La'am ( he, לע"ם, lit. ''For the Nation''), acronym of Likud Avoda Mamlakhtit was a political faction in

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 ...

that formed part of

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 ...

between 1976 and 1984.

History

Between its formation in 1973 and formal merger in 1988, Likud consisted of an alliance of several right wing parties. The two largest blocs were

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 ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, which had formed the

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 ...

alliance between 1965 and 1973. In 1973 the two parties were joined by the

Free Centre The Free Centre ( he, המרכז החופשי, ''HaMerkaz HaHofshi'') was a political party in Israel. It is one of the forerunners of the modern-day Likud. History The party was created on 29 March 1967 during the sixth Knesset when Shmuel Tami ...

, the

Independent Centre The Independent Centre ( he, המרכז העצמאי, ''HaMerkaz HaAtzma'i'') was a political faction in Israel between 1975 and 1976. History The faction was established by Eliezer Shostak and Ehud Olmert after they broke away from the Free Ce ...

(a breakaway from the

), the National List and the

Movement for Greater Israel The Movement for Greater Israel ( he, התנועה למען ארץ ישראל השלמה, ''HaTenu'a Lema'an Eretz Yisrael HaSheleima'', officially called themselves in English ''Land of Israel Movement'') was a political organisation in Israel du ...

. In 1976, the latter three formed an alliance within the Likud bloc, named La'am, which consisted of eight of Likud's 39 seats. In the 1977 elections La'am remained at eight seats, with Likud growing to 43. On 15 May 1979,

Moshe Shamir Moshe Shamir ( he, משה שמיר; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure. He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film '' He Walked Through the Fields'' was based. Biogr ...

, the Movement for Greater Israel representative, left Likud to sit as an independent,Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups
Knesset website later establishing

Tehiya Tehiya ( he, תחיה, ''Revival''), originally known as Banai (Hebrew: , an acronym for ''Land of Israel Loyalists' Alliance'' (Hebrew: )), then Tehiya-Bnai (Hebrew: ), was an ultranationalist political party in Israel. The party existed from ...

with

Geula Cohen Geulah Cohen (; 25 December 1925 – 18 December 2019) was an Israeli politician and activist who founded the Tehiya party. She won the Israel Prize in 2003. Between 1974 and 1992, she served as a member of Knesset, initially for Likud. She chan ...

. On 26 January 1981 three of its members,

Yigal Hurvitz Yigal Hurvitz ( he, יִגָּאֵל הורביץ; 15 October 1918 – 10 January 1994) was an Israeli politician who served as a government minister in the late 1970s and 1980s. Biography Hurvitz was born in Nahlat Yehuda (today part of Rishon ...

Zalman Shoval Zalman Shoval ( he, זלמן שובל, born 28 April 1930) is an Israeli banker, politician and diplomat. He is also active in Israel's economic life. He was the Israeli ambassador to the United States in the years 1990–1993 and 1998–2000, a ...

and Yitzhak Peretz, left Likud to re-establish the National List as an independent party. Hurvitz and Shoval left to form

Telem Telem can be any of the following: *In the Hebrew Bible: **a porter of the temple in the time of Ezra (10:24). **a town in the southern border of Judah (Josh. 15:24); probably the same as Telaim. * Telem (1981 political party), a former political p ...

, whilst Peretz returned to Likud and La'am. La'am was reduced to five seats from Likud's 48 in the June 1981 elections, following disputes within Likud about the number of seats allocated to each faction in which many Herut members felt the Liberal Party and La'am were over-represented.Israel's Eleventh Knesset elections
p89 On 26 October 1982 it was reduced to three seats as

Amnon Linn Amnon Linn ( he, אמנון לין; 29 March 1924 – 21 July 2016) was an Israeli politician. Biography Linn was born in Mishmar HaEmek to Hava and David (Dodia) Linn. He became a member of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement in 1940, and in 1 ...

and Peretz defected to 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 ...

. However, it gained an extra MK when

Avraham Hirschson Avraham Hirschson ( he, אברהם הירשזון; 11 February 1941 – 7 March 2022) was an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Likud and Kadima between 1981 and 1984, and again from 1992 until 2009. He also held the po ...

replaced Liberal faction member

Simha Erlich Simha Erlich ( he, שמחה ארליך, 15 December 1915https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1983/06/21/mort-de-m-simha-erlich-president-du-parti-liberal-et-vice-premier-ministre-la-derniere-colombe-du-cabinet-begin_3076910_1819218.html – 19 ...

. In 1984, as part of a move to consolidate Likud, La'am merged into Herut. Four years later the Liberal Party and Herut formally merged to leave Likud as a unitary party.

Knesset members

References

{{Israeli political parties Political parties established in 1976 Political parties disestablished in 1984 Defunct political parties in Israel