The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
and
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
political party in Israel
Israel's political system is based on proportional representation and allows for a multi-party system with numerous parties represented in the 120-seat Knesset.
A typical Knesset includes many factions represented. This is because of the low el ...
. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of
Mapai
Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...
,
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...
, and
Rafi. Until 1977, all Israeli Prime Ministers were affiliated with the Labor movement. The current party leader is
Merav Michaeli
Merav Michaeli ( he, מֵרַב מִיכָאֵלִי, translit=Mērav Mīxāʾēlī; born 24 November 1966) is an Israeli politician, journalist, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently the leader of the Israeli La ...
, who
was elected in January 2021.
The Labor Party is associated with supporting the
Israeli–Palestinian peace process
The Israeli–Palestinian peace process refers to the intermittent discussions held by various parties and proposals put forward in an attempt to resolve the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Since the 1970s, there has been a parallel ef ...
, pragmatic foreign affairs policies and social-democratic economic policies. The party is a member of the
Progressive Alliance
The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of social democratic and progressive political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Social ...
and is an observer member of the
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
. The party was also a member of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
until May 2020.
History
Dominant political party 1968–1977
![Havoda (1977-1992)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Havoda_%281977-1992%29.png)
The foundations for the formation of the Israeli Labor Party were laid shortly before the
1965 Knesset elections when
Mapai
Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...
, the largest left-wing party in the country and the dominant partner in every government since
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, formed an alliance with
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...
. Mapai's
Arab satellite lists
The Arab satellite lists, Arab lists, or satellite parties were Israeli Arab Bloc party (politics), satellite parties formed for the purposes of electoral support of Mapai (and later the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party), and other Zionist partie ...
followed the merger. The alliance was an attempt by Mapai to shore up the party's share of the vote following a break-away of eight MKs (around a fifth of Mapai's Knesset faction) led by former Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...
to form a new party,
Rafi, in protest against Mapai's failure to approve a change to the country's proportional representation
electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...
.
The alliance, called the
Labor Alignment won 45 seats in the elections, and was able to form the government in coalition with 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 ...
,
Mapam
Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.
History
Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...
, the
Independent Liberals,
Poalei Agudat Yisrael
Poalei Agudat Yisrael ( he, פועלי אגודת ישראל, , Agudat Yisrael Workers) was a trade union and Jewish political party in Poland and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym (Hebrew: o ...
,
Progress and Development
Progress and Development ( he, קידמה ופיתוח, ''Kidma VePituah''; ar, تقدم وتطور) was an Arab satellite list in Israel.
History
Progress and Development was established in 1959, drawing its support from the Galilee area. Like ...
and
Cooperation and Brotherhood
Cooperation and Brotherhood ( he, שיתוף ואחווה, ''Shituf VeAhva''; ar, مشاركة وأخوة) was an Arab satellite list in Israel.
History
Cooperation and Brotherhood was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to participate in the ...
. After the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
broke out, Rafi and
Gahal
Gahal ( he, גח"ל, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until ...
joined the coalition.
On 23 January 1968, Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (with the exception of Ben-Gurion, who formed the
National List in protest) merged into one body, creating the Israeli Labor Party. On 28 January 1969, the party allied itself with Mapam, the alliance becoming known as the
Alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Structu ...
.
As the largest faction within the Alignment, Labor came to dominate it. Mapam left during the
eighth Knesset, but rejoined shortly afterwards.
During the 1970s, the welfare state was expanded under successive Labor governments, with increases in pension benefits and the creation of new social security schemes such as disability insurance and unemployment insurance in 1970, children's insurance in 1975, vacation pay for adopting parents in 1976, a Family Allowance for Veterans in 1970, a benefit for Prisoners of Zion in 1973, and a mobility benefit and a Volunteers' Rights benefit in 1975. During 1975–76, a modest program of housing rehabilitation was launched in a dozen or so older neighbourhoods, while the Sick Leave Compensation Law of 1976 provided for compensation in cases when employees were absent from work because of illness.
Opposition and comeback 1977–2001
![Havoda (2016)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Havoda_%282016%29.png)
In the
1977 elections, Labor ended up in opposition for the first time. In the
1984 elections, Labor joined a national unity government with
Likud
Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...
, with the post of Prime Minister rotating between the two parties.
Mapam broke away again during the eleventh Knesset, angry at
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
's decision to form a national unity government with Likud. Although the Independent Liberals merged into the Alignment in the 1980s, they had no Knesset representation at the time.
On 7 October 1991, the Alignment ceased to exist, with all factions formally merged into the Labor Party. At this time, the Likud government faced numerous problems, such as economic problems, the challenge of assimilating a large influx of immigrants from the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, serious tensions with the American government led by President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
and internal division. Led by
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
, Labor won the
1992 elections and formed the government, together with
Meretz and
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 ...
. In domestic policy, the Labor-led government introduced various measures to improve levels of social protection. Better provisions were introduced for single parents and people with disabilities, while income support entitlements were liberalised.
The 1994 Law to Reduce Poverty and Income Inequality (which was extended a year later) increased income maintenance grants to needy families, particularly benefitting those sections of society most vulnerable to poverty. In 1995, a national health insurance policy was implemented, making access to health care a right for all Israelis.
Various measures were also introduced to bring greater progressivity into the system of collection of national insurance contributions. A maternity grant for adopting mothers was introduced, together with old-age insurance for housewives, a minimum unemployment allowance, and a partial injury allowance. In addition, investments were made in numerous development projects while affirmative action programmes were launched to hire Palestinian citizens in the public sector, the Ministry of Interior increased the budgets for Arab local councils, and the Ministry of Education increased the budget for Arab education.
The subsequent role of Labor became to a large extent tied to the Oslo Accords, based on the principle "land for peace". The
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; led to a vote of confidence, which the Government won with a margin of 61–50 (8 abstained). Several MKs from the Government parties declined to support the Government, but on the other hand, the Arab parties came to its rescue. Due to the lack of a constitution in Israel, the Government was able to implement the accords with a thin margin.
Rabin's decision to advance peace talks with the Palestinians to the point of signing the
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; led to his
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
by
Yigal Amir
Yigal Amir ( he, יגאל עמיר; born May 31, 1970) is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated former Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. At the time of the assassination he was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. The assas ...
in 1995. Peres decided to call early elections in 1996 to give him a mandate for advancing the peace process. However, his ploy failed; although Labor won the most seats in the
Knesset election, he lost to the
election for Prime Minister to
Benjamin 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 ...
following a wave of
suicide bombing
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
s by
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
. Netanyahu and Likud were thus able to form the government.
With his coalition falling apart, Netanyahu decided to call early elections in 1999.
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
won the internal primaries, and was nominated as the Labor candidate for Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the party entered an electoral alliance with
Meimad
Meimad ( he, מימד, an acronym for ''Medina Yehudit, Medina Demokratit'' (), lit., ''Jewish State, Democratic State'') is a moderate to left-wing religious Zionist political party in Israel. Founded in 1999, it is based on the ideology of the ...
and
Gesher called
One Israel
One Israel ( he, ישראל אחת, ''Yisrael Ahat'') was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.
Background
One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 199 ...
. Barak won the
Prime Minister election, whilst One Israel won the
Knesset elections, albeit with only 26 seats.
Barak started by forming a 75-member coalition, together with
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,
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 ...
, 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
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism ( he, יהדות התורה, ''Yahadut HaTora''), often referred to by its electoral symbol Gimel (), is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaT ...
. The coalition with religious parties (NRP, Shas, and UTJ) caused tensions with the
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
Meretz, who quit the coalition after a disagreement with Shas over the authority of the Deputy Education Minister. The rest of the parties left before the
Camp David 2000 summit
The 2000 Camp David Summit was a summit meeting at Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, ...
.
Decline since 2001
Following the
October 2000 riots and the violence of the
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
, Barak resigned from office. He then lost a
special election for Prime Minister to
Likud
Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...
's
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
. However, Labor remained in Sharon's coalition as he formed a
national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
with Likud, Labor, Shas, Yisrael BaAliyah and United Torah Judaism, and were given two of the most important cabinet portfolios; Peres was appointed
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
and
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was made
Defense Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. Labor supported
Operation Defensive Shield, which was conducted in April 2002 against Palestinians in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. After harsh criticism that Peres and Ben-Elizer were "puppets" of Sharon and not promoting the peace process, Labor quit the government in 2003.
Prior to the
2003 elections,
Amram Mitzna
Amram Mitzna ( he, עמרם מצנע, born 20 February 1945) is an Israeli politician and former general in the IDF. He is a former mayor of Haifa (1993–2003) and Yeruham (2005–2010) and led the Labor Party from 2002 to 2003. In 2012 he joine ...
won the party primaries, and led the party into the election with a platform that included unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The party was routed in the elections, winning only 19 seats, whilst Sharon's Likud won 38 (40 after
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 ...
merged into the party). Subsequently, due to internal opposition, Mitzna resigned from the party leadership, and soon afterwards was replaced by Shimon Peres.
Sharon invited Labor into the coalition to shore up support for the
disengagement plan (effectively Mitzna's policy which he had earlier lambasted) after the
National Union and 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 ...
had left the government.
On 8 November 2005, Shimon Peres was replaced as the leader of the Labor party by the election of left-wing Histadrut union leader
Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...
in an internal Labor party ballot. Critics of Labor have argued that, over the years, the party had abandoned its
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
heritage in favor of economic and business elites, and had passed the mantle of custodian of the underprivileged to right-wing and religious parties.
Peretz stated his intention to reassert Labor's traditional socialist policies, and took the party out of the government. This prompted Sharon to resign and call for new
elections in March 2006. Prior to the election, the political map had been redrawn, as Sharon and the majority of Likud's MKs, together with a number of Labor MKs, including Shimon Peres, and some from other parties, had formed the new political party
Kadima
Kadima ( he, קדימה, lit=''Forward'') was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan ...
. In the elections Labor won 19 seats, making it the second largest party after Kadima. It joined
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...
's Kadima-led government, with Peretz appointed Defense Minister. Labor's main coalition demand and campaign promise was raising the minimum wage.
On 28 May 2007, a
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
resulted in Ehud Barak and Ami Ayalon defeating Peretz who was pushed into third place. In the
run-off election
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...
(required as neither Barak nor Ayalon received over 40% of the vote), Barak was re-elected as party chairman. Despite stating that he would withdraw the party from the government unless Olmert resigned, Barak remained in government and took over as Defense Minister.
Prior to the
2009 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2009.
* Electoral calendar 2009
* 2009 United Nations Security Council election
Caribbean
* 2009 Antiguan general election
* 2009 Aruban general election
* 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...
Labor and Meimad ended their alliance, with Meimad ultimately running a joint list with the
Green Movement
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...
(which did not pass the electoral threshold). Several prominent members left the party, including
Ami Ayalon
Ami Ayalon ( he, עמיחי "עמי" איילון, born 27 June 1945) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of the ...
, and
Efraim Sneh
Efraim Sneh ( he, אפרים סנה, born 19 September 1944) is an Israeli politician, physician, and a retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces. He was a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 1992 and 2008 and served ...
(who formed
Yisrael Hazaka
Israel has numerous minor political parties. Under the proportional representation electoral system used to elect members of the Knesset, parties required only 1% of the vote to win a seat in the legislature until the 1992 elections, when the elec ...
). In the elections, Labor was reduced to just 13 seats, making it the fourth largest party behind Kadima, Likud and
Yisrael Beiteinu
Yisrael Beiteinu ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּיתֵנוּ, russian: Наш Дом Израиль, lit. ''Israel Our Home'') is a secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel. The party's base was originally secular Russia ...
.
Analysing the downfall of the once dominant political party in Israel, Efraim Inbar of the
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies points to several factors. By forfeiting identification with the establishment and building of the State of Israel, symbolised by a predilection for military service and by the settling of the land of Israel, Labor lost its most important asset.
Deserting the Zionist symbol of Jerusalem, by showing willingness to cede part of it to the Palestinians was an ill-fated move. Their association with the
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; meant that they could not avoid being discredited by its failure. Demographic factors have worked against Labor, as the growing
Sefardi
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
population, as well as the recent Russian-Jewish immigrants, have largely voted for other parties. Attempts to gain the support of the
Israeli Arab
The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
voters have damaged the image of the party, and yielded no harvest.
[
]
On 17 January 2011, disillusionment with party leader Ehud Barak, over his support for coalition policies, especially regarding the peace process, led to Barak's resignation from the Labor Party with four other Knesset members to establish a new "centrist, Zionist and democratic" party, Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. Following this move, all Labor Party government ministers resigned.
Two days after the split, a group of prominent members of Israel's business, technology, and cultural communities including Jerusalem Venture Partners
Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) is an international Venture capital in Israel, venture capital firm founded in 1993. The fund specializes in investments in Startup company, startup companies, focusing on digital media, enterprise software, semic ...
founder Erel Margalit
Erel Margalit ( he, אראל מרגלית; born 1 January 1961) is an Israeli high-tech and social entrepreneur. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Jerusalem-based venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and the founder ...
founded the "Avoda Now" movement calling for a revival of the Labor Party. The movement launched a public campaign calling the people to support the Labor Party, with the aim of renewing its institutions, restore its social values, and choose new dynamic leadership.
Shelly Yachimovich
Shelly Rachel Yachimovich ( he, שלי רחל יחימוביץ׳, born 28 March 1960) is an Israeli politician, who served three terms as the official Leader of the Opposition, a member of the Knesset, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defe ...
was elected leader in 2011 saying "I promise that we will work together. This is just the beginning of a new start for Israeli society." She was congratulated by many in the party including her one-time rival Amir Peretz. Yachimovich was replaced as leader by Isaac Herzog
Isaac "Bougie" Herzog ( he, יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving as the 11th president of Israel since 2021. He is the first president to be born in ...
in 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
.
In the 2013 legislative election held on 22 January 2013, Labor received 11.39% of the national vote,
winning 15 seats.
On 10 December 2014, party leader Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni
Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...
, leader and founder of the Hatnuah
Hatnua ( he, הַתְּנוּעָה, lit=''The Movement'') was a liberal political party in Israel formed by former Israeli Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni to present an alternative to voters frustrated by the stalemate in ...
party, announced an electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...
to contest the upcoming legislative election. In the 2015 legislative election on 7 March 2015, the joint list Zionist Union
The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party ...
received 24 seats in the Knesset, of which 19 belong to the Labor Party. Both parties remained independent parties while both represented by the ''Zionist Union'' faction in the Knesset. The partnership continued after Avi Gabbay was elected chairman of the party on 10 July 2017, until 1 January 2019, when Gabbay announced the dissolution of the union unilaterally.
On 10 July 2018, the Labor Party suspended its membership of the Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
after the international adopted a policy of BDS towards Israel.
Labor's support collapsed in the April 2019 legislative election, being reduced to only 4,43% of votes and 6 seats, marking it as the worst result in the party's history. Anger at Gabbay intensified, with poor election results, and negotiating with the right to join a Netanyahu led government. Longtime party member Peretz criticized Gabbay, tweeting "We will not enter or sit in his etanyahugovernment. Every other option is a violation of everything we promised to the public" Gabbay resigned in June.
In July 2019, Amir Peretz was elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
as the new leader of the Labor party. A few weeks later, on 18 July 2019, ahead of the September 2019 election, Amir Peretz merged the party with the Gesher party, giving Gesher multiple spots on Labor's candidate list.
On 12 January 2020, Labor announced that it was negotiating a joint list with Meretz to prevent the possibility of either party not making the electoral threshold and not entering the Knesset. Labor and Meretz announced a joint run on 13 January 2020, with the Labor party central committee voting in favor of ratification of the alliance the following day. Meretz approved the alliance on 14 January. The alliance submitted its list on 15 January under the name Labor-Gesher-Meretz.
In March 2020, Gesher's only MK Orly Levy
Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris.
The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius".
Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the com ...
announced that she was splitting from the union due to their support of Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel sin ...
's efforts to set up a minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
with the Joint List
The Joint List ( ar, القائمة المشتركة, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', he, הָרְשִׁימָה הַמְּשֻׁתֶּפֶת, ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority politi ...
, with him as Prime Minister. Gantz later abandoned that effort and instead joined a "national unity coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
government" headed by Benjamin 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 ...
. After repeatedly promising not to join a government headed by Netanyahu, Peretz decided to bring Labor into that coalition headed by Netanyahu to "promote social justice" along with Gantz.
On 22 April 2020, it was announced that Labor Party leader Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...
would serve as Israel's Economic Minister as a result of a coalition agreement which was made following the 2020 Israeli legislative election and will coordinate with Blue and White on parliamentary matters and policy issues. Despite agreeing to join the new government, Peretz also stated that he and other Labor MKs will still vote against a proposed West Bank annexation plan. On 26 April 2020, 64.2% of the Labor Party's 3,840 central committee members approved of Peretz's decision to join the new government. During the coalition talks, the party was under negotiations with Blue and White to implement a merger. On 17 May 2020, Peretz was officially sworn in at the new Israeli economic minister. Labor member Itzik Shmuli also joined the Israeli government after being sworn in as Israel's Minister of Welfare.[
Peretz decided to not run for re-election in the 2021 election and also resigned as leader. In the consequent ]leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
, Merav Michaeli
Merav Michaeli ( he, מֵרַב מִיכָאֵלִי, translit=Mērav Mīxāʾēlī; born 24 November 1966) is an Israeli politician, journalist, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently the leader of the Israeli La ...
(who did not join the Netanyahu government) was elected leader. Labor, which was struggling to cross the threshold in polls taken before Michaeli became leader, increased their share of seats to 7. The party subsequently joined the new government. Michaeli was re-elected leader ahead of the 2022 election. This was the first time the party re-elected its leader since primaries were held starting in 1992. In the 2022 elections the party was reduced to four seats.
Political principles
Past
Mapai evolved from the socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
Poale Zion
Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...
movement and adhered to the Socialist Zionist
Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...
ideology promulgated by Nahum Syrkin and Ber Borochov. Under Ben-Gurion's leadership (1930–1954), Mapai focused mainly on a Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
agenda, as establishing a homeland for the Jewish people
A homeland for the Jewish people is an idea rooted in Jewish history, religion, and culture. The Jewish aspiration to return to Zion, generally associated with divine redemption, has suffused Jewish religious thought since the destruction o ...
was seen as the most urgent issue.
After the founding of the state of 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 ...
, Mapai engaged in nation building—the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(while dismantling every other armed group), the establishment of many settlements, the settling of more than 1,000,000 Jewish immigrants and the desire to unite all the inhabitants of Israel under a new Zionist Jewish Israeli culture (an ideology known as the "Melting pot
The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...
" כור היתוך).
Labor in the past was more hawkish
In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...
on security and defense issues than it is now. During its years in office, Israel fought the 1956 Sinai War, the Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
and the Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
.
Current
While originally a democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
party, Labor has evolved into a programme that supports a mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economi ...
with strong social welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...
programmes. In November 2005, Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...
, leader of the social-democratic One Nation which had merged into Labor after a split in 1999, was elected chairman of the party, defeating Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
. Under Peretz, especially in the 2006 electoral campaign, the party took a significant ideological turn, putting social and economic issues on top of its agenda, and advocating a social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
approach (including increases in minimum wage and social security payments), in sharp contrast to the economically liberal
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalis ...
policies led by former Finance Minister Benjamin 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 ...
.
In the post–Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era, the party's foreign policy retains a strong orientation toward the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(especially the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
), and its security policy maintains that a permanent peace with the Palestinians can only be based on agreements that are enforceable. Labor supports a two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...
and the creation of an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state.
On social issues, Labor supports same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
, the legalisation of cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
, advancing surrogacy rights for gay couples and limited public transportation on Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
.
Labor is committed to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state
"Jewish and democratic state" is the Israeli legal definition of the nature and character of the State of Israel. The "Jewish" nature was first defined within the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948 (see Jewish state and Jewish homela ...
. It believes in maintaining a strong defense force and also supports the promotion of individual human rights. It supports most Supreme Court decisions on the latter issue, as well as the adoption of a written constitution that would entrench human rights.[ The party opposed the Nation State Bill in 2018, and since its passing has pledged to adding a clause emphasising equality for all citizens.]
Party leaders
Leadership election process
The rules adopted in 1963 by the preceding Mapai party for electing leaders saw the party's leader elected by a vote of its Central Committee. This initially remained the case with the Labor Party when it succeeded Mapai. Beginning with the 1977 leadership election, the party shifted to electing its leaders by a vote of the party's convention delegates. Following Rabin's resignation, only months after the February 1977 leadership election, the party opted against holding another convention vote, and instead selected Peres as its new leader by a vote of its Central Committee. A vote of convention delegates was again used in the 1980 leadership election.
At the party's 5th convention, rule change was adopted which shifted the election of party leaders to a vote of the party's general membership. As a result, since 1992, Labor Party leaders have been through party membership votes, with excepting circumstances. Excepting circumstances arose after the November 1995 assassination of Rabin, which saw the a vote of the party's Central Committee used to install Peres as the party's new leader. Excepting circumstances again arose in 2003, when an internal vote of the party's Central Committee was used to select Shimon Peres to serve as they party's interim leader until a later vote for a new permanent leader.
Other prominent members
Prominent former members include:
Election results
Knesset
Prime Minister
Current MKs
See also
* Israeli Labor Party primaries Since the 1992 Israeli legislative election, the Israeli Labor Party has selected its party lists through primary elections in which party members are eligible to participate. This has been the case in all elections since 1992, with the exceptions o ...
References
External links
*
Israel Labor Party
Knesset website
Labor-Meimad
Knesset website
Unofficial Labor Forum website
The Dangerous Lives of Doves in Israel
By Kevin Peraino , ''NEWSWEEK'' Published 10 January 2009 From the magazine issue dated 19 January 2009
{{Authority control
1968 establishments in Israel
Centre-left parties in Asia
Political parties in Israel
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 ...
Left-wing nationalist parties
Parties related to the Party of European Socialists
Political parties established in 1968
Progressive Alliance
Social democratic parties in Israel
Zionist political parties in Israel
Labor Zionism