The Fighters' List ( he, רשימת הלוחמים, ''Reshimat HaLohmim'') was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

History

The Fighters' List grew out of Lehi, a militant Revisionist paramilitary organisation that operated in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

during the Mandate era, and in Israel until shortly after independence. Lehi was a controversial group, described by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, the majority of the ''

Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the s ...

'', and the UN as a terrorist organisation. It had been involved in a series of notorious actions, including the assassination of

Lord Moyne Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne, DSO & Bar, PC (29 March 1880 – 6 November 1944), was an Anglo-Irish politician and businessman. He served as the British minister of state in the Middle East until November 1944, when he was assass ...

and the

Deir Yassin massacre The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 130 fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi killed at least 107 Palestinian Arabs, including women and children, in Deir Yassin, a village of roughly 600 peopl ...

. The group was disbanded and integrated into the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

in May 1948. However, they continued to act in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

until being forcefully broken up after the assassination of

Count Folke Bernadotte Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a Swedish nobleman and diplomat. In World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps, including 450 Danish Jews f ...

, a UN mediator, on 17 September 1948. After the final dissolution of Lehi, left-wing former members founded the Fighters' List to represent their cause in the 1949 elections. The list was headed by

Natan Yellin-Mor Nathan Yellin-Mor ( he, נתן ילין-מור, Nathan Friedman-Yellin; 28 June 1913 – 18 February 1980) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Lehi leader and Israeli politician. In later years, he became a leader of the Israeli peace camp, a ...

, the former leader of Lehi, who at the time was in jail serving an eight-year sentence for leadership of Lehi, which had been outlawed and declared a terrorist organization. The party's election platform demanded the continuation of the war against

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to establish Jewish sovereignty on both sides of the Jordan River. The party won only 5,363 votes (1.22% of the total) and one seat in the first Knesset, and Yellin-Mor was released from prison as part of a general amnesty to take up his seat. During the period of Yellin-Mor's term in the Knesset, the Fighters' List suffered severe internal divisions. Yellin-Mor pressed strongly for a pro-Soviet orientation and called for the establishment of a socialist regime and classless society. The vehement opposition of the former Lehi leader Yisrael Eldad, who accused Yellin-Mor of betraying the memory of Lehi's founder

Yair Stern Avraham Stern ( he, אברהם שטרן, ''Avraham Shtern''), alias Yair ( he, יאיר; December 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942) was one of the leaders of the Jewish paramilitary organization Irgun. In September 1940, he founded a breakaway m ...

, led to his expulsion from the party. Only the Fighters' List supported

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

's motion of no confidence concerning the armistice agreements, and it was soundly defeated. The party did not compete in the 1951 elections.

References

External links

Fighters List
Knesset website
Reshimat HaLochamim (The Fighters' List)
National Library of Israel {{Authority control Defunct political parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Lehi (militant group)