Mohamed Nafa

Mohamed Nafa (; ; 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.

Biography Early life and education Nafa was born in Beit Jann in the Galilee during the British Mandate period.

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.

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”.

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”.

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.

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. 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.