Compare two parties

Origins. Likud is the heir of Revisionist Zionism through Begin's Herut; it has been the dominant Israeli right-wing party since 1977. Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) was founded in 1977 as a coalition led by the Israeli Communist Party (Maki), explicitly Jewish-Arab and anti-Zionist; it has been the political vehicle of Israel's organised socialist Arab-Jewish left.

Where they diverge. This pair is the broadest cleavage in the Israeli system. On the nature of the state: Likud frames Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and was a principal proponent of the 2018 Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Hadash explicitly rejects Zionism and demands "a state of all its citizens." On territory: Likud's line is that "between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty"; Hadash supports a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and the right of return. On political economy: Likud has architected market liberalization; Hadash is a socialist party. On religion-and-state: Likud has anchored religious-nationalist coalitions; Hadash is secular.

Where they overlap. Practically nothing in their positive doctrine. Both are Knesset parties that operate within Israeli electoral institutions. Both reject the Religious Zionism / Otzma Yehudit transferist far-right.

Why it matters today. This is the structural opposition that defines the range of Israeli politics in public discourse. Hadash's leader Ayman Odeh has been the most consistent Knesset voice articulating a non-Zionist civic-equality position; Likud has been the architect of the most right-wing Israeli coalition in history.