The Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers was an Israeli Arab 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...

.

Background

The party was created in the run-up to the 1973 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1973

The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...

 as an Israeli Arab party associated with the governing 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...

. Headed by Hamad Abu Rabia

Hamad Abu Rabia

Sheikh Hamad Abu Rabia was a Bedouin Israeli politician and a member of the Knesset, best known for being assassinated by sons of another Israeli Arab Druze politician.-Biography:...

, the new 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...

, gaining 1% of the vote, and claiming one seat 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...

, taken by Abu Rabia.

On 26 February 1974 the party merged into the Alignment together with the other Alignment-linked Israeli Arab party, Progress and Development

Progress and Development

Progress and Development was a political party in Israel.-History:Progress and Development was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to fight the 1959 elections...

. On 4 January 1977 Abu Rabia left the Alignment and re-established the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers. On 8 March it merged with Progress and Development to form the United Arab List

United Arab List (1977)

The United Arab List was an Israeli Arab political party in Israel during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is not connected to the modern day United Arab List.-Background:...

. The new party claimed one seat in the 1977 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1977

The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...

, which was taken on a rotation basis by three party members, including Abu Rabia. However, in 1981 Rabia was assassinated by the sons of party rival Jabr Muadi

Jabr Muadi

Sheikh Jabr Muadi was a Druze Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for seven different parties between 1951 and 1981.-Biography:...

for allegedly refusing to keep to the rotation agreement.

External links

• Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers Knesset website