Balad

Balad can refer to the following places:

It may also refer to:

See also

Balad (political party)

Balad (Hebrew: בָּלַ"ד, an acronym for Brit Le'umit Demokratit (Hebrew: בְּרִית לְאוּמִּית דֶּמוֹקְרָטִית, lit. National Democratic Assembly); Arabic: التجمع الوطني الديمقراطي‎, at-Tajamuʿ al-Waṭanī ad-Dīmūqraṭī or بلد, lit. Country or Nation) is an Israeli Arab political party in Israel led by Jamal Zahalka. It is sometimes called the "National Democratic Alliance".

Ideology

Balad is a political party whose stated purpose is the "struggle to transform the state of Israel into a democracy for all its citizens, irrespective of national or ethnic identity". It opposes the idea of Israel as a solely Jewish state, and supports its recasting as a binational state.

Balad also advocates that the state of Israel recognize Palestinian Arabs as a national minority, entitled to all rights that come with that status including autonomy in education, culture and media. Since the party's formation, it has objected to every proposed state budget on the grounds that they have discriminated against the Arab population.

Al-Balad, Jeddah

Al-Balad is the historical area of Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia. Balad can literally be translated as "The City." Balad is the historic center of the City of Jeddah.

Al-Balad was founded in the 7th century and historically served as the centre of Jeddah. Al-Balad's defensive walls were torn down in the 1940s. In the 1970s and 1980s, when Jeddah began to become wealthier due to the oil boom, many Jeddawis moved north, away from Al-Balad, as it reminded them of less prosperous times. Al-Balad had insufficient parking space for large cars. Its stores did not sell expensive designer clothing. Poor immigrants moved in place of the Saudi population. The municipality of Jeddah began historical preservation efforts in the 1970s. In 1991 the Municipality of Jeddah founded the Jeddah Historical Preservation Society to preserve the historical architecture and culture of Al-Balad. In 2002 $4 million United States dollars were earmarked for the preservation society.In 2009 Al-Balad was nominated by Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to be listed in UNESCO's World Heritage site and it was accepted on 2014.