Fighters' List
Encyclopedia
The Fighters' List was a political party in Israel
.
, a militant Revisionist
paramilitary organisation that operated in Palestine
during the Mandate era, and in Israel until shortly after independence. Lehi was a controversial group, described by the British
, the majority of the Yishuv
, and the UN
as a terrorist organisation. It had been involved in a series of notorious actions, including the assassination of Lord Moyne and the Deir Yassin massacre
. The group was disbanded and integrated into the IDF in May 1948. However, they continued to act in Jerusalem until being forcefully broken up after the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte
, a UN mediator, on 17 September, 1948.
After the final dissolution of Lehi, left-wing former members founded the Fighters' List to represent their cause in the 1949 elections
. The list was headed by Natan Yellin-Mor, the former leader of Lehi, who at the time was in jail serving an eight-year sentence for leadership of Lehi, which had been outlawed and declared a terrorist organization. The party's election platform demanded the continuation of the war against Transjordan
and Iraq
to establish Jewish sovereignty on both sides of the Jordan River. The party won only 5,363 votes (1.22% of the total) and one seat in the first Knesset, and Yellin-Mor was released from prison as part of a general amnesty to take up his seat.
During the period of Yellin-Mor's term in the Knesset, the Fighter's List suffered severe internal divisions. Yellin-Mor pressed strongly for a pro-Soviet orientation and called for the establishment of a socialist regime and classless society. The vehement opposition of the former Lehi leader Yisrael Eldad, who accused Yellin-Mor of betraying the memory of Lehi's founder Yair Stern, led to his expulsion from the party. Only the Fighters' List supported Herut
's motion of no confidence concerning the armistice agreements
, and it was soundly defeated. The party did not compete in the 1951 elections
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
History
The Fighters' List grew out of LehiLehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
, a militant Revisionist
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
paramilitary organisation that operated in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
during the Mandate era, and in Israel until shortly after independence. Lehi was a controversial group, described by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the majority of the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
, and the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
as a terrorist organisation. It had been involved in a series of notorious actions, including the assassination of Lord Moyne and the Deir Yassin massacre
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
. The group was disbanded and integrated into the IDF in May 1948. However, they continued to act in Jerusalem until being forcefully broken up after the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte
Folke Bernadotte
Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II, including 450 Danish Jews from Theresienstadt released on 14 April 1945...
, a UN mediator, on 17 September, 1948.
After the final dissolution of Lehi, left-wing former members founded the Fighters' List to represent their cause in the 1949 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
. The list was headed by Natan Yellin-Mor, the former leader of Lehi, who at the time was in jail serving an eight-year sentence for leadership of Lehi, which had been outlawed and declared a terrorist organization. The party's election platform demanded the continuation of the war against Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to establish Jewish sovereignty on both sides of the Jordan River. The party won only 5,363 votes (1.22% of the total) and one seat in the first Knesset, and Yellin-Mor was released from prison as part of a general amnesty to take up his seat.
During the period of Yellin-Mor's term in the Knesset, the Fighter's List suffered severe internal divisions. Yellin-Mor pressed strongly for a pro-Soviet orientation and called for the establishment of a socialist regime and classless society. The vehement opposition of the former Lehi leader Yisrael Eldad, who accused Yellin-Mor of betraying the memory of Lehi's founder Yair Stern, led to his expulsion from the party. Only the Fighters' List supported Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
's motion of no confidence concerning the armistice agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
, and it was soundly defeated. The party did not compete in the 1951 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
.
External links
- Fighters List Knesset website