Hadash

Chadash (Hebrew חד״ש) is a list union of socialist parties in Israel. Chadash is Hebrew meaning "new", but is also the acronym for HaChasit haDemokratit leSchalom uleSchiwjon (Hebrew: החזית הדמוקרטית לשלום ולשוויון), meaning Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. The full Arabic name is al-Jabha ad-Dīmuqrātiyya li-s-Salām wa-l-Musāwāh / الجبهة الديمقراطية للسلام والمساواة / al-Ǧabha ad-dīmuqrāṭīya li-s-Salām wa-l-Musāwāh, the commonly used short form is al-Jabha (the front). Chadash in its current form was founded in 1977 before the Knesset elections and consisted mainly of the pro-Soviet and majority Palestinian Arab New Communist List.

Chadash advocates the evacuation of all Jewish settlements and withdrawal from the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War. Chadash also supports workers' rights. Chadash's voter base is predominantly Jewish and Arab communists. The party maintained close ties to the PLO despite an official ban prior to 1993.

In 1992, Chadash supported Yitzchak Rabin's government, but was not officially part of the governing coalition. In 1996, Chadash formed a joint list with Balad. The electoral alliance with the Arab nationalist Ta'al in the 2003 election earned the party accusations, especially from the Jewish Communist minority, of damaging the party's principle of coexistence.

In the 2015 Knesset elections, Chadash joined forces with the United Arab List, Balad and Ta'al to form the United List. Together, the electoral alliance won thirteen seats in parliament.

For the Knesset election in April 2019, Chadash formed a joint list with Ta'al, which received four seats. In the September 2019 election, a joint list of the four Arab parties Balad, Ra'am, Ta'al and Chadash will once again run.

Knesset election results

• 1992: 3 seats
• 1996: 5 seats (together with Balad)
• 1999: 3 seats
• 2003: 3 seats (together with Ta'al)
• 2006: 3 seats
• 2009: 4 seats
• 2013: 4 seats
• 2015: 5 seats
• 2019: 6 seats (together with Ta'al)

The Knesset has 120 seats.

Knesset seats

In the 2020 Knesset elections, 5 seats were won:

• Maki: 3 seats
• Independents: 2 seats