ARAB DEMOCRATIC PARTY (ADP; Hizb al-Democrati al-Arabi; Mifleget Democratit Aravit)

: An Israeli Arab political entity, created in 1988 by Abdul Wahab Darawshe (former Labor member of Knesset), the ADP advocated the integration of Arabs in Israel, as well as the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state. As a result of the elections of 1988, the party won a seat in the Knesset, filled by Darawshe. In the elections of June 1992, the ADP won two seats, filled by Darawshe and Talib al-Sanaa. In June 1993 Darawshe expressed his displeasure over the entry of the Arab member representing Meretz, Walid Tsadik, into the cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin. Darawshe thought the support of the ADP for the Labor Party should have allowed him to expect a portfolio. At the end of November, Darawshe threatened to withdraw his support from the Rabin government but, faced with the risk of ending the peace process by causing the fall of the cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin, he renounced his plan. In January 1994, the ADP proposed to the Knesset that the 1981 law on the annexation of the Golan Heights be abrogated. In September 1994 and February 1996, ADP members of Knesset served as secret envoys between the Israeli government and two Arab countries: Iraq and Yemen.

During April 1996, anticipating Knesset elections, the ADP joined with the Israeli Islamic Movement (IIM) to form a common list, the United Arab List. As a result of the ballot, this bloc won four seats, of which three went to members of the ADP (Darawshe, al-Sanaa, and Tawfiq Khatib). In August 1997, for the first time since the creation of the State of Israel, a delegation of some thirty Israeli Arabs, including ADP members, visited Damascus, where they were welcomed by President Hafiz al-Asad. In the 1999 elections, the United Arab List won five seats in the Knesset, with 3.4 percent of the vote. In 2003, receiving only 2.1 percent of the vote, their representation was reduced to two seats.

SEE ALSO Darawshe, Abdul Wahab;Israeli Islamic Movement;United Arab List.