Issam Makhoul

Issam Makhoul was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Hadash from 1999 to 2006. A prominent figure in Maki, he served as its General Secretary from 2002 to 2007 and was elected Chairman of Hadash in 2023. In his capacity as party leader, he oversaw the party's domestic activities and its international relations with other communist parties. In 2003, while serving in the Knesset, Makhoul was the target of a failed assassination attempt by a right-wing extremist involving a car bomb at his home in Haifa.