Mapai (Hebrew: מפא"י, an acronym for Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael (Hebrew: מפלגת פועלי ארץ ישראל), lit. Land of Israel Workers' Party) was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Alignment in the mid-1960s. Israel's Political system is based on Proportional representation which allows for a Multi-party system with numerous parties For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The Alignment (המערך HaMa'arakh) was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s It is the major ancestor of the modern-day Labor Party.
Background
The party was founded in the 1930s by the merger of the right-wing (or more moderate) faction of the Marxist Zionist socialist Russian party Poale Zion and the original Labour Unity party led by David Ben-Gurion. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion" was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish In the early 1920s the Labor Zionist movement had founded the Histadrut Union, which dominated the Hebrew settlement economy and infrastructure, later making Mapai the dominant political faction in Zionist politics. Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Labor Zionism ( Labour Zionism, ציונות סוציאליסטית tsionut sotsialistit) can be described as the major stream of the Left wing of the Template talkInfobox Union for usage -->The Histadrut ("Federation" labour or HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel It was also responsible for the founding of Hashomer and Haganah, the first two armed Jewish groups who secured the people and property of the new and emerging Jewish communities. Hashomer (השומר ("The Watchman" was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded out of Bar-Giora in April 1909 Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine By the early 1930s, David Ben-Gurion had taken over the party, and had become de-facto leader of the Jewish community in Palestine (known as the Yishuv). Yishuv (ישוב literally "settlement" or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv הישוב or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi
Due to its role in emerging victorious and independent from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the party was rewarded with large support in Israel's first elections in 1949, winning 35. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly-independent Israel on 25 January 1949 7% of the vote (well ahead of second-placed Mapam's 14. Mapam (מפ"ם an acronym for Mifleget HaPoalim HaMeuhedet (מפלגת הפועלים המאוחדת lit 7%) and 46 of the 120 seats. Ben-Gurion became Prime Minister and formed a coalition with the United Religious Front, the Progressive Party, the Sephardim and Oriental Communities and the Democratic List of Nazareth (an Israeli Arab party associated with Mapai). The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and is the most powerful political officer in Israel (the President of Israel being a titular figurehead The United Religious Front (חזית דתית מאוחדת Hazit Datit Meuhedet) was a political party in Israel. The Progressive Party (מפלגה פרוגרסיבית Miflega Progresivit) was a political party in Israel. Sephardim and Oriental Communities (ספרדים ועדות מזרח Sfaradim VeEdot Mizrah) was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors The Democratic List of Nazareth (רשימה דמוקרטית של נצרת Reshima Demokratit shel Natzrat) was a political party in Israel and the only Arab citizens of Israel refers to Arabs or Arabic -speaking people who are Citizens of Israel who are not Jewish.
The 1951 elections saw a further increase in support to 37. Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951 3% of the vote (47 seats) despite the country's economic problems. See also History of Israel Austerity in Israel: From 1949 to 1959, the state of Israel was to a varying extent under a regime of Ben-Gurion again formed the government with the support of Mizrachi, Hapoel HaMizrachi, Agudat Israel, Agudat Israel Workers and the three Israeli Arab parties associated with Mapai, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work and Agriculture and Development. Agudat Israel (אגודת ישראל "Union Israel" also Agudat Yisrael, Agudath Israel, or Agudas Yisroel) began as the original Agudat Israel Workers (פועלי אגודת ישראל Poalei Agudat Yisrael) was a political party in Poland, and a political party and settlement movement The Democratic List for Israeli Arabs (רשימה דמוקרטית לערביי ישראל Reshima Demokratit LeAravei Yisrael) was a political party in Israel Progress and Work (קידמה ועבודה Kidma VeAvoda, الزراعة والتطوير was a political party in Israel. Agriculture and Development (חקלאות ופיתוח Hakla'ut VePituah) was a political party in Israel. However, he shocked the nation by resigning on 6 December, 1953 in order to settle in the small Negev kibbutz of Sde Boker, and was replaced by Moshe Sharett. The Negev (נֶגֶב Tiberian vocalization: Néḡeḇ) is the Desert region of southern Israel. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in Sde Boker (שְׂדֵה בּוֹקֵר lit Cowboy's Field) is a Kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Moshe Sharett (משה שרת born Moshe Shertok (Hebrew משה שרתוק on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second
The 1955 elections saw the first drop in support, as the party recorded only 32. Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955 2% of the vote (40 seats), though still well ahead of the second-placed Herut (12. This article is about the political party For other uses see Herut (disambiguation. 6%). Ben Gurion returned as Prime Minister, and formed a coalition with the National Religious Front (which later changed its name to the National Religious Party), Mapam, Labour Unity, and the three Israeli Arab parties, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work and Agriculture and Development. The National Religious Party (מפלגה דתית לאומית Miflaga Datit Leumit, commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, (Hebrew מפד"ל Mapam (מפ"ם an acronym for Mifleget HaPoalim HaMeuhedet (מפלגת הפועלים המאוחדת lit Later the Progressive Party was also added.
In contrast to the previous one, the 1959 election saw a surge in support, as the party recorded its best electoral performance, taking 38. Elections for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel on 3 November 1959 2% of the vote and 47 seats. Ben-Gurion again invited the National Religious Party, Mapam, Labour Unity, the Progressive Party and the three Israeli Arab parties, Progress and Development, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Agriculture and Development to form the coalition.
The Lavon Affair which brought down the government in 1961 probably contributed to the party's relatively poor performance in the elections in the same year, as it picked up only 34. The Lavon Affair refers to the scandal over a failed Israeli Covert operation in Egypt known as Operation Susannah, in which Israeli military Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961 7% of the vote and 42 seats. Although Ben-Gurion formed a strong coalition with the National Religious Party, Labour Unity, Agudat Israel Workers, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Progress and Development, two events during the fifth Knesset led to Mapai's reducing dominance. Cooperation and Brotherhood (שיתוף ואחווה Shituf VeAhva) was a political party in Israel.
Firstly, Ben-Gurion resigned as head of the party citing personal reasons, though in reality he was upset at a perceived lack of support from colleagues. He set up a new party, Rafi, taking with him seven other Mapai members. Rafi (רפ"י an acronym for Reshimat Poalei Yisrael (רשימת פועלי ישראל lit Secondly, the two major right-wing opposition parties, Herut and the Liberal Party had merged into Gahal. This article is about the political party For other uses see Herut (disambiguation. The Israeli Liberal Party (מפלגה ליברלית ישראלית Miflega Libralit Yisraelit) was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors Gahal (גח"ל an acronym for Gush Herut-Libralim (Hebrew גוש חרות-ליברלים lit This meant by the end of the Knesset session, Mapai had only 34 seats to Gahal's 27.
The party's response to the unprecedented strength of the opposition was to seek support from other parties with similar ideologies. The result was a merger with Labour Unity to form the Alignment before the 1965 election. The Alignment (המערך HaMa'arakh) was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965 The new party won 36. 7% of the vote and 45 seats, and comfortably beat Gahal (26 seats). The new party was joined by Rafi and Mapam in 1968, taking it to 63 seats, the only time a party has ever held a majority in the Knesset. For Beit Knesset a Jewish Place of worship, see Synagogue. The Knesset (כנסת lit
Within the Alignment, Mapai, Labour Unity and Rafi merged to form the Labor Party, and in the early 1990s the remaining members of the Alignment were merged into the Labor Party to form one unitary party, with the Alignment ceasing to exist.
External links
- Party history Knesset website (English)
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