Al-Ard

Al-Ard (Arabic: الارض, "The Land;" sometimes called "the Land movement") was a Palestinian political movement made up of Arab citizens of Israel. It was active between 1958 and some time in the 1970s.

The movement was established by Sabri Jiryis, Habib Qahwaji, Salih Baransi, Mansur Qardawsh, and Muhammad Miari.^[1] It attracted international attention.^[2][3] Israeli geography scholar Oren Yiftachel characterized its activities as among "the most notable occasions expressing antigovernment resistance" by the Palestinian minority in Israel.^[4]

The political movement's goal was, according to political historian David McDowall, "to achieve complete equality and social justice for all classes of people in Israel" and "to find a just solution for the Palestine problem as a whole, and as an indivisible unit."^[3]

Following unsuccessful efforts to secure registration of the organization as an Israeli NGO and secure it a publishing permit,^[2][5] it was outlawed in 1964.

Al-Ard's disappearance as a movement was linked both to governmental and popular resistance, with the Israeli Community Party denouncing the group and Palestinian Arab communities inside of Israel concerned that Al-Ard might destroy them.^{[2][6][clarification needed]}