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Israeli Communist Opposition

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The Israeli Communist Opposition (Hebrew: אופוזיציה קומוניסטית ישראלית‎‎, Opozitzia Komunistit Yisra'elit), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Aki (אק"י), was a small communist organization in Israel. The group was founded in 1973 by former Knesset member Esther Vilenska following a split from the Israeli Communist Party (Maki).

Vilenska had emerged in the spring of 1972 as a leading voice of criticism 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'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 predominately Jewish membership. The group opposed both Maki and Rakah. The organization published the monthly Hedim (הדים, 'Echoes') in Hebrew from Tel Aviv, with Vilenska as its editor between 1974 and 1975. It also issued a Yiddish publication, Undzer shtime (אונדזער שטימע, 'Our Voice').

Ahead of the elections to the 12th congress of Histadrut, Aki formed a joint list with the Blue-Red Movement and HaOlam HaZeh.

In 1975 Shmuel Mikunis, former general secretary of Maki, resigned from Maki into protest of its merger process with Moked and joined Aki instead. On 5 July 1975 Aki held a national conference, with around a hundred participants. Vilenska and Mikunis held the meeting. The conference elaborated a programme for the organization. Vilenska died on November 9, 1975.

References

Israeli Communist Opposition Wikipedia