Balad (Israel)

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Balad (Hebrew: ברית לאומית דמוקרטית Brit Le'umit Demokratit, meaning National Democratic Assembly, referred to by the acronym בל"ד; in Arabic, بلد: home town, التجمع الوطني الديمقرآطي, pronounced al-tajamu' al-watani al-dīmūqrati) is a political party in Israel. The current leader of Balad is Dr Azmi Bishara.

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[edit] Agenda

Balad is an Arab nationalist [1] political party whose stated purpose is 'for the creation of two states based on Pre-1967 borders,' which would include a return of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem to a Palestinian state [2]. Balad also wants "to transform Israel from a Jewish state into a democratic state, a state with equality for all of its citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, and to eliminate all state institutions and laws which discriminate against Arabs in Israel.[3]". Balad describes itself as a 'democratic progressive national party for the Palestinian citizens of Israel.' [4].

Balad, ever since its creation, has objected to every proposed state budget submitted on the grounds that it discriminates against the Arab population.

[edit] History

Balad was formed and registered as a political party in 1995, by a group of young Israeli Arab intellectuals headed by Dr. Azmi Bishara [5]. In the 1999 elections, Balad competed on a joint ticket with the Arab Renewal Movement (Ta'al), headed by MK Ahmad Tibi. They won two seats. However, a request was submitted that same year for the list to disband, and did so after the Knesset approved the request. Bishara remained its only member.

Bishara was the first Israeli Arab to stand for prime minister, competing against Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak in 1999.

Balad received three seats in the 16th Knesset, filled by Bishara, Wasil Taha, and Dr Jamal Zahalka.

In the elections for the 17th Knesset in 2006, the Balad list won three seats, which are again occupied by Bishara, Taha, and Zahalka.

[edit] Allegations against Balad

In 2002, party leader Azmi Bishara was indicted for 'knowingly assisted Israeli citizens to enter Syria without approval of the Minister of Interior' [6] and for speeches 'made at two different gatherings that were reported by the media, one in Umm al-Fahem marking the passage of 33 years since the Six Day War, and the other in Kardaha, Syria, marking the first anniversary of the death of Syria’s President, Hafez al-Asad' praising Hezbollah [7]. The trial was however cancelled, after The High Court of Justice ruled in favor of a petition submitted by MK Azmi Bishara where he protested that his speeches were protected by legal immunity, which is granted to all Knesset members in order to allow them to fulfill their duties. His parliamentary immunity was immediately restored.

Three Members of Knesset of the Balad party - Azmi Bishara, Wasil Taha, and Jamal Zahalka visited Syria in September 2006. They returned to Israel on 16 September 2006, saying they plan to return to Syria "if necessary." A police investigation will be opened against them as well. Member of Knesset Azmi Bishara, head of the Balad party, told: "Israel won't tell us with which Arabs we can forge ties."Arab Ex-MKs Questioned on Illegal Visit to Syria

[edit] Party ban controversy

Balad received a great deal of Israeli and international attention when the Israeli parliament's Central Elections Committee banned the party from running in national elections in 2003, claiming it did not respect Israel's legally-mandated status as a Jewish state and that its leader supported terrorism [8]. The move to ban Balad was initiated by Michael Kleiner, the leader of the right-wing Herut Party, who alleged that Balad was "a cover-up for illegal activity" and that it "supports terror organizations, identifies with the enemy and acts against Israel as a Jewish and democratic state." [9]

The Election Committee voted by a one-vote margin to disqualify Balad and MK Azmi Bishara. The Gush Shalom activist group criticized the decision saying it introduced into the committee the 'aggressive, predatory and racist attitudes of the majority of the extreme right' who they believe favor banning all Arab MKs. Bishara personally responded to the Election Committee's charges that he supported Hezbollah by saying, "I believe that a people living under occupation [have] the right to fight against it, but I never called on the Palestinians to embark on an armed struggle against Israel. I never supported violent activity."

The Elections Committee had also voted to ban Ahmad Tibi of the Ta'al party who had formed an electoral alliance with the left wing Hadash coalition [10]. In the end, the bans of both parties were overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court [11]. Supreme Court Justice Mishael Cheshin told the election committee that Bishara's past expressions of support for Hezbollah in Lebanon had angered him, although he voted to allow him to run in the elections because "Israel's democracy is strong and can tolerate irregular cases", and thought that there was insufficient evidence for the ban [12].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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