The Arab Democratic Party commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acroynym Mada (Hebrew: מד"ע) was a political party in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Since the late 1990s it has been a faction within the United Arab List

United Arab List

The United Arab List , commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am , is a political party representing and supported by Israeli Arabs...

.

Background

The party was formed on 15 February 1988, towards the end of the term of the eleventh Knesset

Israeli legislative election, 1984

Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...

, when Abdulwahab Darawshe

Abdulwahab Darawshe

Abdulwahab Darawshe is an Israeli Arab former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and the Arab Democratic Party between 1984 and 1999.-Biography:...

 broke away from the Alignment

Alignment (political party)

The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...

 to create his own faction in protest at the party's policy on the First Intifada

First Intifada

The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....

. At the time of its founding, the party was the only solely Israeli Arab faction in the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 (although the Progressive List for Peace

Progressive List for Peace

The Progressive List for Peace was a left-wing political party in Israel formed from an alliance of both Arab and Jewish left-wing activists.-History:...

's only MK was an Israeli Arab, the party also had Jewish membership), and the first since the demise of the original United Arab List in the 1981 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1981

Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...

.

In the 1988 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1988

Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...

 the party just crossed the electoral threshold

Election threshold

In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...

 of 1%, winning 1.2% of the vote and one seat, taken by Darawshe, and was again the only Israeli-Arab party to win a seat.

The 1992 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1992

Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...

 saw the party win two seats, though it remained the only Israeli Arab party with parliamentary representation.

For the 1996 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1996

Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...

, the party ran in an alliance with the new United Arab List

United Arab List

The United Arab List , commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am , is a political party representing and supported by Israeli Arabs...

 under the name Mada-Ra'am (the acronyms of each party). The alliance was successful, winning two seats. The party was also joined in the Knesset by a new Israeli Arab party, Balad, which had run in an alliance with Hadash

Hadash

Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...

.

After the 1996 elections, the party became a faction within the United Arab List, a position which it retains today. Arab Democratic Party deputy chairman Taleb el-Sana

Taleb el-Sana

Taleb el-Sana is an Israeli politician and lawyer, and is currently the longest serving Arab Member of the Knesset.-Biography:Born in Tel Arad in the Negev, he is an Israeli Arab of Bedouin origin. el-Sana studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lawyer by profession...

is today the United Arab List chairman.

External links

• Party history Knesset website
• Mada-Ra'am Knesset website