The Arab satellite lists (), Arab lists () or minority lists, were satellite parties in Israel formed for the purposes of gaining electoral support from the Arab population for Mapai (and later the Labor Party), and other Zionist parties between 1948 and the mid-1970s.Uzi Rebhun & Chaim Isaac Waxman (2004) Jews in Israel: Contemporary Social and Cultural Patterns, University Press of New England, p356"gradual decline in the electoral power of the Satellite lists, (i.e., smaller parties that align with a large party to form a bloc) until their final demise in the elections of 1984. The votes that had previously been given to those parties went either to Zionist parties or to the Communist Party and the newly formed Arab national parties."Rebecca Kook: "For the first seven rounds of elections. most of the Arab votes were distributed amongst the Israeli Communist party (Maki later to become Rakach. later to become Hadash) and various Mapai and Mapam satellite lists. These were lists formed by the two main labor movement parties headed by Arab candidates. They were for all intents and purposes, however, extensions of the leading parties in terms of positions and coalition alignment. They are commonly described as satellite lists because of the patronage relationship between them and Mapai. The Israel Communist party, however, was long considered the only party to truly represent Arab interests until the appearance of the Progressive List for Peace (PLP) in 1984."; in Israel in Comparative Perspective: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom, edited by Michael N. Barnett, p.214Israel at the Crossroads, edited by Efraim Karsh, Gregory S. Mahler, p.157 Between the 1949 elections and the 1969 elections, most of the Israeli Arab vote was divided between the communist parties Maki and Rakah and the Arab satellite lists. The time span under (1948–1966) was described as the "golden age" of satellite parties. According to Israeli scholar Rebecca Kook, Maki and Rakah were considered the only parties to truly represent Arab interests until the Progressive List for Peace won two seats in the 1984 elections.
The existence of the Arab lists was partially because Arabs were barred from membership of Mapai until 1973.Palestinian Citizens in an Ethnic Jewish State: Identities in Conflict, Nadim N. Rouhana, p.96 Unlike normal political parties, they were not active between elections.Rael Jean Isaac, "The Mapai-affiliated lists were not active between elections but were ad hoc organizations formed on the eve of elections to assure the election of specific leaders."; in Party and Politics in Israel: Three Visions of a Jewish State, p.173, Addison-Wesley Longman Limited, 1981 Most of the lists survived more than one term, and all were subservient to the policies of their patron Mapai.As'ad Ghanem: "Most of the lists were established by Mapai under Ben-Gurion... Most of them served more than one term and all were subservient to the leaders of Mapai".The Palestinian-Arab Minority in Israel, 1948-2000: A Political Study, As'ad Ghanem, p.41 The lists were put together based on local influence, clans and religion; and consisted of local politicians and clan leaders.
According to Ilana Kaufman, the Arab lists; "were not proper parties but ad hoc electoral arrangements for the election of Arabs to the Knesset."Ilana Kaufman: "The Arab lists, as their name indicates, were not proper parties but ad hoc electoral arrangements for the election of Arabs to the Knesset."; in Arab National Communism in the Jewish State, p.82 Majid Al Haj writes that the object of the lists "was not the political mobilization of the Arab populations but rather the capture of Arab votes."Majid Al Haj: "Until the late 1960s, Arab-alliliated Knesset lists were one of the most efficient instruments for channeling Arab votes. These satellite lists were initiated and backed by Zionist parties, mainly Mapai-Labour, which was the principal political force until 1977. The object of these lists was not the political mobilization of the Arab populations but rather the capture of Arab votes."; in Immigration and Ethnic Formation in a Deeply Divided Society, p.64
The Labor Party withdrew its support from its last satellite list, the United Arab List, prior to the 1981 elections. The Alignment, an alliance of the Labor Party and Mapam, saw its share of the Arab vote triple in the elections,Bernard Reich & David H Goldberg (2008) Historical Dictionary of Israel, p. 45 whilst the UAL failed to cross the electoral threshold. Alongside the defeat of two other lists, the Christian-led Arab Brotherhood List and the more radical Bedouin-led Arab Citizens' List, the election was seen as the end of personalist Arab lists based on traditional leadership. The Arab Democratic Party, established in 1988 as a breakaway from the Labor Party, effectively took their place in the political sphereGhanem, p. 42 but they took a more critical stance towards the Zionist parties compared to the satellite parties.
List of Arab satellite lists PartyMother partyAimed demographicElections, Time spanAgriculture and DevelopmentMapaiLittle Triangle1951-1959Arab Brotherhood ListNoneChristians1981Arab Citizens' ListNoneNegev Bedouin1981Arab List for Bedouin and VillagersLaborNegev Bedouin1973Arab List – The CentreGeneral Zionists–1955Arab Reform MovementRatzLittle Triangle and West Galilee1977Coexistence in JusticeNoneGalilee1977Cooperation and BrotherhoodMapai, LaborMount Carmel Muslims and Druze1959-1969Labor dissident1973Cooperation and DevelopmentMapai–1966–1967Democratic List for Israeli ArabsMapaiGalilee1951, 1955Democratic List of NazarethMapaiNazareth1949Independent Faction for Israeli ArabsMapai dissidentGreek Catholic1959Israeli Arab Labour PartyAhdut HaAvoda–1959Israeli Arab ListLikud–1973Israeli Druze FactionMapai, LaborDruze1967–1969Jewish–Arab BrotherhoodLaborChristians1968–1969Peace ListRafi–1965Popular Arab BlocMapam–1949Progress and DevelopmentMapai, LaborGalilee1959-1973Progress and WorkMapaiDruze and West Galilee1951, 1955Mapai dissident1959Mafdal1961Supporters of DemocracyNone–1961United Arab ListLabor–1977Labor dissidentNazareth Muslims and Druze (1981)1981Workers BlocMapaiAcre, Haifa1949
Usually, these lists signed vote-sharing agreements either with their patron or one another but all lists in 1951, and Progress and Work in 1961, did not sign an agreement, same with groups without a patron like the Independent Faction for Israeli Arabs and Progress and Work in 1959, and all lists in 1981.
Before the 1981 election, the Zionist parties like Alignment dropped their support for the satellite lists and none of them crossed the threshold. Arab Brotherhood List led by Haneh Hadad and Arab Citizens' List led by Nuri el-Okbi had previous ties to HaAvoda but el-Okbi ran a radical campaign to attract non-Bedouin Arabs and neither were sanctioned by them. Hadad later joined Alignment.Diskin pp. 91, 94 Other parties also listed as Arab lists while lacking a patron are "Coexistence in Justice" (1977) and "Supporters of Democracy" (1961).
Elections
The table below shows the votes of Arab-Israelis for Arab-led political parties, Jewish-led political parties and the satellite lists:
Year Arab parties/Maki Arab satellite lists Jewish parties 1949 22% 52% 26% 1951 16% 55% 29% 1955 16% 58% 27% 1959 11% 59% 30% 1961 23% 46% 32% 1965 24% 44% 33% 1969 30% 41% 29% 1973 37% 36% 27% 1977 52% 21% 27% 1981 39% 12% 49% 1984 50% 50% 1988 58% 42% 1992 48% 52% 1996 62% 38% 1999 69% 31% 2003 69% 31% 2006 72% 28% 2009 82% 18% 2013 77% 23% 2015 83% 17% April 2019 72% 28% September 2019 82% 18% 2020 88% 12% 2021 80% 20% 2022 86% 14%
References
Notes
Cited bibliography