Agudat Israel Workers

Agudat Israel Workers ( _he. פועלי אגודת ישראל, "Poalei Agudat Yisrael") was a political party in Poland, and a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym (Hebrew: פאג"י or פא"י).

History

Poalei Agudas Izrael was founded in Poland as the trade union branch of Agudas Izrael of Poland. As well as their trade union activity they fielded candidates in the Polish elections.

With the establishment of the State of Israel, Agudat Israel Workers became an ultra-orthodox workers' political party associated with Agudat Israel. They were also part of the Histadrut.

In the elections for the first Knesset, the party ran on a joint list with the other religious parties of the time, Agudat Israel, Mizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi. The group was called the United Religious Front and won 16 seats. They joined David Ben-Gurion's coalition government alongside Mapai, the Progressive Party, the Sephardim and Oriental Communities and the Democratic List of Nazareth.

However, the grouping created problems in the governing coalition due to its differing attitude to education in the new immigrant camps and the religious education system. They also demanded that Ben Gurion close the Supply and Rationing Ministry and appoint a businessman as Minister for Trade and Industry. As a result, Ben-Gurion resigned on 15 October 1950. After the differences were resolved, Ben-Gurion formed the second government on 1 November 1950, with the United Religious Front retaining their place in the coalition.

In the 1951 elections, the United Religious Front disbanded into its separate parties, and Agudat Israel Workers fought the election alone. Led by Kalman Kahana, a signatory of Israel's Declaration of Independence, they won two seats and were included in Ben-Gurion's coalition. However, they helped bring down the third government after disagreeing with Ben-Gurion on religious education issues. They were not included in the fourth, fifth or sixth governments.

For the 1955 elections, the party joined with Agudat Israel to form the Religious Torah Front, which won six seats. They did not participate in the coalitions of the sixth or seventh governments.

In the 1959 elections they once again ran under the Religious Torah Front banner, which won six seats. Again, they did not join the governing coalition. On 9 August 1960 the alliance split, with Agudat Israel Workers taking two of the six sets. After the split, Agudat Israel Workers joined the coalition and Binyamin Mintz was made Minister of Postal Services.

In the 1961 election the party retained its two seats, and were coalition partners in the ninth, tenth and eleventh governments. In the 1965 election they again won two seats and joined the twelfth government which collapsed when Levi Eshkol died. Agudat Israel Workers left the coalition Golda Meir took over as leader of the thirteenth government. In the 1969 elections the party retained its two seats, but did not join the governing coalition.

For the 1973 elections the party joined with Agudat Israel again to recreate the Religious Torah Front, which won five seats. However, the faction split 15 March 1977, with Agudat Israel Workers taking two of the five seats. In the 1977 elections the party won only one seat. Due to its declining support, the party merged into its sister party, Agudat Israel, prior to the 1981 elections.

The party's name was briefly resuscitated during the eleventh Knesset when Morasha, part of the governing coalition, split and former Agudat Israel Workers member Avraham Verdiger renamed his faction Morasha - Agudat Israel Workers. He merged the party into Agudat Israel before the 1988 elections.

Throughout its long existence in the Knesset, the party only had four MKs; Kahana, Mintz, Verdiger and Yaakov Katz.

Knesset Members

External links

* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/faction/eng/FactionPage_eng.asp?PG=52 Poalei Agudat Yisrael] Knesset website
* [http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Belchatow/1936_candidates.htm Belchatow candidates list 1936]