The Center Party (, translit. ''Mifleget HaMerkaz''), originally known as Israel in the Center, was a short-lived political party in Israel. Formed in 1999 by former Defense Minister

Yitzhak Mordechai Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai ( he, יצחק מרדכי, born 22 November 1944) is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1996 and 2001, and as Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport. He retire ...

, the aim was to create a group of moderates to challenge

Binyamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

on the right and opposition leader Ehud Barak's Labor Party on the left.

Platform

The Center party platform promoted new thinking about national unity, leadership credibility and strategic planning and hoped to establish new institutional rules to guide public life, including a written constitution.

History

The party was established on 23 February 1999, towards the end of the 14th Knesset's term, by Mordechai, David Magen and

Dan Meridor Dan Meridor ( he, דן מרידור, born 23 April 1947) is an Israeli politician and minister. A longtime member of the Likud party, in the late 1990s he became one of the founders of the Centre Party. He rejoined Likud a decade later, and re ...

from Likud, Hagai Meirom and

Nissim Zvili Nissim Zvili ( he, נסים זווילי, born 31 January 1942) is a former Israeli politician. Biography Born in Mahdia in Tunisia, Zvili made aliyah at a young age. He graduated from an agricultural high school and later served with the ID ...

of Labor, and

Eliezer Sandberg Eliezer Sandberg (, born 21 February 1962) is a former Israeli politician who served as a government minister between 2003 and 2004. Biography Born in Haifa, Sandberg studied law at Tel Aviv University, gaining an LLB. He joined the Tzomet part ...

Tzomet Tzomet ( he, צוֹמֶת, lit., ''Crossroads'') is a small, right-wing political party in Israel. History The party was founded by General Rafael Eitan in 1983, after his retirement from the position of chief-of-staff in 1982. He headed it throug ...

. However, the most significant ally for Mordechai was General

Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Amnon Lipkin-Shahak ( he, אמנון ליפקין-שחק; March 18, 1944 – December 19, 2012) was an Israeli military officer and politician. He served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as a Member of the Knesset, and as Minister ...

, the just-retired army Chief-of-Staff who had been a bitter rival for that post in 1994. The party borrowed many of its themes from The Third Way, a group that split with the Labor Party in 1994 over the latter's willingness to negotiate the return of the Golan Heights to Syria for a peace treaty. However, by 1999 The Third Way was a partner of the Likud government and had lost public support due to its lack of influence on Netanyahu. Mordechai wanted further progress in the Oslo Accords, and clashed with the prime minister and other members of his cabinet. Bringing Dan Meridor on board was important. One of the Likud's younger members, Meridor had a solid record as minister of justice from 1988 until 1992, was the son of

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

resistance member and later Knesset member

Eliyahu Meridor Eliyahu Meridor ( he, אליהו מרידור, 20 July 1914 – 16 October 1966) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Herut and Gahal from 1959 until his death in 1966. Biography Meridor was born Elijhu Wierzbolows ...

, and was a civilian counterbalance to Mordechai.

1999 elections

Prior to the 1999 elections the party changed its name to the ''Center Party''. Mordechai was also a candidate in the direct election for prime minister but dropped out when it became clear that Ehud Barak was rising in the polls. In the Knesset elections, the Center Party won roughly 5% of the vote, enough for 6 seats.

Joining the government

The party joined Ehud Barak's One Israel coalition alongside

Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

, the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

and

Yisrael BaAliyah Yisrael BaAliyah ( he, ישראל בעלייה, ; lit., ''Israel on the up'') was a political party in Israel between its formation in 1996 and its merger into Likud in 2003. It was formed to represent the interests of Russian immigrants by forme ...

. Mordechai became

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, whilst Lipkin-Shahak became

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

. Following Shas leaving the coalition in August 2000, former mayor of Tel Aviv,

Roni Milo Roni Milo ( he, רוני מילוא, born 26 November 1949) is an Israeli politician, lawyer and journalist, and a former Knesset member who held several ministerial positions. He was also mayor of Tel Aviv from 1993 to 1998. Political career B ...

, was made

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. Mordechai resigned in the wake of a sex scandal on 30 May 2000; Lipkin-Shahak replaced him as

. Milo and former Likud member Yehiel Lasry defected back to Likud, and Rabin-Pelossof, Lipkin, and Uri Savir formed the New Way after Barak lost elections for prime minister to Ariel Sharon in 2001. By the end of the Knesset term only Meridor and

Nehama Ronen Nehama Ronen ( he, נחמה רונן, born 15 September 1961) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Centre Party between 2001 and 2003. Biography Ronen studied education and history at Tel Aviv University ...

remained in the faction. The party did not run in the 2003 elections.

Election results

References

External links

Official website

Israel in the Center
Knesset website
Center Party
Knesset website {{Authority control Political parties established in 1999 Zionist political parties in Israel Defunct political parties in Israel Political parties disestablished in 2003 1999 establishments in Israel 2003 disestablishments in Israel Centrist parties in Israel Likud breakaway groups