Mohamed Nafa

Mohamed Nafa
محمد نفاع
Faction represented in the Knesset
1990–1992Hadash
Secretary-General of Maki
In office
1993–2002
Preceded byTawfik Toubi
Succeeded byIssam Makhoul
In office
2007–2015
Preceded byIssam Makhoul
Succeeded byAdel Amer
Personal details
Born(1939-05-15)15 May 1939
Beit Jann, Mandatory Palestine
Died15 July 2021(2021-07-15) (aged 82)
PartyMaki
Other political
affiliations
Hadash
EducationHebrew University of Jerusalem
OccupationPolitician, writer

Mohamed Nafa (Arabic: محمد نفاع; Hebrew: מוחמד נפאע; 15 May 1939 – 15 July 2021) was an Israeli Druze politician and writer. He served as a member of the Knesset for Hadash (1990–1992) and later served two non-consecutive terms as secretary-general of the Communist Party of Israel.[1][2][3]

Biography

Early life and education

Nafa was born in Beit Jann in the Galilee during the British Mandate period.[1] He attended high school in Rameh and later studied Hebrew and Arabic literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[1]

Political activity

Nafa joined the communist movement in the 1960s, becoming active in the Young Communist League of Israel, later becoming the Secretary General of the youth organization.[4][1] He was an early opponent of compulsory military service for Druze citizens, a position that he continued to associate with his broader anti-war and anti-occupation politics.[4][5]

He ran on the Hadash list in the 1988 Knesset elections but did not win a seat. He entered the Knesset on 14 February 1990 as a replacement for Tawfiq Ziad and served until the end of the Twelfth Knesset in 1992.[1]

Secretary-general of Maki

Nafa later served as secretary-general of the Communist Party of Israel (Maki). According to a CPI report on the party’s 26th congress and subsequent Central Committee session, he was first elected secretary-general in 1993 and completed that term in 2002; he was re-elected to the post in 2007 and was again re-elected by the party leadership in 2012.[2] Adel Amer succeeded him as party general secretary in 2015.[3]

The years immediately preceding Nafa’s first election to the post were associated with the tenure of veteran communist politician Tawfik Toubi, who served as secretary-general of the party in the early 1990s.[6][7]

Political views

In interviews and public statements, Nafa associated Maki’s politics with opposition to occupation and support for a negotiated settlement. In a 2009 interview published by People’s World, he described the party as advocating a two-state settlement based on Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, and called for dismantling settlements in the occupied territories and addressing Palestinian refugees “in accordance with UN resolutions”.[8]

A profile in the Hebrew weekly Makor Rishon described Nafa as opposing Druze conscription and supporting the idea of Israel as a “state of all its citizens”.[5] In 2014, a greeting message to the CPUSA was published under his name as “Secretary General”, reiterating CPI positions including opposition to occupation and support for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel on the 1967 lines.[9]

Literary career and works

Alongside his political activity, Nafa was active as a writer and is frequently described as a notable Palestinian short-story author. A 2024 announcement about the Hebrew publication of his collection Qushan (קושאן) described him as primarily known for short fiction, with stories often appearing in communist-affiliated Arabic outlets including Al-Ittihad and the literary magazine Al-Jadid.[10][11]

An introductory chapter for Qushan notes that Nafa’s first short-story collection appeared in 1976 and that he later published additional collections; it also states that his stories have been translated into multiple languages, including English, French, Russian, Spanish and German.[12] The same material characterizes his fiction as centered on village life, the relationship between people and land, and everyday endurance under political and social pressure.[12]

Selected works

  • Qushan (קושאן), Hebrew edition in the Maktoob series (collection of five short stories; published 2024).[10][12]

Death

Nafa died on 15 July 2021 at the age of 82.[1][4] Obituaries and memorial pieces in communist-affiliated outlets described him as a former secretary-general of the party and emphasized his combination of political organizing and literary activity.[4]

Archival material

The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive includes a 2006 letter addressed to Nafa regarding Knesset election mobilization and publication of a notice in Al-Ittihad, reflecting his continued role in party and front political work after his parliamentary term.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mohamed Nafa". Knesset (in Hebrew). Retrieved 28 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 "Mohammed Nafa'h reelected as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel". Communist Party of Israel. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Adel Amer, CPI General Secretary". Communist Party of Israel. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Muhammad Naffa, Former General Secretary of the CPI, Dies at Age 82". Communist Party of Israel. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 ""מאחל לנתניהו בריאות, אבל לא לממשלה שלו": מוחמד נפאע, 118 ברשימת חד"ש-תע"ל". Makor Rishon (in Hebrew). 3 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Ex-Knesset member Tawfik Toubi dies". United Press International. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Last member of Israel's 1st Knesset dies". Ynet. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Mohammed Nafa'h, secretary general of the Communist Party of Israel". People's World. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Greetings from the Communist Party of Israel". Communist Party USA. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  10. 1 2 "לראשונה יתפרסם בעברית קובץ סיפורים של הסופר והמנהיג הקומוניסטי מוחמד נפאע". Communist Party of Israel (in Hebrew). 10 January 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "קושאן מחמד נפאע • מַכְּתוּבּ مكتوب - ספרות ערבית בעברית". Maktoob Books (in Hebrew). Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "הקדמה לקושאן (קובץ)" (PDF). Maktoob Books (in Hebrew). Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "رسالة من نمر مرقس إلى محمد نفاع حول انتخابات الكنيست السابع عشر، آذار 2006". The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 April 2026.
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