Balad chairman Jamal Zahalka speaks before the Israeli Knesset.

Party Chairman: Jamal Zahalka

Established: 1995

Current Knesset seats: 3

Official Website: www.balad.org

Official Knesset Profile: Balad


The National Democratic Assembly party (at-Tajamu' ad-Dimuqrati al-Watani in Arabic; 'Balad' is the Hebrew acronym) seeks to transform Israel into a democratic, secular state in which Christians, Muslims, and Jews enjoy equal rights. Balad aims to eliminate state institutions and laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens in Israel, including discrimination in the national budget and land policies.

It also maintains that Israel should recognize Palestinian national minority rights and grant cultural autonomy to Palestinians in education and other fields. Balad also demands recognition of the dozens of unrecognized Palestinian villages - inhabited by over 100,000 residents - that receive no government services whatsoever, and do not even appear on maps of the country.

Balad supports the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories seized in 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, and the dismantling of all Israeli settlements in those territories. It calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and supports the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and receive restitution for their losses.

Balad was initially barred by Israel's Central Elections Committee from running in the 2009 election, along with the United Arab List-Ta'al. The decision was overturned by Israel's Supreme Court.


Key Party Members


Jamal Zahalka. Official Knesset Profile. A pharmacist by training, Jamal Zahalka entered politics in 2003, winning election to the Knesset for the National Democratic Union (Balad), and replaced Azmi Bishara as party chair upon his resignation in 2007. He has been an outspoken critic of Israel's apartheid-like system of rule in the West Bank and advocates equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Read more.


Azmi Bishara. A Palestinian politician from Nazareth, Azmi Bishara was a member of the Knesset for Balad from 1996 until his resignation in April 2007. One of the founders of the National Democratic Assembly, he has played a leading role in demanding equal rights for Israel's Palestinian citizens. In 2007, Bishara was threatened with the charge of treason for alleged contacts with Hezbollah, though he claims that he was targeted for his political views. Read more.

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