, calling for support of the
Red Army and using the
Chapaev film poster (1940s) The Palestine Communist Party emerged out of the Jewish
Socialist Workers Party in 1921. Although relatively accepting of
Zionism, this party already hosted elements that opposed its bourgeois and imperialist character. Before 1923, this was a minority position, however, and, during the first party congress of the PKP, the "party majority ... did not oppose Jewish immigration to Palestine nor did they oppose socialist-Zionist 'construction' of Palestine." In 1923, at the party congress, a position of support was adopted in favour of the
Arab national movement as a movement "opposed to
British imperialism and denounced Zionism as a movement of the
Jewish bourgeoisie allied to British imperialism", a move that won it membership of the
Comintern. The Party was also opposed to Zionist settlement in
Palestine and to the
Histadrut and its Jewish labor policy. After the Party's split from
Left Zionism in the early 1920s, the Party became more concerned with the Arab population of Palestine and the greater
Bilad al-Sham.
Karl Radek, as head of the
Comintern's Eastern department, instructed the PCP that it must "become a party of Arab workers to which Jews can belong." Additionally, the party helped "communists to their north [i.e. in Lebanon and Syria] organize" moving beyond, but not excluding, their Jewish constituency. According to British intelligence sources, the first Arab joined the party in 1924. By 1925 the party had eight Arab members. In that year the party was in contact with the
Palestine Arab Workers Society. Simultaneously the party established relations with elite sections of the local Arab society. According to
Fred Halliday, many Christian Arabs were attracted towards the party since they, being
Orthodox, felt emotional bonds with
Russia. Representatives from the party at the
League against Imperialism's 1927 conference in
Brussels clashed with
Poale Zion, forming an anti-Zionist bloc with Arab nationalists from Palestine,
Egypt and
Syria within the League. However, when the Comintern made its ultra-left turn in 1928 and denounced cooperation with national bourgeoisies in the colonies, the process of strengthening of the party amongst the Arab population was stalled. In response to the
1929 Palestine riots, the Central Committee of the PCP issued a communique titled 'The Revolt in Palestine,' which characterized the events not as a pogrom, but as an anti-imperialist uprising by the Arab masses. The party argued that the 'Zionist bourgeoisie' and British imperialism were responsible for the violence, calling for a joint Arab-Jewish struggle against British rule.In 1930 the Comintern did yet another sharp turn, urging its Palestinian section to speedily increase the Arab representation amongst its cadres and leaders. , July 1947.
(L-R): Shmuel Mikunis, Wolf Ehrlich,
Meir Vilner. During the
1936–1939 Arab revolt, the PCP called for an 'Arab-Jewish Front Against British Imperialism.' While the party supported the revolt's anti-colonial aims, it sought to redirect the conflict away from inter-communal violence and toward a unified class struggle against the British Mandate authorities. Statements from 1936 urged Jewish workers to join Arab workers in a general strike against British policy. The calls attracted some new supporters of the party, such as
Alisa Fuss. In 1943 the party split, with the Arab members forming the
National Liberation League in 1944. The PCP and NLL both initially opposed the
1947 UN Partition Plan, but accepted it after the Soviet Union endorsed it. The PCP changed its name to MAKEI, the Communist Party of
Eretz Israel, after endorsing partition in October 1947. This was the first time the communists had used the term 'Eretz Israel' ('Land of Israel') in a party's name. However, it had been a widespread practice in Mandate Palestine to translate 'Palestine' as 'Eretz Israel' when translating into Hebrew. The party still viewed partition as a temporary detour on the road to a binational state. The two parties maintained contact during the
1948 war, and after the war, the NLL merged with
Maki (the new name adopted by Maki, meaning the Communist Party of Israel) within the new state's borders. From 1951 the
Jordanian Communist Party organized Palestinians in the
West Bank while a new Palestinian Communist Organization mobilized members in
Gaza City. In 1975 a Palestinian Communist Organization was formed in the West Bank as a branch of the Jordanian party. In 1982 it severed ties with Jordan and merged with the organization in Gaza to become the new Palestine Communist Party. This Party later became the
Palestinian People's Party. In 1987, it joined the
Palestine Liberation Organization. ==See also==