Chairman Asma Agbarieh Split from Maki | Founded 1995 (1995) Political position Far-left | |
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Leader Asma Agbarieh
Nir Nadar
Ya'akov Ben Efrat Ideology Social justice
Socialism
Communism
Marxism
Revolutionary socialism Trotskyism | ||
The Da'am Workers Party (DWP) (Arabic: حزب دعم العمالي, Hebrew: דעם מפלגת פועלים, Da'am Mifleget Po'alim) is a revolutionary socialist Jewish–Arab political party in Israel, 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.
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Name
The name 'Da'am' originates from Arabic and is a reverse acronym for the name Organization for Democratic Action (Arabic: منظمة العمل الديمقراطي, munadhamat al-'amal ad-dimoqrati). The name also means 'support' in Arabic.
History
The party was founded in Haifa in 1995 as a breakaway from Maki, the Communist Party of Israel. 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.
Ideology
The party is a joint Arab–Jewish party emphasizing class identity over ethnic or national ones. It is strongly left-wing, supports workers' rights (particularly those of Israeli Arabs), disapproves of discrimination, and has an internationalist worldview. The party supports the right of the Palestinian people to found an independent state based on the 1967 borders and 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.
It is the only political party in Israel headed by an Israeli Arab woman, Asma Agbarieh.
The party produces the monthly English-language magazine Challenge, as well as the Arabic al Sabar and the Hebrew quarterly Etgar.