Mapam
Encyclopedia
Mapam was a political party in Israel
and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.
and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement
. The party was originally Marxist
-Zionist
in its outlook and represented the left-wing Kibbutz Artzi movement. It also took over the Hashomer Hatzair-affiliated newspaper Al HaMishmar.
In the elections for the first Knesset
, Mapam took 19 seats, making it the second largest party after Mapai
. As the party did not allow Israeli Arabs
to be members at the time, it had also set up an Arab list, the Popular Arab Bloc
, to contest the elections (a tactic also used by Mapai, with whom the Democratic List of Nazareth
were affiliated). However, the Arab list failed to cross the 1% electoral threshold.
The party's pro-Soviet
views did not endear them to Ben-Gurion, and they were not included in the governing coalition. During the session they gained one seat when Eliezer Preminger
joined after leaving Maki
and then setting up his own party, the Hebrew Communists
.
In the 1951 elections
the party dropped to 15 seats and again were not included in the coalition. However, they did become the first Zionist party to have an Israeli Arab, Rostam Bastuni
, representing them in the Knesset
.
From Mapam's point of view, the most important event of the second Knesset were the Prague Trials of 1953, which severely shook the party's faith in the Soviet Union. The show trial
s in which mostly Jewish leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
were purged, falsely implicated Mapam's envoy in Prague
, Mordechai Oren, as part of a Zionist conspiracy. After the Prague Trials and later, Nikita Khrushchev
's Secret Speech at the 20th Party Congress in the Soviet Union, Mapam moved away from some of their more radical left wing positions, and towards social democracy
.
This created a split in the party. Avraham Berman, Rostam Bastuni
and Moshe Sneh
left the party and set up the Left Faction
, whilst Hannah Lamdan
and David Livschitz
created Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda
. Although Bastuni later returned to the party, Berman and Sneh eventually joined Maki
and Lamdan and Livschitz joined Mapai. Four other party members left to recreate Ahdut HaAvoda
, though the Knesset speaker did not recognise the group as an independent party during the Knesset session. It also displeased the USSR.
Although it had been reduced to seven seats by the end of the second Knesset, the party picked up nine seats in the 1955 elections
. Having effectively renounced the Soviet Union, Mapam were now included in Ben Gurion's coalitions for both the seventh and eighth governments. However, they were to blame for Ben- Gurion's resignation and the collapse of the government on 5 July 1959 when they and Ahdut HaAvoda
voted against the government on the issue of selling arms to West Germany
but refused to leave the coalition.
In the 1959 elections
the party retained its nine seats, and despite their previous differences, were included in Ben-Gurion's coalition.
In the 1961 elections
they again won nine seats, but this time were not members of the governing coalition.
The 1965 elections
saw the party lose a seat, dropping to eight mandates, but enter into the coalition government. In January 1969 the party formed an alliance with the Israeli Labor Party, which was named the Alignment
. The Alignment went on to win the highest ever number of seats in the 1969 elections
(56 out of 120). At the time, Soviet commentators described the MAPAM as “one of the most reactionary
ones among the left-socialist parties.”
Mapam briefly broke away from the Alignment during the eighth Knesset
, but returned shortly after. The party then remained part of the Alignment until after the 1984 elections
, when it broke away due to anger over Shimon Peres
's decision to form a national unity government
with Likud
, taking six seats with it (later reduced to five when Muhammed Wattad
defected to Hadash
). However, in the 1988 elections
the party won only three seats.
As a result of their declining support, the party joined with Ratz and Shinui
to form Meretz
, a new left-wing, social-democratic and pro-peace alliance, which became the fourth largest party in the Knesset in the 1992 elections
.
In 1995 the party's newspaper, Al HaMishmar, ceased publication. In 1997 the merger into Meretz with Ratz and part of Shinui (most of its membership did not agree with the merger and reformed as an independent party headed by Avraham Poraz
) was formalised and Mapam ceased to exist.
From 1951 to 1979, Mapam also published an Arabic newspaper Al-Mirsad ("Observation post", named similarly to the Hebrew newspaper Al HaMishmar which means "On the lookout"). It appeared weekly, except for a short period as a daily.
with a radically different policy towards Arab civilians from that being pursued by David Ben Gurion. Mapam's executive committee advocated Jewish-Arab coexistence, opposed the expulsion of civilians and was in favour of the right of refugees to return to their homes after the war. In June 1948 all cadres were issued with a policy statement, "Our policy towards Arabs during the war", which had been written by Aharon Cohen
the Head of Mapam's Arab Affairs Department . Mapam was particularly opposed to the destruction of Arab houses. Aharon Zisling
, one of two Mapam members of the cabinet, raised the issue repeatedly towards the end of June. At a Mapai
Centre meeting, 24 July 1948, Ben Gurion accused Mapam of hypocrisy, citing events at Mishmar HaEmek
, he said: "They faced a cruel reality ... [and] saw that there was [only] one way and that was to expel the Arab villagers and burn the villages. And they did this, And they were the first to do this."
Mapam was also opposed to the establishment of settlements on Arab land. But this created a dilemma since Mapam was in the vanguard of the settlement movement. Of 12 new settlements created during May and June 1948 six were Mapam groups. In August 1948 proposals were put forward for the creation of 32 new settlements, all but five of which were beyond the proposed UN partition frontier. As a compromise Mapam agreed on condition that there was sufficient "surplus land" at each location to allow for the return of the original inhabitants. In the following months Mapam further diluted its position on the right of refugees to return by adding that there should be no return while a state of war existed and then it should only apply to the "peace-minded". With the explosion of opposition to the Government's proposal to the UN, 28 July 1949, that 100,000 might be allowed to return, the issue of return quietly dropped off the agenda.
The gulf between policy makers in the executive and Mapam members who dominated the leadership of the armed forces was again revealed following the military operations in the autumn of 1948. In early November the editor of the Mapam newspaper, Eliezer Pra'i, received a letter describing events at al-Dawayima
. There followed a meeting of the Political Committee, 11 November 1948, which was briefed by recently ousted Chief of Staff of the Haganah
, Yisrael Galili
, about the killing of civilians during Operations Yoav
and Hiram
. Aharoh Cohen lead a call for an independent inquiry. The problem for Mapam was that the commanders of these operations were senior Mapam members, Yitzhak Sadeh
and Moshe Carmel
. It was agreed to accept Ben Gurion's internal inquiry
.
In December party co-leader, Meir Ya'ari
, publicly criticised the IDF
for using the expulsion of civilians as an "imperative of strategy". This was probably directed at Mapam member Yigal Allon
who had been chief of operations during Operation Danny
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.
History
Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers PartyHashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine
The Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine was a Marxist-Zionist political party in Mandate Palestine, connected to the Hashomer Hatzair movement. At the time of its foundation, in 1946, the party had around 10,000 members, two-thirds of whom hailed from the Kibbutz Artzi movement...
and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
. The party was originally Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
-Zionist
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...
in its outlook and represented the left-wing Kibbutz Artzi movement. It also took over the Hashomer Hatzair-affiliated newspaper Al HaMishmar.
In the elections for the first Knesset
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...
, Mapam took 19 seats, making it the second largest party after Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
. As the party did not allow Israeli Arabs
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
to be members at the time, it had also set up an Arab list, the Popular Arab Bloc
Popular Arab Bloc
The Popular Arab Bloc was an electoral list that contested the 1949 Israeli Constituent Assembly election. The list was launched by Mapam, just three weeks before the election, in order to mobilize Israeli Arab votes. As Mapam did not allow Arabs to be members of the party, it preferred to set up...
, to contest the elections (a tactic also used by Mapai, with whom the Democratic List of Nazareth
Democratic List of Nazareth
The Democratic List of Nazareth was a political party in Israel and the only Israeli Arab party to win seats in the first Knesset. The party, which was sponsored by David Ben-Gurion's Mapai, was so named as it was based in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel.-History:In the 1949 elections,...
were affiliated). However, the Arab list failed to cross the 1% electoral threshold.
The party's pro-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
views did not endear them to Ben-Gurion, and they were not included in the governing coalition. During the session they gained one seat when Eliezer Preminger
Eliezer Preminger
Eliezer Preminger was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Maki, the Hebrew Communists and Mapam between 1949 and 1951.-Biography:...
joined after leaving Maki
Maki (historical political party)
Maki was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.-History:...
and then setting up his own party, the Hebrew Communists
Hebrew Communists
The Hebrew Communists were a short-lived political party in Mandate Palestine and Israel. The Hebrew Communists were originally founded in 1945 by some former members of the Palestine Communist Party , which had split in 1943...
.
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...
the party dropped to 15 seats and again were not included in the coalition. However, they did become the first Zionist party to have an Israeli Arab, Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Arab citizen of Israel to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.-Biography:Bastuni was born into a Christian family in Mandate Palestine from the mixed city of Haifa...
, representing them in 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...
.
From Mapam's point of view, the most important event of the second Knesset were the Prague Trials of 1953, which severely shook the party's faith in the Soviet Union. The show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
s in which mostly Jewish leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....
were purged, falsely implicated Mapam's envoy in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Mordechai Oren, as part of a Zionist conspiracy. After the Prague Trials and later, Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's Secret Speech at the 20th Party Congress in the Soviet Union, Mapam moved away from some of their more radical left wing positions, and towards social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
.
This created a split in the party. Avraham Berman, Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Arab citizen of Israel to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.-Biography:Bastuni was born into a Christian family in Mandate Palestine from the mixed city of Haifa...
and Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh was an Israeli politician and military figure. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party , and was one of the leaders of a more pro-Israeli split in 1965.-Biography:...
left the party and set up the Left Faction
Left Faction
The Left Faction was a short-lived political party in Israel.-History:The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Trials...
, whilst Hannah Lamdan
Hannah Lamdan
Hannah Lamdan was a Serbia-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for several left-wing parties between 1949 and 1965.-Biography:...
and David Livschitz
David Livschitz
David Livschitz was a Russia-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam, the Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda and Mapai between 1951 and 1959.-Biography:...
created Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda
Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda
The Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda was a short-lived political party in Israel.-History:The Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda was formed on 20 January 1953 as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Trials...
. Although Bastuni later returned to the party, Berman and Sneh eventually joined Maki
Maki (historical political party)
Maki was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.-History:...
and Lamdan and Livschitz joined Mapai. Four other party members left to recreate Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
, though the Knesset speaker did not recognise the group as an independent party during the Knesset session. It also displeased the USSR.
Although it had been reduced to seven seats by the end of the second Knesset, the party picked up nine seats in the 1955 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1955
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40...
. Having effectively renounced the Soviet Union, Mapam were now included in Ben Gurion's coalitions for both the seventh and eighth governments. However, they were to blame for Ben- Gurion's resignation and the collapse of the government on 5 July 1959 when they and Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
voted against the government on the issue of selling arms to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
but refused to leave the coalition.
In the 1959 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1959
Elections for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.-Results:¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party....
the party retained its nine seats, and despite their previous differences, were included in Ben-Gurion's coalition.
In the 1961 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1961
Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.-Results:¹ Eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi² Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal...
they again won nine seats, but this time were not members of the governing coalition.
The 1965 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1965
Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.-Background:Prior to the elections, two major alliances were formed; Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda united to form the Alignment, whilst Herut and the Liberal Party had formed the Gahal alliance towards the end...
saw the party lose a seat, dropping to eight mandates, but enter into the coalition government. In January 1969 the party formed an alliance with the Israeli Labor Party, which was named the Alignment
Alignment (political party)
The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...
. The Alignment went on to win the highest ever number of seats in the 1969 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1969
Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October 1969. Voter turnout was 81.7%.-Results:¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment² Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK...
(56 out of 120). At the time, Soviet commentators described the MAPAM as “one of the most reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
ones among the left-socialist parties.”
Mapam briefly broke away from the Alignment during the eighth Knesset
Israeli legislative election, 1973
The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...
, but returned shortly after. The party then remained part of the Alignment until after the 1984 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1984
Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...
, when it broke away due to anger over Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
's decision to form a national unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
with 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...
, taking six seats with it (later reduced to five when Muhammed Wattad
Muhammed Wattad
Muhammed Wattad was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1981 and 1988.-Biography:Born in Jatt during the Mandate era, Wattad was a member of the Israeli Communist Youth and Hashomer Hatzair...
defected to Hadash
Hadash
Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...
). However, in the 1988 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1988
Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...
the party won only three seats.
As a result of their declining support, the party joined with Ratz and Shinui
Shinui
Shinui is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for...
to form Meretz
Meretz-Yachad
New Movement-Meretz , previously known as Meretz, then Yachad, and then Meretz-Yachad is a left-wing, Zionist, social democratic political party in Israel....
, a new left-wing, social-democratic and pro-peace alliance, which became the fourth largest party in the Knesset in the 1992 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
.
In 1995 the party's newspaper, Al HaMishmar, ceased publication. In 1997 the merger into Meretz with Ratz and part of Shinui (most of its membership did not agree with the merger and reformed as an independent party headed by Avraham Poraz
Avraham Poraz
Avraham Poraz is an Israeli lawyer and former politician.- Biography :Poraz was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1945 and immigrated to Israel in 1950...
) was formalised and Mapam ceased to exist.
From 1951 to 1979, Mapam also published an Arabic newspaper Al-Mirsad ("Observation post", named similarly to the Hebrew newspaper Al HaMishmar which means "On the lookout"). It appeared weekly, except for a short period as a daily.
Early policy towards Arabs
Mapam entered the 1948 coalition governmentProvisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
with a radically different policy towards Arab civilians from that being pursued by David Ben Gurion. Mapam's executive committee advocated Jewish-Arab coexistence, opposed the expulsion of civilians and was in favour of the right of refugees to return to their homes after the war. In June 1948 all cadres were issued with a policy statement, "Our policy towards Arabs during the war", which had been written by Aharon Cohen
Aharon Cohen
Aharon Cohen was a senior member of Mapam, a pro-USSR Israeli political party which existed during the first two decades of statehood.Born, 1910, in Britchany, Bessarabia in what was the Tsarist empire, now Romania. He came to Palestine in 1929 where he joined kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'amakin, near Haifa....
the Head of Mapam's Arab Affairs Department . Mapam was particularly opposed to the destruction of Arab houses. Aharon Zisling
Aharon Zisling
Aharon Zisling was an Israeli politician and minister and a signatory of Israel's declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Minsk in the Russian Empire , Zisling emigrated to Palestine in 1904...
, one of two Mapam members of the cabinet, raised the issue repeatedly towards the end of June. At a Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
Centre meeting, 24 July 1948, Ben Gurion accused Mapam of hypocrisy, citing events at Mishmar HaEmek
Battle of Mishmar HaEmek
The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek was a ten-day battle fought from 4 to 15 April 1948 between the Arab Liberation Army commanded by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Haganah commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh...
, he said: "They faced a cruel reality ... [and] saw that there was [only] one way and that was to expel the Arab villagers and burn the villages. And they did this, And they were the first to do this."
Mapam was also opposed to the establishment of settlements on Arab land. But this created a dilemma since Mapam was in the vanguard of the settlement movement. Of 12 new settlements created during May and June 1948 six were Mapam groups. In August 1948 proposals were put forward for the creation of 32 new settlements, all but five of which were beyond the proposed UN partition frontier. As a compromise Mapam agreed on condition that there was sufficient "surplus land" at each location to allow for the return of the original inhabitants. In the following months Mapam further diluted its position on the right of refugees to return by adding that there should be no return while a state of war existed and then it should only apply to the "peace-minded". With the explosion of opposition to the Government's proposal to the UN, 28 July 1949, that 100,000 might be allowed to return, the issue of return quietly dropped off the agenda.
The gulf between policy makers in the executive and Mapam members who dominated the leadership of the armed forces was again revealed following the military operations in the autumn of 1948. In early November the editor of the Mapam newspaper, Eliezer Pra'i, received a letter describing events at al-Dawayima
Al-Dawayima massacre
On October 28, 1948, the Arab town al-Dawayima was conquered by the IDF's 89th Commando Battalion during the Operation Yoav. The Battalion, whose first commander was Moshe Dayan, was composed of former Irgun and Lehi forces...
. There followed a meeting of the Political Committee, 11 November 1948, which was briefed by recently ousted Chief of Staff of the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, Yisrael Galili
Yisrael Galili
Yisrael Galili was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he had served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah.-Biography:...
, about the killing of civilians during Operations Yoav
Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev...
and Hiram
Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
. Aharoh Cohen lead a call for an independent inquiry. The problem for Mapam was that the commanders of these operations were senior Mapam members, Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.-Biography:...
and Moshe Carmel
Moshe Carmel
Moshe Carmel was an Israeli soldier and politician who served as Minister of Transportation for eight years.-Background:Born in Mińsk Mazowiecki in the Russian Empire , Carmel emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1924 when he was 13 years old. He was a founding member of kibbutz Na'an, and was...
. It was agreed to accept Ben Gurion's internal inquiry
The Schapera inquiry
The Shapira inquiry, November 1948, was an internal Israeli government inquiry following reports that the IDF had harmed civilians during military operations in Galilee and the South.-Background:...
.
In December party co-leader, Meir Ya'ari
Meir Ya'ari
Meir Ya'ari was an Israeli politician, educator and social activist. He was the leader of Hashomer Hatzair, Kibbutz Artzi and Mapam, and a member of the Knesset.-Life:...
, publicly criticised the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
for using the expulsion of civilians as an "imperative of strategy". This was probably directed at Mapam member Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the...
who had been chief of operations during Operation Danny
Operation Danny
Operation Danny was an Israeli military offensive launched at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and relieve the Jewish population and forces in Jerusalem...
.
Knesset members
| Knesset (MKs) |
Knesset Members |
|---|---|
| 1 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... (1949-1951) (19) |
Moshe Aram Moshe Aram Moshe Erem was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for several left-wing parties and factions from 1949 until 1959, and again from 1965 until 1969.-Biography:... , Menachem Bader Menachem Bader Menachem Bader was a Labor Zionist activist during the Mandate era, and later a politician who served as a member of the Knesset.-Biography:... , Dov Bar-Nir Dov Bar-Nir Dr Dov Bar-Nir was a Belgium-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1951.-Biography:Born in Brussels in Belgium, Bar-Nir studied social science at the University of Strasbourg, where he was awarded a PhD... (replaced by Menachem Ratzon Menachem Ratzon Menachem Ratzon was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam.-Biography:Born in Petah Tikva shortly after the end of World War I, Ratzon worked in orchards, industry and as a tour guide. He joined the Socialist League, which later evolved into Hashomer Hatzair Workers... on 10 April 1951), Yisrael Bar-Yehuda, Yitzhak Ben-Aharon Yitzhak Ben-Aharon Yitzhak Ben-Aharon was an Israeli left-wing politician.He was a Knesset member from the first to the fifth Knessets and in the seventh and eighth, and a former Minister of Transport and General secretary of the Histadrut. The philosopher Yeshayahu Ben-Aharon is his son.-Early life and... , Mordechai Bentov Mordechai Bentov Mordechai Bentov was an Israeli journalist and politician, and was one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:... , Yisrael Galili Yisrael Galili Yisrael Galili was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he had served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah.-Biography:... , Ya'akov Hazan, Fayge Ilanit Fayge Ilanit Fayge Ilanit – 14 July 2002) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. She was a granddaughter of Rabbi Shimon Shkop and mother of IDF soldier Uri Ilan.-Biography:... , Hannah Lamdan Hannah Lamdan Hannah Lamdan was a Serbia-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for several left-wing parties between 1949 and 1965.-Biography:... , Nahum Nir Nahum Nir Dr Nahum Nir was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. He is the only Speaker of the Knesset to date not to have been a member of the ruling party.-Biography:... , Eliezer Peri Eliezer Peri Eliezer Peri , born Eliezer Wilder-Frei on 2 February 1902, died 1 December 1970, was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1955.-Biography:... , Beryl Raptor, Ya'akov Riftin Ya'akov Riftin Ya'akov Riftin was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1965.-Biography:Born in Wólka Profecka near Puławy in the Russian Empire , Riftin joined the HaShomer youth movement, and was later a member of Hashomer Hatzair, becoming one of the leaders of... , Hanan Rubin Hanan Rubin Dr Hanan Rubin was a German-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1949 and 1962.- Biography :Born in Berlin, Rubin was a member of the Blue-White movement dueing his youth. fter school he studied law at the Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Freiburg,... , Moshe Sneh Moshe Sneh Moshe Sneh was an Israeli politician and military figure. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party , and was one of the leaders of a more pro-Israeli split in 1965.-Biography:... , Yitzhak Tabankin (replaced by David Livschitz David Livschitz David Livschitz was a Russia-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam, the Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda and Mapai between 1951 and 1959.-Biography:... on 12 April 1951), Meir Ya'ari Meir Ya'ari Meir Ya'ari was an Israeli politician, educator and social activist. He was the leader of Hashomer Hatzair, Kibbutz Artzi and Mapam, and a member of the Knesset.-Life:... , Aharon Zisling Aharon Zisling Aharon Zisling was an Israeli politician and minister and a signatory of Israel's declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Minsk in the Russian Empire , Zisling emigrated to Palestine in 1904... , Eliezer Preminger Eliezer Preminger Eliezer Preminger was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Maki, the Hebrew Communists and Mapam between 1949 and 1951.-Biography:... (joined from the Hebrew Communists Hebrew Communists The Hebrew Communists were a short-lived political party in Mandate Palestine and Israel. The Hebrew Communists were originally founded in 1945 by some former members of the Palestine Communist Party , which had split in 1943... on 15 August 1949) |
| 2 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... (1951-1955) (15) |
Rostam Bastuni Rostam Bastuni Rostam Bastuni was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Arab citizen of Israel to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.-Biography:Bastuni was born into a Christian family in Mandate Palestine from the mixed city of Haifa... , Mordechai Bentov, Ya'akov Hazan, Eliezer Peri Eliezer Peri Eliezer Peri , born Eliezer Wilder-Frei on 2 February 1902, died 1 December 1970, was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1955.-Biography:... , Ya'akov Riftin, Hanan Rubin, Meir Ya'ari, Moshe Aram,¹ Yisrael Bar-Yehuda,¹ Yitzhak Ben-Aharon,¹ Aharon Zisling,¹ Avraham Berman,² Moshe Sneh,² Hannah Lamdan,³ David Livschitz³ ¹ Left party to establish Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party.... on 23 October 1954 ² Left party to establish the Left Faction Left Faction The Left Faction was a short-lived political party in Israel.-History:The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Trials... on 20 February 1952 ³ Left party to establish the Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda The Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda was a short-lived political party in Israel.-History:The Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda was formed on 20 January 1953 as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Trials... on 20 January 1953 |
| 3 Israeli legislative election, 1955 Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40... (1955-1959) (9) |
Yisrael Barzilai Yisrael Barzilai Yisrael Barzilai was an Israeli politician who served as a government minister during the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:Born in an area that was later to become part of Poland), Barzilai joined Hashomer Hatzair at the age of 11. In 1932 he moved to Paris to study, before making aliyah to... , Mordechai Bentov, Ya'akov Hazan, Ya'akov Riftin, Hanan Rubin, Emma Talmi Emma Talmi Emma Talmi was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam and the Alignment between 1955 and 1969.-Biography:Born in Warsaw in the Russian Empire , Talmi joined Hashomer Hatzair at the age of 15, and in 1924, at the age of 19, made aliyah to Mandate Palestine on her own... , Meir Ya'ari, Haim Yehuda Haim Yehuda Haim Yehuda was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1955 and 1960.-Biography:Born in Cairo in Egypt, Yehuda was a member of the Egyptian Communist Party. He joined the British Army during World War II, and made aliyah to Israel in 1948, where he joined Mapam... , Yitzhak Yitzhaky Yitzhak Yitzhaky (politician born 1902) Yitzhak Yitzhaky was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Assembly of Representatives and Knesset.-Biography:Born in Rîbniţa in the Russian Empire , Yitzhaky served in the Red Army in the Russian Civil War. A member of HeHalutz, he helped organise Jewish self-defence against pogroms... (replaced by Yussuf Hamis Yussuf Hamis Yussuf Hamis was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1955 and 1965.-Biography:Born in Reineh, Hamis attended a high school in Nazareth, before studying at the American University of Beirut.... on 21 September 1955) |
| 4 Israeli legislative election, 1959 Elections for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.-Results:¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party.... (1959-1961) (9) |
Yisrael Barzilai, Mordechai Bentov, Yussuf Hamis, Ya'akov Hazan, Ya'akov Riftin, Hanan Rubin, Emma Talmi, Meir Ya'ari, Haim Yehuda (replaced by Yosef Kushnir Yosef Kushnir Yosef Kushnir was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam from 1960 until 1961, and again from 1962 until 1965.-Biography:Born in the Russian Empire, Kushnir made aliyah to Palestine in 1922... on 10 July 1960) |
| 5 Israeli legislative election, 1961 Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.-Results:¹ Eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi² Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal... (1961-1965) (9) |
Yisrael Barzilai, Mordechai Bentov, Yussuf Hamis, Ya'akov Hazan, Ya'akov Riftin, Hanan Rubin (replaced by Yosef Kushnir), Victor Shem-Tov Victor Shem-Tov Victor Shem-Tov is a former Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios in the late 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Born in Bulgaria to a family of Samokov goldsmiths, Shem-Tov mostly lived in the capital Sofia and was a member of the Maccabi Youth movement. He made aliyah in 1939, the... , Emma Talmi, Meir Ya'ari |
| 6 Israeli legislative election, 1965 Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.-Background:Prior to the elections, two major alliances were formed; Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda united to form the Alignment, whilst Herut and the Liberal Party had formed the Gahal alliance towards the end... (1965-1969) (8) |
Reuven Arazi Reuven Arazi Reuven Arazi was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam and the Alignment between 1965 and 1974.-Biography:Born in Mezhirichi in the Russian Empire , Arazi was educated at a gymnasium in Poland, before studying law in Warsaw, where he was certified as a lawyer. He... , Ya'akov Hazan, Natan Peled Natan Peled Natan Peled was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Immigrant Absorption from 1970 until 1974.- Biography :Born in Odessa in the Russian Empire , Peled moved with his family to the Bessarabian region of Romania when he was 8, where he studied at a Hebrew school in Chişinău... , Shlomo Rosen Shlomo Rosen Shlomo Rosen was an Israeli politician and minister.Born in Moravská Ostrava in Austria-Hungary , Rosen made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1926. He joined kibbutz Sarid the following year. Between 1933 and 1935 he returned to Ostrava to serve as an emissary for Hashomer Hatzair... , Victor Shem-Tov, Emma Talmi, Meir Yaari, Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam and the Alignment from 1965 until his death in 1974... (all merged into the Alignment Alignment (political party) The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party... ) |
| 7 Israeli legislative election, 1969 Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October 1969. Voter turnout was 81.7%.-Results:¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment² Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK... (1969-1974) (6) |
Reuven Arazi, Haika Grossman, Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi, Dov Zakin Dov Zakin Dov Zakin was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1969 and 1977 and again from 1981 until 1984.-Biography:Born in Barnowiec in Poland in 1922, Zakin made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1936... , Ya'akov Hazan, Meir Ya'ari, Shlomo Rosen |
| 8 Israeli legislative election, 1973 The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement... (1973-1977) (6) |
Yehuda Dranitzki Yehuda Dranitzki Yehuda Dranitzki was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1974 and 1977.-Biography:... , Aharon Efrat Aharon Efrat Aharon Efrat was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1974 and 1977.-Biography:Born in Lutsk in the Russian Empire , Efrat joined Hashomer Hatzair at the age of 16... , Haika Grossman, Eliezer Ronen Eliezer Ronen Eliezer Ronen is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1974 and 1977.-Biography:... , Meir Talmi Meir Talmi Meir Talmi was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1974 and 1981.-Biography:Born in Warsaw in the Russian Empire , Talmi joined Hashomer Hatzair during his youth, and was a member of the national leadership in Poland... , Dov Zakin, Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi (replaced by Haviv Shimoni Haviv Shimoni Haviv Shimoni was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1974 and 1977.-Biography:Born in Dahuk in Kurdistan in northern Iraq, Shimoni made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1936. He later became the general secretary for the National Association of... of the Labor Party on 14 February 1974) |
| 9 Israeli legislative election, 1977 The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai... (1977-1981) (4) |
Haika Grossman, Moshe Amar Moshe Amar Moshe Amar is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1977 and 1981.-Biography:Born in Safed during the Mandate era, Amar studied at the Scottish College High School in Safed and then at the School for Jurisprudence, and was certified as a... , Naftali Feder Naftali Feder Naftali Feder was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1977 and 1984.-Biography:Born in Olkusz in Poland, Feder fought in the Red Army during World War II. After the war he became a member of the Hashomer Hatzair leadership and edited a German... , Meir Talmi, Emri Ron Emri Ron Emri Ron is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1978 and 1984.-Biography:Born in Mishmar HaEmek during the Mandate era, Ron attended high school in the kibbutz before studying at the Ruppin Academy.... (replaced Haim Yosef Zadok Haim Yosef Zadok -Early life:Zadok was born in 1913 in Rava-Ruska in Eastern Galicia in Austria-Hungary . He studied philosophy and Jewish studies at the University of Warsaw. He was a member of the Gordonia youth movement in Poland and in the "Poale Zion Federation" Party.In 1935 he immigrated to the British... of the Labor Party on 2 January 1978) |
| 10 Israeli legislative election, 1981 Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat... (1981-1984) (7) |
Elazar Granot Elazar Granot Elazar Granot is an Israeli politician and a writer. He currently resides in Kibbutz Shoval.-Biography:Born in Jerusalem during the Mandate Palestine, Granot was educated at Pardes Hanna Agricultural High School, before moving onto the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he studied philosophy,... , Muhammed Wattad Muhammed Wattad Muhammed Wattad was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1981 and 1988.-Biography:Born in Jatt during the Mandate era, Wattad was a member of the Israeli Communist Youth and Hashomer Hatzair... , Dov Zakin, Naftali Feder, Yair Tzaban Yair Tzaban -Biography:Tzaban was born in Jerusalem in 1930. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he fought in the Palmach. He was among the founders of Kibbutz Tzora, near Jerusalem.... , Emri Ron, Victor Shem-Tov Victor Shem-Tov Victor Shem-Tov is a former Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios in the late 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Born in Bulgaria to a family of Samokov goldsmiths, Shem-Tov mostly lived in the capital Sofia and was a member of the Maccabi Youth movement. He made aliyah in 1939, the... |
| 11 Israeli legislative election, 1984 Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977... (1984-1988) (6) |
Elazar Granot, Haika Grossman, Amira Sartani Amira Sartani Amira Sartani is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment and Mapam between 1984 and 1988.-Biography:... , Victor Shem-Tov (replaced by Gadi Yatziv Gadi Yatziv Professor Gadi Yatziv was an Israeli academic and politician who briefly served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam in 1988.-Biography:Born in kibbutz Na'an during the Mandate era, Yatziv was educated at the Hebrew University Secondary School and was a member of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth... on 15 March 1988), Yair Tzaban Yair Tzaban -Biography:Tzaban was born in Jerusalem in 1930. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he fought in the Palmach. He was among the founders of Kibbutz Tzora, near Jerusalem.... , Muhammed Wattad Muhammed Wattad Muhammed Wattad was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1981 and 1988.-Biography:Born in Jatt during the Mandate era, Wattad was a member of the Israeli Communist Youth and Hashomer Hatzair... (left to join Hadash Hadash Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:... on 12 July 1988) |
(3) |
Hussein Faris Hussein Faris Hussein Faris is an Israeli Arab former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam and Meretz between 1988 and 1992.-Biography:... , Haim Oron Haim Oron Haim "Jumas" Oron is an Israeli politician and former Minister of Agriculture. He is currently head of the political party New Movement-Meretz, for whom he served as a member of the Knesset.-Biography:... , Yair Tzaban |
| 13 Israeli legislative election, 1992 Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively... (1992-1996) (4) |
Haim Oron, Walid Haj Yahia Walid Haj Yahia Walid Haj Yahia is an Israeli Arab former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Left Camp of Israel and Meretz.-Biography:... , Yair Tzaban, Anat Maor Anat Maor Anat Maor is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz between 1992 and 2003.-Biography:Born in kibbutz Negba during the Mandate era, Maor studied at Tel Aviv University gaining a BA in history and philosophy and an MA in labour management... |
| 14 Israeli legislative election, 1996 Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the... (1996-1997) (3) |
Haim Oron, Walid Haj Yahia, Anat Maor |
External links
- Party history Knesset website