Liberal Party (Israel)

The Israeli Liberal Party ( _he. מפלגה ליברלית ישראלית, "Miflega Libralit Yisraelit") was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.

History

The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14 Knesset seats. Early elections were called for 1961 after the General Zionists and Herut brought a motion of no-confidence in the government over the Lavon Affair. In the 1961 elections the party won 17 seats, the same number as Herut, making it the joint-second largest after David Ben-Gurion's Mapai.

In 1965 the party held discussions with Menachem Begin's Herut party over a possible merger. Seven mostly former Progressive Party MKs led by Pinchas Rosen broke away in protest to form the Independent Liberals on 16 March 1965. On 25 May 1965 the party merged with Herut, to form Gahal, a Hebrew acronym for Herut-Liberals Bloc (Hebrew: גוש חרות-ליברלים, "Gush Herut-Libralim"), though the two parties continued to function as independent factions within the alliance.

The formation of Gahal was a major turning point in Israeli politics, as for the first time a party could challenge Mapai's hegemony. By the end of the Knesset session Gahal had 27 seats, only seven less than Mapai's 34 (reduced from 42 after eight MKs, led by Ben-Gurion, had broken away to form Rafi).

Prior to the 1973 elections, Gahal merged with a number of small right-wing parties including the Free Centre (a breakaway from Gahal), the National List and the non-parliamentary Movement for Greater Israel to form the Likud party. The new party made history when it removed the left-wing from power by winning the 1977 elections. The Liberal Party finally ceased to exist in 1988 when Likud became a unitary party.

External links

* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/faction/eng/FactionPage_eng.asp?PG=79 Party history] Knesset website