The Communist Party of Israel (Maki) is the second-wealthiest party represented in the Knesset, after Likud. Despite having only a handful of lawmakers, it is the legal entity behind the Hadash faction. Its wealth does not come from the enormous revenues Likud receives from the state and party members, or from donations and financial guarantees like those supporting Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar! party. Instead, it owns 32 properties across Israel, some in particularly surprising locations.
In the heart of Tel Aviv, the first Hebrew city, on one of Israel's most expensive streets named after one of the founders of Zionism, lies an "extraterritorial enclave" of communist anti-Zionism. The building's first floor is rented out as storage space for Café Noir, while until recently, two red communist flags hung from the third floor. Those flags have since been replaced by signs for the Joint List. The three-story building at 70 Ahad Ha'am Street, just off Rothschild Boulevard, was purchased in its entirety by Maki in 1970. Real estate professionals estimate its value at no less than 20 million shekels.
The building on Ahad Ha'am Street; purchased in 1970, with one floor rented out
(Photo: Omri Kalischer)
"Many of the properties were purchased in the 1970s or around the time the state was founded. But we had the foresight to hold on to them, unlike many other parties that sold their properties," Fadi Abu Younes, secretary of Maki's Central Committee, told ynet.
His remarks also gain significance in light of developments in other political parties. In July, Calcalist reported that Likud had sold eight properties since 2021, four of them to people with ties to the party. Significant discrepancies between sale prices and estimated market values were found in some of the transactions. Likud officials maintained that the properties had been sold to the highest bidders.
Maki was founded in 1919 under the name Hebrew Socialist Workers' Party and changed its name to the Communist Party of Palestine in 1924. In 1948, following Israel's War of Independence, Arab communist leaders who remained in Israel joined with the Communist Party of Palestine to establish Maki. Between 1965 and 1989, the party was known as the New Communist List, or Rakah.
32 properties across Israel
Maki's latest filing with the Registrar of Political Parties lists 32 properties in which the party holds ownership or other property rights. Five of them are in Haifa. The most prominent is a three-story building on Al-Hariri Street, with a total floor area of 299 square meters: 49 square meters on the ground floor and two additional floors of 125 square meters each. According to the filing, the ground floor was rented out, the first floor was used by the party, and fees were collected for the use of part of the second floor.
Based on an estimated value of 10,000 to 14,000 shekels per square meter, the building is worth approximately 3 million to 4.2 million shekels. That range is based on comparable property prices in the surrounding area, including asking prices for properties offered for sale.
In addition to the Al-Hariri building, the party holds rights to a 112-square-meter office at 39 Ben-Gurion Boulevard, a 57-square-meter warehouse at 6 Haddad Street, a 101-square-meter apartment at 16 Maronite Street and another property at 39 St. John Street.
The party also owns a substantial property complex in Kafr Yasif, near Acre. The filing lists two buildings on a 1,627-square-meter plot: a two-story building with a total floor area of 296 square meters and a single-story building measuring 220 square meters. Together, they provide 516 square meters of built space. According to the filing, some of the space was rented out, while other areas served as a party branch.
Another property in Nazareth includes a 200-square-meter apartment and a plot of land measuring 897 square meters, according to the reported figures. Other properties are scattered across the Galilee, the Triangle region and central Israel.
Alongside entire buildings, the portfolio includes apartments, offices and warehouses. In Holon, the party owns a 65-square-meter ground-floor apartment at 129 Sokolov Street, purchased in 1977 and rented out, according to the filing. A rough estimate places its value at approximately 2 million shekels.
In Ramat Gan, the party owns a 28-square-meter apartment at 4 Zohar Street, purchased in 1973. Transactions reported in the same building provide a basis for comparison, producing a rough estimated value of 1.2 million shekels for the party's apartment.
In Tel Aviv, beyond the Ahad Ha'am Street building, the portfolio includes a 111-square-meter basement office at 5 Hess Street and another property at 3 HaShikma Street. In Hod HaSharon, the party owns an exceptionally small apartment measuring just 16 square meters, according to the filing. It was purchased in 1977 and rented out. The list also includes an apartment on Koresh Street in Jerusalem, an apartment on Yehoshafat Street in Beersheba, and warehouses in Rishon LeZion and Bat Yam.
Party operations alongside rental income
Maki's full property portfolio extends across Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Beersheba, Holon, Ramat Gan, Rishon LeZion, Hod HaSharon, Bat Yam, Lod, Ramla, Acre, Nazareth, Tayibe, Sakhnin, Umm al-Fahm, Arraba, Jadeidi-Makr, Kafr Yasif, Peki'in, Kafr Qara, Ar'ara, Kabul and Jaljulia.
According to Abu Younes, the value of the party's real estate holdings extends beyond their monetary worth. The properties allow Maki to maintain ties with local communities and operate party branches throughout the year. While other political parties rent offices around election campaigns, he said, Maki uses its properties for ongoing activities.
Calcalist has learned that some of the properties are rented out, including to the Hadash faction within the Histadrut labor federation, which uses them for local activities. Abu Younes added that the properties are also used by Banki, the Israeli Communist Youth Alliance and Maki's youth movement. Other tenants include a dance school and a doctor.
Properties purchased decades ago thus continue to provide the party with locations for political activities, meeting spaces and rental income. The building near Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv is the most visible asset in the portfolio, but behind it lies an extensive collection of properties spread across 24 communities throughout Israel.