition and in the opposition, continue to offer only one option: life on the sword and more revenge. The only solution is political and not a military one, the bloodshed must stop now,” she added.
MK Touma-Sliman: Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Are a Massacre
(September 24, 2024)
“The same shocking images we saw at the beginning of the war in Gaza, the same horror, the same blind support. Innocent women, children and elderly people are crushed under the bombings. How much more blood will be spilled until they realize here that war will not bring any security?” she wrote.
Touma-Sliman added that “this war brings only destruction and crimes, not peace or security. Gaza is still suffering under the bombings, and the humanitarian crisis is worsening. There is no safe place, even the evacuees are bombed in their tents, exposed to hunger, disease, and rains. In the occupied West Bank, the settlers attack and lead terror day after day. Did all this bring back the hostages?”
Hundreds Gathered Against War at the Border with Lebanon
(8 hours ago)
Amid police threats, hundreds attended Friday afternoon, Sept 20, the Partnership for Peace “Parade against war, for peace and life” alongside route 85 at the Western Galilee near the border with Lebanon, calling for a deal to end the war in Gaza, against a third war in Lebanon and occupation of the Palestinian territories, for a deal with Hamas for the return of hostages, as well as a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians. Hadash and Communist Party of Israel leading members also participated in the anti-war demonstration close to Kfar Yasif.
CPI and Hadash Calls to Cease Deadly Military Operation in the Occupied West Bank
The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and Hadash issued a common communique who said “The occupation’s attacks in the West Bank is a continuation of the campaign of destruction in Gaza.” They called for occupation forces to cease military operations in the West Bank.
According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “The assault by the occupation forces on the West Bank has nothing to do with the security of Israel. It is just another layer in the total war that the Israeli government has been waging against the entire Palestinian people to annex their land and expel them from their homeland. Stop the war! End the occupation!”
MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) called it the “Gazafication of all Palestinian land” and part of a plan to “ethnically cleanse the West Bank.
Israeli police foil film screening of Mohammed Bakri’s Janin Jenin by issuing temporary order to close Communist Party headquarters in Haifa
(August 27, 2024)
Monday night, the Maki Haifa Branch was shut down by the police for an event that included a screening of Mohammed Bakri’s new film. Bakri’s earlier film, Jenin, Jenin, was banned by an Israeli Court in 2021. Adalah demands immediate intervention by the Attorney General to ensure police will not obstruct the next screening. This action is part of broader Israeli police policies designed to suppress dissent against Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.
Fascism in practice
(4 days ago )
The Israeli police decides to close down the headquarters of the Communist Party in Haifa
Israel and Ben Gvir’s Police have just decided to shut the headquarters of the Communist Party in Haifa for ten hours starting at 19:00 this evening.
Histadrut Head Urges Early Elections, Hostages Families Demand ‘General Strike Now’
The head of the Histadrut labor federation urges again far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to set a date for early elections, indicating that if the premier refuses, the organization could take steps aimed at forcing his hand.
Speaking at a conference hosted by Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday, May 8, Arnon Bar-David declares that Netanyahu and his government “cannot avoid responsibility for the failures of October 7.”
Last year, when protests against the same government’s divisive judicial overhaul plan reached a tipping point following Netanyahu’s firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Histadrut declared a general strike, helping force the prime minister to walk back that decision and to pause the overhaul.
Amid Police Provocation, Thousands Gathered in Nazareth to Celebrate May Day
MK Cassif said to journalists, “In spite of the fascist menace and terrorization, we marched today, thousands of Jews and Arabs together, to protest against the criminal massacre in Gaza, the occupation and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, against social injustice, class exploitation and fascism, and for the release of the hostages on the basis of ‘all-for-all’ principle, for social and national equality, democracy, and just peace.”
Police Raided Hadash Nazareth Branch on the Eve of the May Day Demonstration
(27.04.2024)
Heavily armed police force raided Friday evening, April 26, the Hadash branch in Nazareth and arrested two activists who were setting up displays and flags for the May Day rally.
Activists from Hadash, the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and the Young Communist League were involved in the planning and preparations for the central May Day demonstration being organized by Hadash and the CPI who will be held, as every year, in Nazareth, today at 10:30, with a mass march along Tawfiq Zyad street in the center of the city.
Car Rams Protesters Injuring Five, as 100,000 in Tel Aviv Demand Elections Now
(April 7, 2024)
The demonstration, held on the eve of the six-month mark of the war in Gaza, drew tens of thousands, with organizers claiming some 100,000 people were in attendance. Thousands more joined the call for early elections and a deal to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza in smaller protests in other cities including Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva and Caesarea. Furthermore, there were demonstrations in over 50 additional locations across the country among them Kfar Sava, Karkur, Eilat, Kyriat Gar and Sha’ar Hanegev. The Israeli media define the demonstration as “the largest since October 7th.”
Hadash-Ta’al MKs Meet Jordan’s King, Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza
(05.03.2024)
Three Hadash-Ta’al lawmakers met Monday, March 4, with Jordan’s King Abdullah amid concerns that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan could amplify tensions in occupied East Jerusalem stemming from the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip. MK Ayman Odeh, the head of the parliamentary Hadash-Ta’al alliance, MKs Ahmad Tibi and Youssef Atawneh traveled to Amman and asked the Jordanian monarch to pressure Israel to ensure freedom of worship at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Racist Ben Gvir Warns Hadash Leader ‘Next in Line’ to Be Expelled from Knesset
Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to threaten Hadash MK Ayman Odeh with impeachment, tweeting out a picture of him with the message “next in line.” The photo shared by Ben Gvir shows Odeh holding the arm of Khalida Jarrar, a legislator and senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as she flashes a victory sign following her release from prison in September 2021. On last December 27, Jarrar was arrested again by occupation forces.
The far-right leader’s message comes hours after members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif, voting 14-2 to advance his impeachment to the Knesset plenum following two days of contentious debate. During Tuesday’s debate on Cassif’s impeachment, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi warned the Communist lawmaker’s ouster would “set a precedent” allowing for the impeachment of “all the Arab MKs in the Knesset.” “This is a black day for the Knesset,” Tibi declares following the vote.
Adalah: Motion to Expel Israeli Knesset Member for Supporting South Africa’s ICJ Case Is Unlawful
30/01/2024
Today, the Knesset’s House Committee voted to expel Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, based on his public support for South Africa‘s application to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide. Adalah: The motion is a deliberate attempt to suppress political dissent against Israel‘s brutal military campaign on Gaza
“‘You can’t say that Cassif only wanted to stop the war, he’s accusing Israel of genocide,’ screams Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer ….” ? Ruckus at Knesset panel as deputy AG says expelling far-left MK lacks legal basis
European MPs Call for EU to Oppose Removal of Hadash MK Ofer Cassif
On Monday morning, the Knesset House Committee is slated to hear arguments in an unusual debate that will determine the political future of Communist lawmaker Ofer Cassif, from the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction.
If the hearing goes badly for Cassif, he could soon face an unprecedented vote in the Knesset plenum to expel him from the legislative body, the result of his far-right MKs anger over his public support for a South African petition to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Four years ago, lawmakers attempted to gather the required signatures to bring similar charges against Hadash leader MK Ayman Odeh, but the effort never made it to the committee stage.
‘Why I support ICJ Gaza genocide case against my country, Israel’
(11.01.2024)
Israeli politician Ofer Cassif announced his support for the Gaza genocide lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, and is now facing an attempt to get him kicked out of parliament. He explains why he did it.
Knesset debates booting lawmaker who supported ICJ genocide case
Forer announced the move after Cassif signed a petition in support of the South African case against the Jewish state and claimed that members of the government were calling for ethnic cleansing and even genocide.
Eighty-seven MKs subsequently signed on to the initiative, passing the minimum threshold required for lawmakers to remove a colleague who expresses “support for an armed struggle by an enemy state, or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”
Hadash MK Cassif: ‘They Want to Silence Us’
MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) is being threatened with expulsion from Israel’s parliament after he signed a petition supporting South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of acts of genocide. Cassif says the impeachment is based on an antidemocratic law that suppresses free speech. “They want me and my friends to shut up,” he says of the far-right government’s persecution of dissenting legislators in an interview to Amy Goodman broadcasted by Democracy Now! “We’ve been against the war from the beginning because we are against bloodshed.”
Public Figures Sign onto Letter Opposing Dehumanization of Gazans, Palestinians, Muslims, Israelis and Jews
The signatories include authors David Grossman and Iris Leal; MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), philosophers Slavoj Žižek, Eva Illouz, Axel Honneth and Kohei Saito; former Members of Knesset Dov Khenin (Hadash) and Mossi Raz (Meretz); human rights activists Ruchama Marton, Att. Michael Sfard, Ziv Stahl, Avi Dabush, B’tselem Director Yuli Novak and Breaking the Silence Director Avner Gvaryahu; singer Achinoam Nini, actor and director Itay Tiran, and actors Esti Zakheim, Ala Dakka, Yossi Zabari and Menashe Noy; filmmakers Ari Folman, Avi Mograbi, Nadav Lapid, Avigail Sperber and the Heiman brothers; lawyer Daniel Hacklai; choreographer Ohad Naharin, director and choreographer Avshalom Pollak; scholar and journalist Tomer Persico, and many others.
Occupation Army Detains Palestinian Left Political Leader Khalida Jarrar
Jarrar is a prominent figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the second largest faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization, and was elected a member of the legislative council in the last parliamentary elections held in 2006.
Jarrar was born in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank on February 9, 1963. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Democracy and Human Rights from Birzeit University. She served as a Director of Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association from 1994 to 2006, when she was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)—the Palestinian Parliament. She now heads the PLC’s Prisoners Commission, in addition to her role on the Palestinian National Committee for follow-up with the International Criminal Court.
Human Rights Watch: Israel Starving Gaza Civilians as a Method of Warfare
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Israel of intentionally starving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, citing comments from high-ranking officials and interviews with displaced Palestinian people. According HRW using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, goes against international humanitarian law and constitutes collective punishment. The group charged that as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is responsible for the population getting food and medical supplies.
Israeli Human Rights Organizations to President Biden: Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe
(13.12.2023)
Among the signatories: Academia for Equality, Akevot – Institute for Israeli Palestinian Conflict Research, B’Tselem, Bimkom, Breaking the Silence, Combatants for Peace, Gisha, HaMoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual, Jordan Valley Activists, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, Machsom Watch, Parents Against Child Detentions, Psychoative, Rabbis for Human Rights, Social Workers for Peace and Welfare, Yesh Din and Zazim -Community Action.
Police’s Silencing of Hadash Is an Alarming Phase in the Erosion of Democracy, “Haaretz”
“Police’s silencing of Arab-Jewish Hadash front is an alarming phase in the erosion of Israeli democracy,” according today’s (Dec. 10) Haaretz editorial. “The attempt by the Israel Police to prevent a conference by the left-wing Arab and Jewish Hadash front scheduled for next Saturday in Shfaram shows that under the cover of the war, the ‘temporary’ violation of basic rights threatens to become permanent. Israeli Police are trying to prevent a Hadash national convention scheduled for Saturday, December 16, claiming that it would feature ‘inciting speeches that would endanger the public’s well-being.‘”
Police Tries to Prevent Hadash National Convention
(08.12.2023)
According Hadash and CPI, “utterly reject the fascist intimidation acts by the Israeli establishment. We insist on raising our voice against the war and against fascism – courageously and responsibly. We will carry out the congress on the scheduled date. A decision about the location will be reached later. We call on all our activists to take part in our struggle against this persecution of our party and front for its political role.”
“We call on all our cadres, all the Jewish and Arab progressive forces, and the international anti-fascist forces to protest this McCarthyistic persecution, targeting all voices that stand out against this criminal war and against the deterioration of Israel into fascism. This process began before the war, but the government saw its eruption as an occasion to accelerate the attacks on the already diminished democratic space.”
Ben-Gvir’s Police are Arresting Innocent Arabs, Adalah
(26.11.2023)
In the majority of the cases, the indictments included accusations of supporting or identifying with a terrorist organization, according to section 24a of the Law of the Fight Against Terror and accusations of incitement to terrorism according to section 24b of the same law.
According Adalah, Israeli authorities have accused dozens of individuals of “supporting terrorist organizations” or engaging in “incitement to terrorism” for planning protests and expressing their opinions on social media platforms. The posts, interactions, and other means of expression largely fall within the rights protected by freedom of expression. The speech includes opposition to the targeting of civilians in Gaza, expressions of sympathy for the Palestinian people in Gaza, opposition to collective punishment and war crimes, and the dissemination of news about Gaza.
Hundreds Gathered in Tel Aviv for Anti-War Protest, Calling for Ceasefire
Protesters carried signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English calling for an end to the war, with slogans reading “In Gaza and in Sderot girls want to live,” “No to occupation and siege, yes to peace,” “Peace solution – not war,” “War has no winners,” “An eye for an eye and we are all blind.” The police forbade the waving of some anti-war signs among them: “Massacre does not justify massacre,” “Peace solution,” “Bibi [PM Benjamin Netanyahu] should be imprisoned,” “No to Apartheid,” “Food instead of bombs,” and “Return the captives, stop the revenge.” Cops also tried to prevent people with t-shirts with the phrase “Looking at the occupation in the eyes” from entering, claiming that even using the word “occupation” constituted incitement, but after a long argument, they let them in. The police censorship was not hermetic, and all the signs were later seen in the demonstration.
Another Hadash MK Sanctioned Over Statements Against Gaza War
(15.11.2023)
Touma-Sliman, who the committee said did not apologize and did not recant her statements, is barred from Knesset committee and plenum sessions for two months, and also receives a two-week pay deduction.
On October 19, the Ethics Committee of the Knesset suspended another Communist lawmaker, MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), for what it deemed as “anti-Israel statements after the war in Gaza broke out.” Cassif has been suspended for 45 days.
‘They Are Behaving in a Fascist Way:’ An Israeli-Arab Lawmaker on the Stifling of Anti-War Voices
(November 11, 2023)
We told the police that we are going to have this protest, that it’s going to be only leadership, that it’s not going to be a massive demonstration or something like this. The next day, when Barakeh was heading to Nazareth, they arrested him.
How do you interpret these crackdowns? Is this an attempt by the Israeli government to effectively criminalize expressions of Palestinian identity and solidarity?
Not only the Palestinian identity. I think that whatever they couldn’t pass through the judicial overhaul, they are passing now under the cover of the war.
Human Rights Organizations, MK Cassif Raise a Clear Voice Against the Harming of Civilians
Among the signatories to the declaration: Mothers Against Violence, Itach Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice, Academy for Equality, Amnesty International Israel, BIMKOM – Planners for Planning Rights, B’Tselem, Gisha, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Parents Against Child Detention, Hamoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual, Zazim – Community Action, Haqel – In Defense of Human Rights, Yesh Din, Yesh Gvul, Combatants for Peace, Mehazkim, Machsom Watch, Women Wage Peace , Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research, Standing Together, Ir Amim, Emek Shaveh, The Parents Circle-Families Forum, Rabbis for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, Breaking the Silence and Torat Tzedek.
CPI and Hadash Opposes Israeli Normalization with Saudi Arabia
“The most dangerous thing is that such a normalization deal, if it takes place, will be a lifeline for the Netanyahu-Ben Gvir government, which is facing increasing international isolation due to its unprecedented fascist and extremist nature, and at the same time is facing a deep internal crisis as a result of demonstrations in the streets of Israel following the enactment of the fascist judicial coup. Such a deal would be a Saudi gift to Netanyahu that he would present as a diplomatic achievement in order to end his international isolation and solve his internal crisis.”
Knesset Okays ‘Sexual Terrorism’ Racist Law
(03.08.2023)
Sponsored by a group of lawmakers led by MK Limor Son Har Melech, from the racist coalition faction Otzma Yehudit, and MK Yulia Malinovsky from right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, the new law marked a rare case of cross-Knesset alignment and passed 39 to 7 on its final reading.
Sharp criticism of the law quickly came in from Hadash-Ta’al lawmakers and Israel’s rape crisis center umbrella organization, with both alleging the law improperly creates a ranking of the severity of such crimes. Hadash-Ta’al MK Aida Touma-Sliman, a former head of the Knesset’s Women’s Status Committee, told the Knesset: “Do not punish according to hierarchies and classifications.” “Shame on these laws,” she continued, tweeting after the law passed, “Don’t promote racism on the backs of victims!”
Hadash Lawmaker Brutally Cut Off After Jenin Comments in Knesset
During the deliberations, a storm erupted in the Knesset plenum when MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) stated in regard to the occupation forces operation in Jenin: “Every action has a reaction. There’s a reaction to the occupation, and that’s the resistance. Long live the Jenin Refugee Camp! Boo to you!” Odeh accused the far-right coalition MKs, saying: “Everyone’s blood for your accursed occupation, you are behaving not only as criminals but also as fools. Everyone is proud of Jenin and rightly so, and now more people will join the fighters against this accursed occupation. Every action has a response because it is the law of nature, the occupation has a response and this is the resistance, the resistance to the occupation is legitimate, long live the Jenin refugee camp, long live the Palestinian struggle.”
Odeh was immediately kicked off the podium after his support for Palestinians in Jenin and said, “Take me down, but the Palestinian people will continue to struggle.”
Protesters Swarm Petah Tikva Police Station After Activist Detained
Hundreds of protesters against the far-right government’s planned judicial overhaul gathered outside a Petah Tikva police station Monday evening, after an activist was detained at home and questioned over alleged plans to carry out violent activities. Following a call from the reservists’ organization Brothers and Sisters in Arms for activists to protest at the police station, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police station.
Though the activist, Itzik Medina, was released after a short time, flag-waving and vuvuzela-blaring protesters continued to demonstrate through the city, warning that the arrest was another step toward an Israeli dictatorship and blocked several streets. “What happened tonight could happen to all of us,” Medina said to the crowd assembled outside the station, shortly after his release. “They came to my home and they simply picked me up.”
Poll Shows Far-Right Likud-led Coalition Down 10 Seats and Losing Majority
The results of the Channel 12 survey give the current 64-seat coalition just 54 seats, while the former government gets 61, with Hadash Ta’al taking the remaining five. The drop is more dramatic in the Channel 13 survey, which has the current coalition at 50 seats, the former government at 61, and six to Hadash-Ta’al.
Protests in Israel Oppose Deadly Gaza Escalation
(11.05.2023)
Hundreds, among them Hadash and Communist Party activists, gathered opposite the headquarters of the Israeli army in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening, May 10, 2023, to rally against the military escalation in Gaza. (Photo: Zo Haderech)
At the same time, MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash-Ta’al) decried at the Knesset plenum the “massacre in Gaza,” saying that it was aimed solely at “keeping the party of racist filth in the government” — a reference to Ben Gvir and his far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party.
Education Minister Tweets: ‘One Nation, One Flag, One State’, on Holocaust Day
(20.04.2023)
“Does the Minister of Education know the source of the quote,” asked Communist Party leading member and lawmaker Ofer Cassif (Hadash). Prof. Hagai Levine, the past chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, said that it was “really sad to read such a tweet on such a day from an uneducated minister.”
Ben Gvir Demands a Fascist Militia, ACRI Demands to Stop It
“As Israel moves closer to become a dictatorship, Ben Gvir, the Minister of National Security demands grow louder to have his own nationalist militia guard,” said the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).
ACRI contacted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to point out that this dangerous intention should be stopped immediately: “The national guard he dreams of creating is called ‘Return of the Governance’ and he does not even try to hide its true purpose. His aim is to create a nationalist guard that will serve his racist agenda directly, targeting pro-democracy protesters and Arab citizens alike.”
Hundreds of Thousands Take to the Streets, Vow Netanyahu’s ‘Pause’
(02.04.2023)
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested against the far-right government’s judicial overhaul plan in some 150 locations across the country on Saturday, in a sign that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement this week that he was temporarily suspending the legislation had not subdued opposition in the streets.
Thousands Rally Against Forming Fascist Ben Gvir-led National Guard
(31.03.2023)
Addressing the protest, the head of the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction likened the National Guard to “the brown shirts” of the Nazi paramilitary, “or the yellow shirts,” MK Ayman Odeh said in reference to the color included in the logo of several Israeli nationalist groups, including the Jewish supremacist Kach movement that Ben Gvir was active in as a teen. Kach was founded by the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who Ben Gvir and other members of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party have described themselves as disciples of. “We won’t allow you to form fascist militias in the service of Kahanism,” Odeh said at the protest.
Quarter Million Protesters Take to the Streets Across Israel
(19.02.2023)
Quarter million protesters tale of the streets across Israel Satudary evening, in the seventh consecutive weekend of demonstrations against the far-right government, ahead of judicial reform bills being placed before the Knesset plenum on Monday. Organizers of the protest movement have declared Monday as a “National Day of Struggle”, which, for the second week in a row, will include a large rally outside the Knesset, as well as demonstrations in various cities and the shuttering of some businesses.
Late night session at the Knesset. MK Ofer Cassif is removed from the podium for calling the new government „fascist“ and for calling for „civil rebellion“
(07.02.2023)
Communist MK Urges the People to Rise Up against the Far-Right Govt’
(08.02.2023)
A Communist lawmaker on Tuesday urge at the Knesset podium citizens of the nation to civil unrest against the “dictatorship” of the new Netanyahu government. MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) was quickly removed by Knesset ushers. “In light of the current emergency situation, I call for civil unrest…” Cassif said before being interrupted by Deputy Speaker Nissim Vattori (Likud), who called on Knesset ushers to forcibly remove Cassif from the plenum.
The Hadash lawmakers present at the time then erupted in a shouting match, with Cassif and fellow opposition MKs labeling the coalition members as “fascists.”
Massive Anti-government Protests in Mayor Cities Planned for Saturday Night
he main protest in Tel Aviv will be divided, with one organizer, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, holding a rally at Habima Square for the second weekend in a row while other most radical organizers will demonstrate less than a kilometer away at the intersection of Kaplan and Begin streets. After skipping the twolast week’s events, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said Wednesday he would attend this weekend, alongside other members of the opposition.
The Black Flag protest group said it would center its efforts on Kaplan Street and urged opposition politicians to show up. “Following the attack on the judicial system over Deri’s disqualification, and the calls from within the coalition to disobey the ruling, the organizers of the demonstration are calling on the heads of the opposition parties to announce that they will come to the mass demonstration and stand at the head of the protest march,” said Black Flags in a statement.
100,000 Rally in Israel to Protest Netanyahu’s Far-right Gov’t
Police in Tel Aviv said around 80,000 protesters had gathered at and around Habima square.
Protests were also taking place in Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities, as center and left-wing parties, including Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel called on Jews and Arabs to reject new government policies. The demonstration marked the second week that opponents of Netanyahu’s government took to the streets.
Hadash-Ta’al Chair Odeh Accuses Lapid of Constantly Lying
Hadash-Ta’al MK Ayman Odeh accuses liberal opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) of “constantly lying,” pointing to comments he made earlier today saying the Arab-Jewish list is working together with Likud. “He knows that it doesn’t have a grain of truth, that it’s all lies,” Odeh says Monday at a faction meeting in the Knesset of the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction. “You didn’t succeed in leading your camp in the election, you’re not succeeding in leading the opposition,” Odeh says to Lapid. “You got used to the ‘nice Arab,” therefore it’s hard for you to deal with Arabs with a backbone.”
Palestinian Lawyer Salah Hamouri is to be Deported to France on Sunday
(01.12.2022)
Hamouri, a lawyer and a field researcher with the Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, spent more than eight years in Israeli prisons, starting when he was abducted in 2001 and was sentenced to five months in prison. In 2004 he spent four months under arbitrary Administrative Detention orders without charges, then was abducted again in the year 2005 and was imprisoned for seven years, and then in the year 2017, he was abducted yet another time and spent 13 months under Administrative Detention orders, and upon his release, he received an order barring him from entering the rest of the West Bank for two years.
On June 6, 2022, Salah received another three-month Administrative Detention order just hours before his scheduled release after being imprisoned for three months under a similar order. The decision to revoke his residency was made in October of last year, 2021, after accusing him of “breeching loyalty to the state” for his human rights and legal work in defending Palestinian political prisoners.
Hamouri was born to a Palestinian father from Jerusalem where he grew up and lived, and his mother is a French national. Several years earlier, Israel deported his French wife, Elsa Lefort, to her country after detaining her at the airport in Tel Aviv for three days when she returned to Jerusalem. The lawyer and his wife have two children.
Palestinians born in occupied Jerusalem are only granted “residency status” and not citizenship of Israel despite Israel’s constant claims of “unified Jerusalem as its capital.”
Palestinian Lawyer Salah Hamouri is to be Deported to France on Sunday
Hamouri, a lawyer and a field researcher with the Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association, spent more than eight years in Israeli prisons, starting when he was abducted in 2001 and was sentenced to five months in prison. In 2004 he spent four months under arbitrary Administrative Detention orders without charges, then was abducted again in the year 2005 and was imprisoned for seven years, and then in the year 2017, he was abducted yet another time and spent 13 months under Administrative Detention orders, and upon his release, he received an order barring him from entering the rest of the West Bank for two years.
On June 6, 2022, Salah received another three-month Administrative Detention order just hours before his scheduled release after being imprisoned for three months under a similar order. The decision to revoke his residency was made in October of last year, 2021, after accusing him of “breeching loyalty to the state” for his human rights and legal work in defending Palestinian political prisoners.
Hamouri was born to a Palestinian father from Jerusalem where he grew up and lived, and his mother is a French national. Several years earlier, Israel deported his French wife, Elsa Lefort, to her country after detaining her at the airport in Tel Aviv for three days when she returned to Jerusalem. The lawyer and his wife have two children.
Palestinians born in occupied Jerusalem are only granted “residency status” and not citizenship of Israel despite Israel’s constant claims of “unified Jerusalem as its capital.”
MK Odeh: Our Public Will Stand Firm Against Fascism and Racism.
While the pro-Netanyahu bloc is slated to expand to 65 seats in the Knesset following yesterday’s election, Channel 12 reports that it only received 8,189 more votes than the anti-Netanyahu bloc. However, because Arab Balad party and possibly Zionist Meretz failed to cross the threshold, their votes were scattered to other parties rather than being redistributed to the anti-Netanyahu bloc, which is slated to end with just 55 seats in the Knesset. Both blocs won roughly 50% of the vote, though the final tallies are not yet available.
Final 3 TV Polls Show Far-right Bloc One Seat Short of Majority
Hadash-Ta’al joint list, led by MKs Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, held a press conference in Shefa-Amr (Shfaram) on Saturday calling on democratic Jewish Israelis to vote for them. “Your vote is important. We have a clear leftist platform; clear ethical positions that many of you can identify with,” Odeh said.
Odeh and Tibi defined it as an “emergency press conference” in order to encourage Arab citizens to vote, after the last polls showed that less than 50% are intending to do so.
Lapid Reiterates Hadash-Ta’al Will Not Sit in His Coalition
However, with four days left, no clear coalition can be created following Tuesday’s election, according to a final poll carried out by Panels Politics on behalf of Maariv. As in a similar poll last Friday, the Netanyahu bloc received 60 seats, the Lapid bloc received 56 seats and Hadash-Ta’al received the remaining four, the survey found. The poll showed Hadash-Ta’al. Meretz, Labor, and Islamist Ra’am passing the electoral threshold of 3.25% of the general vote.
MK Odeh: The Right’s Only Hope for Victory is To Suppress Arab Votes
The Hadash and Ta’al list led by Knesset members Ayman Odeh and Ahmed Tibi, released a new election campaign video urging the Arab public to vote in the elections in order to stop the right-wing parties’ intention to carry out a new Nakba.
Hadash-Ta’al Slams Lapid, Michaeli for Refusing to Block Barring of Arab Parties
Hadash-Ta’al commented on the Central Election Commission’s decision to disqualify Balad’s candidacy for the 25th Knesset. “The decision to disqualify Balad is an unfortunate decision. [Benny] Gantz, [Yair] Lapid and [Meirav] Michaeli proved that they are right-wing in disguise. Despite the anger of the racists who want to keep the Arabs away from the polling stations, on election day we all flock to the polling stations.”
Hadash Elects First Candidates for Its List for the Knesset Elections
Hadash’s electoral platform calls for: an end to Israel’s occupation of all Palestinian territories conquered in the June 1967 war as well as the Golan Heights taken from Syria, and for achieving a just, comprehensive, and stable peace between Israel and an independent Palestinian state to be created in those same occupied Palestinian territories; the protection of workers’ rights; the development of advanced and egalitarian social services (health, education, housing, welfare, culture, and sports), and for full equality for the Arab-Palestinian national minority in Israel.
Among Hadash’s additional goals are: the eradication of ethnic discrimination in all fields; the defense of the interests of residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods and development towns; the protection of democratic freedoms in Israeli society; full equality between the sexes in all fields; the protection of the environment and environmental justice; and the eradication of all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in Israel and throughout the Middle East.
Protest Tent Encampments Spring Up Across Israel Against Soaring Housing Costs
Protesters throughout Israel have set up tents in the street to decry the country’s sky-high housing costs, reminiscent of the massive cost-of-living demonstrations that swept the country in 2011. A protest camp was set up in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, joining the encampments that have been set up in several locations across the country in recent days. Other encampments were located in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba, Pardes Hanna, Holon and Rosh Ha’ayin. They said that a large demonstration is to take place at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on July 2
‘The Situation Is Worse Now’: Why Young Israelis Are Pitching Protest Tents in the Streets Again
The 2022 tents on Rothschild Boulevard went up a full week after the launch of the current protest movement, which officially began on June 13. On that day, the first tent compounds were seen in the north and south of the country – first in Pardes Hannah, and then Be’er Sheva, followed quickly by similar efforts in Holon and Rosh Ha’ayin, and subsequently Ramat Gan, Herzliya, Kfar Sava and elsewhere.
The fact that the current movement emerged – and is growing – in the periphery “testifies to the fact that it’s a truly grassroots phenomenon, and suffering is happening around the country,” says Guy
Hundreds Protest Al Jazeera Journalist’s Killing Across Israel
(12.05.2022)
Hundreds gathered in rallies organized by Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) on Wednesday and Thursday to protest the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, who was killed by Israeli occupation forces and in the West Bank.
200 people demonstrated in Haifa, waving Palestinian flags, holding pictures of Abu-Aqleh and carrying signs bearing texts in Hebrew and Arabic reading “Occupation = terror.” “We stand here this evening in protest of the murder of the journalist Abu Aqleh today in Jenin,” Raja Zaatry, chairman of the Haifa branch of the Hadash, said. He described Abu Akleh’s killing as “a grave crime that is added to the many crimes of the occupation, which is the main and daily terror in this country.”
Pegasus Spyware in Israel: MK Odeh Calls on Police Commissioner to Resign
(20.01.2021)
Israel police accused of using Pegasus spyware to hack phones of activists and civilians. An investigative report published Jan. 18 by the financial Calcalist newspaper claims that the police purchased the software in 2013, under then-Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, and actually started using it in 2015, when former Shin Bet senior Roni Alsheikh served as police commissioner. The software allegedly served the secret police cyber brigade named Signet. The report further claims that police used Pegasus to hack phones not only of criminals but also of activists and other civilians, without court authorization or the control of a judge.
Racist ‘Citizenship Law’ Advances, Months after Ban on Palestinian Spouses Lapsed
The bill was rejected by the Knesset plenum six months ago, and since then, Shaked has struggled to obtain a majority. Joint List leader MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) said he was determined to prevent its passage. “We toppled the Citizenship Law, because we oppose racist, anti-democratic legislation”, Odeh said. “We will do everything we can to topple it again.” According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), “This Israeli law is racist, collective, pre-emptive punishment. It can neither be justified, nor redeemed.” The Joint List also oppose Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s bill on drafting yeshiva students. All parties in the coalition support the bill, including Islamist Ra’am (United Arab List).