Da (political party)

Movement for Democracy and Aliyah התנועה לדמוקרטיה ועלייה
Leader	Yuli Kosharovsky
Founded	1992
Ideology	Soviet immigrant interest
Most MKs	0
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

The Movement for Democracy and Aliyah (Hebrew: התנועה לדמוקרטיה ועלייה‎, HaTnu'a LeDemokratia VeAliya), commonly known as Da (Hebrew: דה‎; Russian: ДА, lit. Yes), was a minor Israeli political party founded by immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

History

The party was established in 1992 and sought to have the well-known refusenik Natan Sharansky head its list. After several changes of heart, Sharansky turned the offer down.^[1]

Led by Yuli Kosharovsky,^[2] in the elections that year the party won 11,697 votes (0.4% of the total, and around 5% of the immigrant vote),^[1] and failed to cross the electoral threshold of 1.5%. Most Russian immigrants voted for the Israeli Labor Party.^[3]

Notable members included Gennady Riger, who later served as general secretary and a MK for Yisrael BaAliyah, another immigrant party.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The “Russian Revolution” in Israel Association for Israel Studies
2. ^ Ashdod Journal; Land of Milk, Honey and Discontent New York Times, 23 May 1992
3. ^ Russian migrants seek louder voice in Israel The Independent, 11 June 1995