Hatzohar
Encyclopedia
Hatzohar officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim was a Revisionist Zionist
organisation and political party in Mandate Palestine and newly-independent Israel
.
. The name of Revisionist Zionism
stems from the demand by some Zionists
for a revision of Chaim Weizmann
's policy of appeasement towards the British Government in Palestine. Organisation members were, among other things, instrumental in creating Żydowski Związek Wojskowy
, one of two Jewish organisations that organised the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
.
The party began publishing Hazit HaAm in 1931, but it was shut down by the British authorities after a few months. They went on to establish HaYarden, and in 1938 the daily HaMashkif
. The party had briefly also been associated with Doar HaYom.
At the time of Israel's independence
in 1948, Hatzohar was the largest right-wing organization in the country, and had three seats in the Provisional State Council
(held by Herzl Rosenblum
, Zvi Segal
and Ben-Zion Sternberg
). However, the founding of Herut
by Menachem Begin
in the same year dealt it a fatal blow. Although some purists alleged that Begin was out to steal Jabotinsky's mantle and refused to defect from the party, under the leadership of Aryeh Altman
, Hatzohar won less than 1% of the vote in Israel's first elections
and failed to cross the Knesset
's electoral threshold
. In contrast, Herut won 14 seats with 11.5% of the vote; Altman later joined Herut and was elected to the Knesset on its list in 1951, whilst Begin would carry Revisionist ideology of Likud
to electoral victory in 1977.
The party was disbanded prior to the 1951 elections
when it merged into Herut.
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...
organisation and political party in Mandate Palestine and newly-independent Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Background
Hatzohar was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in 1925, along with its youth wing, BetarBetar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
. The name of Revisionist Zionism
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...
stems from the demand by some Zionists
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
for a revision of Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
's policy of appeasement towards the British Government in Palestine. Organisation members were, among other things, instrumental in creating Żydowski Związek Wojskowy
Zydowski Zwiazek Wojskowy
Żydowski Związek Wojskowy was an underground resistance organization operating during World War II in the area of the Warsaw Ghetto which fought during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising...
, one of two Jewish organisations that organised the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
.
The party began publishing Hazit HaAm in 1931, but it was shut down by the British authorities after a few months. They went on to establish HaYarden, and in 1938 the daily HaMashkif
HaMashkif
HaMashkif was a Hebrew language daily newspaper in Mandate Palestine. Published between 1938 and 1948, it was owned by Hatzohar, the Revisionist party....
. The party had briefly also been associated with Doar HaYom.
At the time of Israel's independence
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Israeli Declaration of Independence , made on 14 May 1948 , the day before the British Mandate was due to expire, was the announcement by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, that the new Jewish state named the...
in 1948, Hatzohar was the largest right-wing organization in the country, and had three seats in the Provisional State Council
Provisional State Council
The Provisional State Council was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949...
(held by Herzl Rosenblum
Herzl Rosenblum
Dr Herzl Rosenblum was an Israeli journalist and politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he worked as editor of Yedioth Ahronoth for more than 35 years.-Biography:...
, Zvi Segal
Zvi Segal
Zvi Segal was a Revisionist Zionist activist and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.A member of the Irgun, Segal was deported to Eritrea by the British during the Mandate era. He served as vice-president of the Revisionist movement from 1940 until 1948, when he signed Israel's...
and Ben-Zion Sternberg
Ben-Zion Sternberg
Ben-Zion Sternberg , Zionist and signatory of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, was born in Czernowitz, Bukovina, a region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born to a comparatively prosperous local Jewish family...
). However, the founding of 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:...
by Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
in the same year dealt it a fatal blow. Although some purists alleged that Begin was out to steal Jabotinsky's mantle and refused to defect from the party, under the leadership of Aryeh Altman
Aryeh Altman
Aryeh Altman was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Herut and Gahal between 1951 and 1965.-Biography:Born in Balta in the Russian Empire , Altman studied law and economics at Odessa University. In 1921 he joined Tzeiri Zion, and chaired the organisation until 1924...
, Hatzohar won less than 1% of the vote in Israel's first 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...
and failed to cross the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
's electoral threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
. In contrast, Herut won 14 seats with 11.5% of the vote; Altman later joined Herut and was elected to the Knesset on its list in 1951, whilst Begin would carry Revisionist ideology of Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
to electoral victory in 1977.
The party was disbanded prior to 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...
when it merged into Herut.