Communist Party (Acre)

Communist Party
Leader	Yusuf Kanafi
Founded	1 February 2020
Ideology	• Marxism-Leninism  • Non-confessionalism  • One-state solution Internal Factions  • Marxism-Leninism  • Ba'athism  • Libertarian socialism  • Syndicalism
Colours	Red (official)   Maroon (customary)
Akkan Parliament	2 / 37
Country	Acre

The Communist Party of Acre is a minor political party in the Islamic Emirate of Acre. Formed on the 1st of February 2020 by a diverse but small group of Marxist-Leninists, the party agitates for the abolition of the Akkan Emirate, and the creation of a secular one-party communist state. Though still Marxist-Leninist, the Communist Party attracts a diverse number of far-left Akkans.

History

The Communist Party of Acre was founded shortly after the foundation of the Islamic Emirate of Acre, by a small number of Marxist-Leninists who wished to participate in the project, but who also wished to dramatically change the nature of Acre. This group, unlike most other Akkan parties, was diverse, made up of Israelis, Russian-speaking Israelis and Arabs. Early on, a Politburo was established to determine the party's ideology and its manifesto for the upcoming February 2020 general election. The Politburo was made up entirely of self-described Marxist-Leninists, who went to great efforts to enshrine Marxism-Leninism in the party's doctrine.

Since the February election, the party's membership and voter base has become far more diverse, and Marxist-Leninists now only make up a plurality, alongside libertarian socialists, Ba'athists and syndicalists. An increasing point of controversy therefore has been the continued dominance of Marxist-Leninists within the Politburo.

Since its foundation, the Communist Party has only ever won one seat in the Akkan Parliament, and has steadfastly refused to enter into coalition government, except under "extreme circumstances". It continues to push for the abolition of the Akkan Emirate and the creation of a secular, one-party communist state.

Policies

Marxism-Leninism

The party's manifesto describes itself as an "orthodox Marxist-Leninist" party. It seeks to overthrow the bourgeois democratic order within Acre, replacing its democratic institutions with a single-party state ran by the communist party on the behalf of the proletariat. To this end, the party is generally unwilling to participate in coalition governments except in extreme circumstances.

This position has increasingly become problematic; though founded exclusively by Marxist-Leninists, the party now contains a wide tapestry of far-left opinion. Some suggest the party should simply adopt Marxism, to allow non-Marxist-Leninists like Trotskyists to join. Nevertheless, the party's Politburo - which is almost completely made up of Marxist-Leninists - has resisted these calls for a change in the party's ideology.

Social Policy

The Communist Party is thoroughly secularist, supporting the dissolution of the Akkan Emirate, to be replaced by a one-party secular presidential system; this would also involve the removal of the Shura Council and the Sharia and Rabbinical courts. The party also opposes the two-flag, two-religion consensus, favouring the removal of all mentions of religion and all religious imagery in Acre's flag.

Unlike most Marxist-Leninist parties, the Communist Party of Acre is influenced by critical theory, and adopts a form of socialist feminism inspired by the Jineology of the PKK. It also describes itself as anti-imperialist and anti-fascist.

Non-confessionalism

The Communist Party is explicitly non-confessional, seeking to represent the interests of all workers within Acre regardless of their ethnic origins. The party wishes to replace the Islamic Emirate within Acre with a secular state and the complete removal of all legal privileges enjoyed by religions. The party's membership fits its non-confessional stance, comprised of a mix of Israelis, Russian-speaking Israelis and Arabs.

One-state Solution

Influenced by the views of the PFLP, The Communist Party is rather homogenous in its support for a one-state solution. They back the creation of a secular socialist republic, with equal constitutional protections for Arabs and Israelis. This would involve the creation of a single-party communist state ran by the party on behalf of the proletariat. The party rejects any proposal for separate institutions within this state, with the Politburo emphasising the commonality of Israeli and Arab workers' interests.

Electoral Performance

Almost all of the communist's support comes from working-class parts of Acre, most of them in turn located in the city of Haifa. A small percentage of workers in the Arab-dominated areas surrounding the docklands vote for the Communist Party, as does part of the city of Nesher. Due to this wide dispersion of support, the Communist Party are usually allocated a constituency in which they did not win a plurality of the vote (as Acre uses a party-list voting system); Al-Khalisa has been represented by a communist member of parliament for the last three elections.

Election year	Leader	%	+/-	seats won	+/-	Government
February 2020	Yusuf Kanafi	3%	N/A	1 / 37	N/A	No in opposition
October 2020	Yusuf Kanafi	3%	0%	1 / 37	0	No in opposition
December 2020	Yusuf Kanafi	3%	0%	1 / 37	0	No in opposition
April 2021	Yusuf Kanafi	6%	▲ 3%	2 / 37	▲ 1	Yes in coalition government

Factions

Marxist-Leninist Caucus

The Marxist-Leninists are the largest of the four caucuses, though do not constitute a majority. Responsible for founding the party, the Marxist-Leninists instilled their ideology within the party's constitution, and sought to secure a large majority within the governing Politburo, which they have maintained. As a result, though the party membership is rather diverse in its beliefs, the Marxist-Leninists continue to dominate policy decision making.

The Marxist-Leninists stress the internationalist nature of communist revolution, appealing to all the various ethnic groups in Israel. They are firmly committed to scientific socialism, and as such generally abhor alternative leftist ideologies which portray the revolution in ethnic or religious terms. The Marxist-Leninists are also responsible for the party's one-state solution policy, as they believe that the creation of two (or more) separate states would serve to weaken the proletariat of each.

Members include:
 • Yusuf Kanafi

Ba'athist Caucus

Some within the Communist Party emphasise the revolutionary nature of Ba'athist ideology, believing it to be the best way not only to create a socialist state within the Arab world, but also to protect Arab interests from US interference. The Ba'athist Caucus takes inspiration in particular from earlier Arab nationalists, especially Michel Aflaq, and are often far more condemnatory of actual Ba'athist regimes, which they believe were responsible for destroying nascent left-wing movements within their respective countries. Nonetheless, Ba'athists within the Communist Party are often accused of abandoning scientific socialism, replacing it with revisionist appeals to nationalism.

Libertarian Socialist Caucus

Many look to the success of the Kurdistan Workers' Party for inspiration, advocating a form of libertarian socialism known as democratic confederalism. Unlike the Marxist-Leninists, the libertarian socialist caucus advocates for a speedy dissolution of the state structure, replaced by a loose confederation of autonomous, democratic entities. Like the PKK's nominal leader Abdullah Öcalan, the caucus is heavily influenced by the ideas of Murray Bookchin, as well as other left-wing anarchists such as Peter Kropotkin, though they do not necessarily oppose using the state and political structures to affect change in the short term.

Syndicalist Caucus

The Communist Party also receives support from a number of politicised trade unions within Acre. Most of these unions are in fact ideologically aligned with one of the other caucuses, but continue to operate as a cohesive subunit unto themselves, often focusing more on the immediate demands of the proletariat within Acre. These trade unions are only syndicalist in certain ways however - they utilise non-hierarchical organisational structures, prefer forms of direct action like general strikes, and envisage the replacement of the state with more democratic federal arrangements; but they are not opposed to organising within a political party to affect change, and are often far more open to influence from established political theories like Marxism than western syndicalist movements were.