{{Short description|Israeli Druze politician and writer (1939–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Mohamed Nafa | native_name = محمد نفاع | native_name_lang = ar | image = Mohamed Nafa (00340276).jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|5|15|df=y}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|Beit Jann, Mandatory Palestine}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|7|15|1939|5|15|df=y}} | death_place = | party = Maki | other_party = Hadash | education = Hebrew University of Jerusalem | occupation = Politician, writer | office1 = Faction represented in the Knesset | suboffice1 = Hadash | subterm1 = 1990–1992 | office2 = Secretary-General of Maki | term_start2 = 1993 | term_end2 = 2002 | predecessor2 = Tawfik Toubi | successor2 = Issam Makhoul | term_start3 = 2007 | term_end3 = 2015 | predecessor3 = Issam Makhoul | successor3 = Adel Amer }}
'''Mohamed Nafa''' ({{langx|ar|محمد نفاع}}; {{langx|he|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.<ref name="KnessetBio">{{Cite web |title=Mohamed Nafa |url=https://m.knesset.gov.il/mk/Apps/mk/mk-personal-details/528 |url-status=live |website=Knesset |language=he |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref><ref name="Maki2012">{{cite web |title=Mohammed Nafa’h reelected as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel |website=Communist Party of Israel |date=2012-04-22 |url=https://maki.org.il/en/?p=449 |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref><ref name="MakiAmer2021">{{cite web |title=Adel Amer, CPI General Secretary |website=Communist Party of Israel |date=2021-11-09 |url=https://maki.org.il/en/?p=29772 |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref>
==Biography== ===Early life and education=== Nafa was born in Beit Jann in the Galilee during the British Mandate period.<ref name="KnessetBio" /> He attended high school in Rameh and later studied Hebrew and Arabic literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.<ref name="KnessetBio" />
===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.<ref name="MakiObit2021">{{cite web |title=Muhammad Naffa, Former General Secretary of the CPI, Dies at Age 82 |website=Communist Party of Israel |date=2021-07-19 |url=https://maki.org.il/en/?p=28423 |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref><ref name="KnessetBio" /> 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.<ref name="MakiObit2021" /><ref name="MakorRishon2019">{{cite news |title="מאחל לנתניהו בריאות, אבל לא לממשלה שלו": מוחמד נפאע, 118 ברשימת חד"ש-תע"ל |work=Makor Rishon |date=2019-04-03 |url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/magazine/local-magazine/article/260860 |access-date=2026-04-28 |language=he}}</ref>
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.<ref name="KnessetBio" />
===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.<ref name="Maki2012" /> Adel Amer succeeded him as party general secretary in 2015.<ref name="MakiAmer2021" />
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.<ref name="UPI_Toubi">{{cite news |title=Ex-Knesset member Tawfik Toubi dies |work=United Press International |date=2011-03-13 |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/03/13/Ex-Knesset-member-Tawfik-Toubi-dies/25541300041127/ |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref><ref name="Ynet_Toubi">{{cite news |title=Last member of Israel's 1st Knesset dies |work=Ynet |date=2011-03-12 |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4041191,00.html |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref>
==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”.<ref name="PeoplesWorld2009">{{cite web |title=Interview with Mohammed Nafa’h, secretary general of the Communist Party of Israel |website=People's World |date=2009-02-12 |url=https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/interview-with-mohammed-nafa-h-secretary-general-of-the-communist-party-of-israel/ |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref>
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”.<ref name="MakorRishon2019" /> 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.<ref name="CPUSA2014">{{cite web |title=Greetings from the Communist Party of Israel |website=Communist Party USA |date=2014-06-24 |url=https://www.cpusa.org/party_voices/greetings-from-the-communist-party-of-israel-2/ |access-date=2026-04-28}}</ref>
==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''.<ref name="MakiQushan2024">{{cite web |title=לראשונה יתפרסם בעברית קובץ סיפורים של הסופר והמנהיג הקומוניסטי מוחמד נפאע |website=Communist Party of Israel |date=2024-01-10 |url=https://maki.org.il/%d7%9c%d7%a8%d7%90%d7%a9%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%94-%d7%99%d7%aa%d7%a4%d7%a8%d7%a1%d7%9d-%d7%91%d7%a2%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%a7%d7%95%d7%91%d7%a5-%d7%a1%d7%99%d7%a4%d7%95%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%a9%d7%9c/ |access-date=2026-04-28 |language=he}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=קושאן מחמד נפאע • מַכְּתוּבּ مكتوب - ספרות ערבית בעברית |url=https://www.maktoobooks.com/book/%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9F-%D7%9E%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%93-%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A2/ |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=Maktoob Books |language=he-IL}}</ref>
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.<ref name="MaktoobIntroQushan">{{cite web |title=הקדמה לקושאן (קובץ) |url=https://www.maktoobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9F.pdf |website=Maktoob Books |access-date=2026-04-28 |language=he}}</ref> 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.<ref name="MaktoobIntroQushan" />
===Selected works=== * ''Qushan'' (''קושאן''), Hebrew edition in the Maktoob series (collection of five short stories; published 2024).<ref name="MakiQushan2024" /><ref name="MaktoobIntroQushan" /> ==Death== Nafa died on 15 July 2021 at the age of 82.<ref name="KnessetBio" /><ref name="MakiObit2021" /> 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.<ref name="MakiObit2021" />
==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.<ref name="PalArchive2006">{{cite web |title=رسالة من نمر مرقس إلى محمد نفاع حول انتخابات الكنيست السابع عشر، آذار 2006 |website=The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive |url=https://palarchive.org/index.php/Detail/objects/268657/lang/ar_PS |access-date=2026-04-28 |language=ar}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{MKlink|id=528}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nafa, Mohamed}} Category:1939 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Arab people from Mandatory Palestine Category:People from Mandatory Palestine Category:Druze members of the Knesset Category:Israeli Druze people Category:Hadash politicians Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Category:Maki (political party) politicians Category:Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Category:People from Beit Jann Category:Israeli political people