Cooperation and Brotherhood مشاركة وأخوة שיתוף ואחווה | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950s |
| Dissolved | 1970s |
| Ideology | Israeli Arab interest |
| National affiliation | Mapai/Labor Party |
| Most MKs | 2 (1959–1967, 1969–1973) |
| Fewest MKs | 1 (1967–1969) |
| Election symbol | |
| יא | |
Cooperation and Brotherhood (Hebrew:שיתוף ואחווה,Shituf VeAhva;Arabic:مشاركة وأخوة) was anArab satellite list inIsrael.
Cooperation and Brotherhood was anIsraeli Arab organisation formed to participate in the1959 elections. Like other Israeli Arab parties at the time, it was associated withDavid Ben-Gurion'sMapai party, as Ben-Gurion was keen to include Israeli Arabs in the functioning of the state in order to proveJews andArabs could co-exist peacefully and productively. Its support base was Muslims andDruze in theMount Carmel area.[1]
In the elections, the party won 1.1% of the votes and two seats, which were taken byLabib Hussein Abu Rokan andYussef Diab. Because of its association with Mapai, the party joined the governing coalition.
In the1961 elections the party increased its share of the vote to 1.9%, overtakingProgress and Development to become the most popular Israeli Arab party in theKnesset. Despite its increased vote, the party still won only two seats, though it was again part of all three coalition governments during the fifth Knesset. Both Abu Rochan and Diab were replaced, their places taken byJabr Muadi (formerly an MK for theDemocratic List for Israeli Arabs) andDiyab Obeid.
The1965 elections saw a drop in support to just 1.3% of the vote, though the party retained its two seats and was again included in the coalition government. On 5 July 1966 the party merged with Progress and Development to formCooperation and Development, though the union split on 1 January 1967. On 11 April 1967, Muadi broke away from the party to form theDruze Party, though he was elected to the next Knesset as a member of Progress and Development.
In the1969 elections the party retained its two seats with a small increase in its share of the vote to 1.4%.Elias Nakhleh (who had broken away from Progress and Development to form theJewish-Arab Brotherhood after Cooperation and Development had broken up, effectively swapping parties with Muadi) took the second seat, and the party joined the governing coalition.
Winning only 0.6% of the vote, the party failed to cross the 1%electoral threshold in the1973 elections and subsequently disappeared.