During his first Knesset term, internal divisions over the Slánský trial led to Mapam splitting.

In 1963 his nephew Hassan Boustouni became the first Arab to play in the top tier of Israeli football when he debuted for Liga Leumit club Maccabi Haifa F.C.

[3] Bastuni later served as an advisor on issues pertaining to Arab settlements in the Ministry of Housing.

He was also dedicated to furthering Jewish-Arab harmony and in 1966 he founded the Actions Committee of Israeli Arabs for Israel.

In 1969 he emigrated to the United States where he became an advocate for the one-state solution, publishing his views in The New York Times in 1972.