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Israeli Labor Party
Israeli political party (1968–2024) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Israeli Labor Party (Hebrew: מפלגת העבודה הישראלית, romanized: ⓘ), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (Hebrew: העבודה, lit. 'The Labor'), was a Labor Zionist and social democratic political party in the State of Israel.[6][7] It was established in 1968 through the merger of three Labor Zionist political parties: Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi. Until 1977, all Israeli prime ministers were affiliated with the Labor Party or its predecessors.[8]
The party supported the welfare state and maintained close links with Israeli trade unions.[7] It was associated with advocating for an Israeli–Palestinian peace process based on a two-state solution,[9] pragmatic foreign policy positions, and social-democratic economic policies.[10] The party was also characterized as secular and progressive.[7][11][12][13] The party was a member of Socialist International until July 2018,[14][15][16] after which it joined the Progressive Alliance. The party was also an observer member of the Party of European Socialists.[17][18]
On 30 June 2024, under the leadership of Yair Golan, who had been elected party leader on 28 May 2024, the party agreed to merge with Meretz to form a new political party, The Democrats. The merger agreement provided for one Meretz representative in every four positions on the new party’s electoral list and party bodies, with additional representation for Meretz’s municipal factions.[19] The merger was ratified by delegates of both Labor and Meretz on 12 July 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, Labor and Meretz continue to function as separate corporate and budgetary entities, and their factions in the Histadrut, municipal councils, and other bodies outside the Knesset remain distinct while cooperating.[20]
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History
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Foundation and political dominance (1965–1977)
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First Alignment
The foundations for the Israeli Labor Party were established shortly before the 1965 Knesset elections, when Mapai—the largest political party in Israel and the dominant partner in every government since the state’s founding in 1948—and its affiliated Arab satellite lists formed an alliance with Ahdut HaAvoda, another Labor Zionist party.[21] The alliance was intended to strengthen Mapai’s electoral position following the departure of eight Knesset members led by former prime minister David Ben-Gurion, who established the new party Rafi after disputes including Mapai’s refusal to support a change in the electoral system that he had favored.
The alliance between Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda, known as the Labor Alignment (or retrospectively the First Alignment), won 45 seats in the 1965 elections. It formed a governing coalition with the National Religious Party, Mapam, the Independent Liberals, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Progress and Development and Cooperation and Brotherhood. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Rafi and Gahal also joined the coalition.
Merger and coalition with Mapam
On 23 January 1968, Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda, and Rafi (excluding Ben-Gurion, who established the National List in protest) merged to create the Israeli Labor Party.[22][23] On 28 January 1969, the party entered into an alliance with Mapam, which also came to be known as the Alignment.
As the larger faction in the second Alignment, Labor became the dominant partner. Although Mapam left the Alignment during the eighth Knesset, it later rejoined.[citation needed] During the 1970s, successive Alignment-led governments expanded the welfare state.[24][25] This included increases in pension benefits[26] and the introduction of new social security schemes such as disability insurance and unemployment insurance (1970), children’s insurance (1975), and vacation pay for adopting parents (1976).[27] Other initiatives included a Family Allowance for Veterans (1970), a benefit for Prisoners of Zion (1973), and mobility and volunteer benefits (1975).[28] Between 1975 and 1976, a limited housing rehabilitation program was introduced in several older neighborhoods,[29] and the Sick Leave Compensation Law of 1976 was enacted to provide compensation for employees absent from work due to illness.[30]
Opposition and comeback (1977–2001)
Following the 1977 Israeli legislative election, the Labor Party entered the opposition for the first time. After the 1984 election, in which the Independent Liberals participated as part of the Alignment, the Alignment joined a national unity government with Likud, the National Religious Party, Agudat Yisrael, Shas, Morasha, Shinui, and Ometz. Under the coalition agreement, the office of prime minister alternated between the Alignment and Likud. During the eleventh Knesset, Mapam left the Alignment in opposition to Shimon Peres’s decision to join the unity government with Likud.
On 7 October 1991, the Alignment formally dissolved, with all factions merged into the Labor Party. At this time, the Likud-led government elected in 1988 faced several challenges, including economic difficulties, the integration of large numbers of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, strained relations with the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush,[31] and internal divisions.
Led again by Yitzhak Rabin, Labor won the 1992 elections and formed a government with Meretz and Shas. The Labor-led government introduced a range of social policy measures. These included expanded provisions for single parents[32] and people with disabilities,[33] liberalization of income support entitlements,[34] and the 1994 Law to Reduce Poverty and Income Inequality, extended a year later, which increased income maintenance grants to low-income families.[35] In 1995, a national health insurance policy was enacted.[36] Other measures included reforms to make national insurance contributions more progressive,[37] the introduction of a maternity grant for adopting mothers,[38] old-age insurance for housewives,[39] a minimum unemployment allowance,[40] and a partial injury allowance.[41] Additional investments were made in development projects,[42] while affirmative action programs were implemented to increase the employment of Palestinian citizens in the public sector. The Ministry of Interior increased funding for Arab local councils, and the Ministry of Education expanded budgets for Arab education.[43]
The party’s subsequent role was closely linked to the Oslo Accords. The accords were approved by the Knesset in a vote of confidence that passed 61–50, with eight abstentions. Several members of the governing coalition declined to support the agreement, but it was secured with the backing of Palestinian-Arab parties in the Knesset. The government proceeded to implement the accords. Rabin’s decision to advance negotiations with the Palestinians and sign the Oslo Accords led to his assassination in 1995 by right-wing Jewish extremist Yigal Amir.
Following Rabin’s assassination, Shimon Peres became prime minister and called early elections in 1996 to seek a mandate for advancing the peace process. Although Labor won the most seats in the Knesset, Peres lost the direct election for prime minister to Benjamin Netanyahu, after a series of suicide bombings by Hamas. Netanyahu and Likud subsequently formed the government.
One Israel
In 1999, as his coalition weakened, Netanyahu called early elections. Labor, now led by Ehud Barak, formed an electoral alliance with Meimad and Gesher under the name One Israel. Barak won the prime minister election, while One Israel won 26 Knesset seats. He established a coalition of 75 members with Shas, Meretz, Yisrael BaAliyah, the National Religious Party, and United Torah Judaism. The coalition with religious parties (NRP, Shas, and UTJ) caused tensions with the secularist Meretz, who quit the coalition after a disagreement with Shas over the authority of the Deputy Education Minister. Other parties subsequently left before the 2000 Camp David summit.
Decline (2001–2018)
Following the October 2000 protests in Israel and the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Prime Minister Barak resigned in December 2000. In a subsequent special election for prime minister, he was defeated by Likud leader Ariel Sharon. Labor remained in Sharon’s coalition, which included Likud, Shas, Yisrael BaAliyah, and United Torah Judaism, and received two key cabinet positions: Shimon Peres was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer became Defense Minister. Labor supported Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinians in the West Bank in April 2002. Amid criticism that Peres and Ben-Eliezer were subordinate to Sharon and not advancing peace efforts, Labor withdrew from the government in 2003.[citation needed]
Ahead of the 2003 elections, Amram Mitzna led the party on a platform that included unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Labor won 19 seats, its lowest result to that point, while Likud won 38. Following internal opposition, Mitzna resigned as leader and was succeeded by Peres.[44] Labor later joined Sharon’s coalition to support the plan for Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip, after the National Union and National Religious Party had left the government.[citation needed]
On 8 November 2005, Shimon Peres was replaced as the leader of the Labor party by the election of left-wing Histadrut union leader Amir Peretz in an internal Labor party ballot. Critics of Labor have argued that, over the years, the party had abandoned its socialist heritage in favor of economic and business elites, and had passed the mantle of custodian of the underprivileged to right-wing and religious parties.[45] Peretz stated his intention to reassert Labor's traditional socialist policies, and took the party out of the government. This prompted Sharon to resign and call for new elections in March 2006. Prior to the election, the political map had been redrawn, as Sharon and the majority of Likud's MKs, together with a number of Labor MKs, including Shimon Peres, and some from other parties, had formed the new political party Kadima. In the elections Labor won 19 seats, making it the second largest party after Kadima. It joined Ehud Olmert's Kadima-led government, with Peretz appointed Defense Minister. Labor's main coalition demand and campaign promise was raising the minimum wage.[46]
On 28 May 2007, a leadership election resulted in Ehud Barak and Ami Ayalon defeating Peretz who was pushed into third place. In the run-off election (required as neither Barak nor Ayalon received over 40% of the vote), Barak was re-elected as party chairman. Despite stating that he would withdraw the party from the government unless Olmert resigned,[47] Barak remained in government and took over as Defense Minister. Prior to the 2009 elections Labor and Meimad ended their alliance, with Meimad ultimately running a joint list with the Green Movement (which did not pass the electoral threshold). Several prominent members left the party, including Ami Ayalon, and Efraim Sneh (who formed Yisrael Hazaka). In the elections, Labor was reduced to just 13 seats, making it the fourth largest party behind Kadima, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu.[citation needed]
Analysing the downfall of the once dominant political party in Israel, Efraim Inbar of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies points to several factors. By forfeiting identification with the establishment and building of the State of Israel, symbolised by a predilection for military service and by the settling of the land of Israel, Labor lost its most important asset. Deserting the Zionist symbol of Jerusalem, by showing willingness to cede part of it to the Palestinians was an ill-fated move. Their association with the Oslo Accords meant that they could not avoid being discredited by its failure. Demographic factors have worked against Labor, as the growing Sefardi population, as well as the recent Russian-Jewish immigrants, have largely voted for other parties. Attempts to gain the support of the Israeli Arab voters have damaged the image of the party, and yielded no harvest.[45]
On 17 January 2011, disillusionment with party leader Ehud Barak, over his support for coalition policies, especially regarding the peace process, led to Barak's resignation from the Labor Party with four other Knesset members to establish a new "centrist, Zionist and democratic" party, Independence. Following this move, all Labor Party government ministers resigned. Two days after the split, a group of prominent members of Israel's business, technology, and cultural communities including Jerusalem Venture Partners founder Erel Margalit founded the "Avoda Now" movement calling for a revival of the Labor Party. The movement launched a public campaign calling the people to support the Labor Party, with the aim of renewing its institutions, restore its social values, and choose new dynamic leadership.[48]
Shelly Yachimovich was elected leader in 2011 saying "I promise that we will work together. This is just the beginning of a new start for Israeli society." She was congratulated by many in the party including her one-time rival Amir Peretz.[49] Yachimovich was replaced as leader by Isaac Herzog in 2013. In the 2013 legislative election held on 22 January 2013, Labor received 11.39% of the national vote, winning 15 seats.[50]
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On 10 December 2014, party leader Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, leader and founder of the Hatnuah party, announced an electoral alliance to contest the upcoming legislative election.[51] In the 2015 legislative election on 7 March 2015, the joint list Zionist Union received 24 seats in the Knesset, of which 19 belong to the Labor Party. Both parties remained independent parties while both represented by the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset. The partnership continued after Avi Gabbay was elected chairman of the party on 10 July 2017, until 1 January 2019, when Gabbay announced the dissolution of the union unilaterally.[52] On 10 July 2018, the Labor Party suspended its membership of the Socialist International after the international adopted a policy of BDS towards Israel.[53]
Final years and merger with Meretz (2019–2024)
Labor's support collapsed in the April 2019 legislative election, being reduced to only 4.43% of votes and 6 seats, marking it as the worst result in the party's history. Anger at Gabbay intensified, with poor election results, and negotiating with the right to join a Netanyahu-led government. Longtime party member Peretz criticized Gabbay, tweeting "We will not enter or sit in his [Netanyahu] government. Every other option is a violation of everything we promised to the public".[54] Gabbay resigned in June.[55] In July 2019, Amir Peretz was elected as the new leader of the Labor party.[56] A few weeks later, on 18 July 2019, ahead of the September 2019 election, Amir Peretz merged the party with the Gesher party, giving Gesher multiple spots on Labor's candidate list.[57]
On 12 January 2020, Labor announced that it was negotiating a joint list with Meretz to prevent the possibility of either party not making the electoral threshold and not entering the Knesset.[58] Labor and Meretz announced a joint run on 13 January 2020,[59] with the Labor party central committee voting in favor of ratification of the alliance the following day.[60] Meretz approved the alliance on 14 January.[61] The alliance submitted its list on 15 January under the name Labor-Gesher-Meretz.[62] In March 2020, Gesher's only MK Orly Levy announced that she was splitting from the union due to their support of Benny Gantz's efforts to set up a minority government with the Joint List, with him as prime minister.[63] Gantz later abandoned that effort and instead joined a "national unity coronavirus government" headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. After repeatedly promising not to join a government headed by Netanyahu,[64][54][65] Peretz decided to bring Labor into that coalition headed by Netanyahu to "promote social justice" along with Gantz.[66]
On 22 April 2020, it was announced that Labor Party leader Amir Peretz would serve as Israel's Economic Minister as a result of a coalition agreement which was made following the 2020 Israeli legislative election and will coordinate with Blue and White on parliamentary matters and policy issues.[67][68][69] Despite agreeing to join the new government, Peretz also stated that he and other Labor MKs will still vote against a proposed West Bank annexation plan.[70] On 26 April 2020, 64.2% of the Labor Party's 3,840 central committee members approved of Peretz's decision to join the new government.[71][72] During the coalition talks, the party was under negotiations with Blue and White to implement a merger.[73] On 17 May 2020, Peretz was officially sworn in at the new Israeli economic minister.[74] Labor member Itzik Shmuli also joined the Israeli government after being sworn in as Israel's Minister of Welfare.[74]
Peretz decided to not run for re-election in the 2021 election and also resigned as leader. In the consequent leadership election, Merav Michaeli (who did not join the Netanyahu government) was elected leader. Labor, which was struggling to cross the threshold in polls taken before Michaeli became leader, increased their share of seats to 7. The party subsequently joined the new government.[75][76] Michaeli was re-elected leader ahead of the 2022 election. This was the first time the party re-elected its leader since primaries were held starting in 1992.[77] In the 2022 elections the party was reduced to four seats and winning 3.69% of the votes.[78] In December 2023, Michaeli announced her intention to step down as Labor leader.[79] The following February, a leadership election was called for 28 May,[80] which Yair Golan won on a platform of merging the party with the rival Meretz party.[81] On 30 June 2024, an agreement between Labor and Meretz was signed to merge the parties and form The Democrats,[19] which was approved by the newly elected party delegates on 12 July.[82]
Despite the merger, members of The Democrats are identified in the 25th Knesset as members of the Labor Party, following an unsuccessful attempt to rename the Knesset faction.[83]
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Ideology and platform
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Past
Mapai evolved from the socialist Poale Zion movement and adhered to the Socialist Zionist ideology promulgated by Nahum Syrkin and Ber Borochov. Under Ben-Gurion's leadership (1930–1954), Mapai focused mainly on a Zionist agenda, as establishing a homeland for the Jewish people was seen as the most urgent issue.
After the founding of the state of Israel, Mapai engaged in nation building—the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces (while dismantling every other armed group), the establishment of many settlements, the settling of more than 1,000,000 Jewish immigrants and the desire to unite all the inhabitants of Israel under a new Zionist Jewish Israeli culture (an ideology known as the "Melting pot" כור היתוך).
Labor in the past was more hawkish on security and defense issues than it is now. During its years in office, Israel fought the 1956 Sinai War, the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War.
21st century
While originally a democratic socialist party, Labor evolved into a programme that supported a mixed economy with strong social welfare programmes. In November 2005, Amir Peretz, leader of the social-democratic One Nation which had merged into Labor after a split in 1999,[84] was elected chairman of the party, defeating Shimon Peres. Under Peretz, especially in the 2006 electoral campaign, the party took a significant ideological turn, putting social and economic issues on top of its agenda, and advocating a social democratic approach (including increases in minimum wage and social security payments), in sharp contrast to the economically liberal policies led by former Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the post–Cold War era, the party's foreign policy retained a strong orientation toward the United States (especially the Democratic Party), and its security policy maintained that a permanent peace with the Palestinians can only be based on agreements that are enforceable.[85] Labor supported a two-state solution and the creation of an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state.[9]
On social issues, Labor supported same-sex marriage, the legalisation of cannabis, advancing surrogacy rights for gay couples and organized public transportation on Shabbat.[9] Labor was committed to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. It believed in maintaining a strong defense force and also supports the promotion of individual human rights. It supported most Supreme Court decisions on the latter issue, as well as the adoption of a written constitution that would entrench human rights.[85] The party opposed the Nation State Bill in 2018, and after its passing pledged to adding a clause emphasising equality for all citizens.[9]
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Party leaders
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Leadership election process
The rules adopted in 1963 by the preceding Mapai party for electing leaders saw the party's leader elected by a vote of its Central Committee. This initially remained the case with the Labor Party when it succeeded Mapai.[86] Beginning with the 1977 leadership election, the party shifted to electing its leaders by a vote of the party's convention delegates.[86] Following Rabin's resignation, only months after the February 1977 leadership election, the party opted against holding another convention vote, and instead selected Peres as its new leader by a vote of its Central Committee.[86] A vote of convention delegates was again used in the 1980 leadership election.[86]
The party's 5th convention adopted a rule change that shifted the election of party leaders to a vote of the party's general membership.[86] As a result, since 1992, Labor Party leaders have been chosen through party membership votes, aside from exceptional circumstances.[86] Exceptional circumstances arose after the November 1995 assassination of Rabin, which saw the a vote of the party's Central Committee used to install Peres as the party's new leader.[86] Exceptional circumstances again arose in 2003, when an internal vote of the party's Central Committee was used to select Shimon Peres to serve as they party's interim leader until a later vote for a new permanent leader.[89]
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Other prominent members
Prominent former members include:
- Yigal Allon – Acting Prime-Minister
- Moshe Dayan – Defense Minister
- Abba Eban – Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Chaim Herzog – President of Israel
- Isaac Herzog – President of Israel
- Efraim Katzir – President of Israel
- Yitzhak Navon – President of Israel
- Zalman Shazar – President of Israel
- Ezer Weizman – President of Israel
Election results
Knesset
- With Gesher
- Labor MKs Amir Peretz and Itzik Shmuli joined while MK Merav Michaeli did not.
Prime minister
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Knesset members
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See also
References
External links
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