- 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-dayLikud .History
The Liberal Party was formed on
8 May 1961 , towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of theGeneral Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14Knesset seats. Early elections were called for 1961 after the General Zionists andHerut brought amotion of no-confidence in the government over theLavon Affair . In the 1961 elections the party won 17 seats, the same number asHerut , making it the joint-second largest afterDavid Ben-Gurion 'sMapai .In 1965 the party held discussions with
Menachem Begin 's Herut party over a possible merger. Seven mostly former Progressive Party MKs led byPinchas Rosen broke away in protest to form the Independent Liberals on16 March 1965 . On25 May 1965 the party merged with Herut, to formGahal , 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), theNational List and the non-parliamentaryMovement for Greater Israel to form theLikud 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
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