Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major
centre-right to
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
political party 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 ...
.
It was founded in 1973 by
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
and
Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing parties. Likud's landslide victory in the
1977 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1977.
Africa
* 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election
* 1977 Algerian legislative election
* 1977 Gambian general election
* 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election
* 1977 Malagasy ...
was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. In addition, it was the first time in Israel that a right-wing party won the plurality of the votes.
After ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the
Knesset election in 1992. Likud's candidate
Benjamin Netanyahu won the vote for
Prime Minister in
1996 and was given the task of forming a government after the
1996 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1996.
* 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election
* 1996 Beninese presidential election
* 1996 Comorian presidential election
* 1996 New Zealand general election
* 1996 Nicaraguan general electio ...
. Netanyahu's government fell apart after a vote of no confidence, which led to elections being called in
1999 and Likud losing power to the
One Israel coalition led by
Ehud Barak.
In 2001, Likud's
Ariel Sharon, who replaced Netanyahu following the 1999 election, defeated Barak in an
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
called by the Prime Minister following his resignation. After the party recorded a convincing win in the
2003 elections, Likud saw a major split in 2005 when Sharon left to form the
Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in the
2006 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2006.
* Elections in 2006
* Electoral calendar 2006
* 2006 Acehnese regional election
* 2006 American Samoan legislative election
* 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election
* 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...
and losing 28 seats in the Knesset. Following the
2009 elections, Likud was able to gain 15 seats, and, with Netanyahu back in control of the party, formed a coalition with fellow right-wing parties
Yisrael Beiteinu and
Shas to take control of the government from Kadima, which earned a plurality, but not a majority. Netanyahu served as prime minister from then until 2021. Likud had been the leading vote-getter in each subsequent election until
April 2019, when Likud tied with
Blue and White and
September 2019, when Blue and White won one more seat than the Likud. Likud won the most seats and votes at the
2020 and
2021 elections, but Netanyahu was removed from power in June 2021 by an unprecedented coalition led by
Yair Lapid and
Naftali Bennett.
A member of the party is called a
Likudnik
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 ...
( he, לִכּוּדְנִיק).
History
Formation and Begin years
The Likud was formed on 13 September 1973 as a
secular party
by an alliance of several right-wing parties prior to that year's
legislative election—
Herut, the
Liberal Party, the
Free Centre, the
National List
The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...
, and the
Movement for Greater Israel. Herut had been the nation's largest right-wing party since growing out of the
Irgun in 1948. It had already been in coalition with the Liberals since 1965 as
Gahal, with Herut as the senior partner. Herut remained the senior partner in the new grouping, which was given the name Likud, meaning "Consolidation", as it represented the consolidation of the Israeli right. It worked as a coalition under Herut's leadership until 1988, when the member parties merged into a single party under the Likud name. From its establishment in 1973, Likud enjoyed great support from blue-collar
Sephardim.
In its first election, the Likud won 39 seats, reducing the Alignment's lead to 12.
The party went on to win the
1977 election with 43 seats, finishing 11 seats ahead of the Alignment. Begin was able to form a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
with the support of the religious parties, consigning the left-wing to opposition for the first time since independence.
A former leader of the hard-line paramilitary
Irgun,
Begin signed the 1978
Camp David Accords[Camp David Accords – Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs](_blank)
and the 1979
Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
In the
1981 election, the Likud won 48 seats, but formed a
narrower government than in 1977.
Likud has long been a loose alliance between politicians committed to different and sometimes opposing policy preferences and ideologies.
The 1981 election highlighted divisions that existed between the populist wing of Likud, headed by
David Levy of Herut, and the Liberal wing, who represented a policy agenda of the secular bourgeoisie.
Shamir, Netanyahu's first term, and Sharon
On 28 August 1983, Begin announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. He was replaced by
Yitzhak Shamir, a former commander of the
Lehi
Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...
underground, who defeated
Deputy Prime Minister David Levy in a
leadership election held by Herut's central committee. Shamir was seen as a hard-liner, who opposed the Camp David accords and
Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. The party won 41 seats in the
1984 election, less than the Alignment's 44. The Alignment was unable to form a government on its own, leading to the formation of a
rotation government, led jointly by the Alignment and Likud.
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 ...
became the Prime Minister, with Shamir becoming the
Foreign Minister. In October of 1986, the two switched posts. The Likud won the
1988 election, defeating the Alignment by a one-seat Margin. The two parties formed
another government, in which Shamir served as Prime Minister without a rotation. In 1990, Peres withdrew from the government and led a successful
vote of no-confidence against it,
in what became known as
the dirty trick. Shamir formed
a new government with right-wing parties, which served until the
1992 election, in which the Likud was defeated by
Yitzhak Rabin's
Labor Party.
Shamir stepped down as Likud leader after losing the election in March of 1993. To replace him, the party held its
first primary election,
in which former
United Nations Ambassador
A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United N ...
Benjamin Netanyahu defeated
David Levy,
Benny Begin and
Moshe Katsav, becoming the
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. In 1995, Following the
assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, his temporary successor, decided to call early elections in order to give the government a mandate to advance the peace process. The
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
was held in May of 1996, and included a direct vote for the Prime Minister in which Netanyahu narrowly defeated Peres, becoming the new Prime Minister.
In 1998, Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to cede territory in the
Wye River Memorandum. While accepted by many in the Likud, some Likud MKs, led by
Benny Begin (Menachem Begin's son),
Michael Kleiner and
David Re'em, broke away and formed a new party, named
Herut – The National Movement, in protest. Yitzhak Shamir (who had expressed harsh disappointment in Netanyahu's leadership), gave the new party his support. Less than a year afterward, Netanyahu's coalition collapsed, resulting in the
1999 election and Labor's
Ehud Barak winning the premiership on a platform of immediate settlement of final status issues. Likud spent 1999–2001 on the opposition benches.
Barak's "all-or-nothing" strategy failed, however, and
early elections for Prime Minister were called for March 2001. Surprisingly, Netanyahu declined to be the Likud candidate for Prime Minister, meaning that the fourth Likud premier would be Ariel Sharon. Sharon, unlike past Likud leaders, had been raised in a Labor Zionist environment and had long been seen as something of a maverick. In the face 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. ...
, Sharon pursued a varied set of policies, many of which were controversial even within the Likud. The final split came when Sharon announced his policy of
unilateral disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. The idea proved extremely divisive within the party.
Kadima split
Sharon's perceived shift to the political centre, especially in his execution of the
Disengagement Plan, alienated him from some Likud supporters and fragmented the party. He faced several serious challenges to his authority shortly before his departure. The first was in March 2005, when he and Netanyahu proposed a budget plan that met fierce opposition, though it was eventually approved. The second was in September 2005, when Sharon's critics in Likud forced a vote on a proposal for an early leadership election, which was defeated by 52% to 48%. In October, Sharon's opponents within the Likud Knesset faction joined with the opposition to prevent the appointment of two of his associates to the Cabinet, demonstrating that Sharon had effectively lost control of the Knesset and that the 2006 budget was unlikely to pass.
The next month,
Labor announced its withdrawal from Sharon's governing coalition following the election of the left-wing
Amir Peretz as its leader. On 21 November 2005, Sharon announced he would be leaving Likud and forming a new centrist party,
Kadima. The new party included both Likud and Labor supporters of unilateral disengagement. Sharon also announced that elections would take place in early 2006. As of 21 November seven candidates had declared themselves as contenders to replace Sharon as leader: Netanyahu,
Uzi Landau,
Shaul Mofaz,
Yisrael Katz,
Silvan Shalom and
Moshe Feiglin. Landau and Mofaz later withdrew, the former in favour of Netanyahu and the latter to join Kadima.
Netanyahu's second term
Netanyahu went on to win a
leadership election in December, obtaining 44.4% of the vote. Shalom came in a second with 33%, leading Netanyahu to guarantee him second place on the party's list of Knesset candidates. Shalom's perceived moderation on social and foreign-policy issues were considered to be an electoral asset. Observers noted that voter turnout in the elections was particularly low in comparison with past primaries, with less than 40 percent of the 128,000 party members casting ballots. There was much media focus on far-right candidate
Moshe Feiglin achieving 12.4% of votes.
The founding of Kadima was a major challenge to the Likud's generation-long status as one of Israel's two major parties. Sharon's perceived centrist policies have drawn considerable popular support as reflected by public opinion polls. The Likud is now led by figures who oppose further unilateral evacuations, and its standing in the polls has suffered. After the founding of Kadima, Likud came to be seen as having more of a right-wing tendency than a moderate centre-right one. However, there exist several parties in the Knesset even more right-wing than the post-Ariel Sharon Likud.
Prior to the
2006 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2006.
* Elections in 2006
* Electoral calendar 2006
* 2006 Acehnese regional election
* 2006 American Samoan legislative election
* 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election
* 2006 Costa Rican presidential ...
, the party's Central Committee relinquished control of selecting the Knesset list to the "rank and file" members at Netanyahu's behest. The aim was to improve the party's reputation, as the central committee had gained a reputation for corruption.
In the election, the Likud vote collapsed in the face of the Kadima split. Other right-wing nationalist parties such as
Yisrael Beiteinu gained votes, with Likud coming only fourth place in the popular vote, edging out Yisrael Beiteinu by only 116 votes. With only twelve seats, Likud was tied with the
Shas for the status of third-largest party.
In the
2009 Israeli legislative election, Likud won 27 seats, a close second-place finish to Kadima's 28 seats, and leading the other parties. After more than a month of coalition negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu was able to form a government and become Prime Minister.
"
Pride in the Likud
Likud Pride ( he, גאווה בליכוד, Ga'ava BaLikud) is a conservative LGBT organization founded in 2011 and linked to the Israeli right-wing Likud party. The group's chairman, who is also one of its founders, is Amir Ohana; he was design ...
", a political advocacy group of
LGBT conservatives affiliated with the party, was founded in 2011. Following the appointment of
Amir Ohana as the Likud's first openly gay member in the
Knesset, in December 2015, Netanyahu said he was "proud" to welcome him into parliament.
A
leadership election was held on 31 January 2012, with Netanyahu defeating Feiglin.
Partnership with Yisrael Beiteinu
On 25 October 2012, Netanyahu and
Avigdor Lieberman announced that their respective political parties, Likud and
Yisrael Beiteinu, would run together on a single ballot in Israel's
2013 parliamentary election. "A joining of forces will give us the strength to defend Israel from military threats, and the strength to spearhead social and economic changes in the country", Netanyahu said. In January 2013, Lieberman said the Yisrael Beitinu merge with the Likud party will end within one month of the election.
The Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu merger led to speculation that Lieberman would eventually seek the leadership of Likud. "Every soldier must strive to be chief of staff, just as every politician wants, eventually, to stand at the top of the system. I'm not obsessed with this, but that is my goal", Lieberman said.
In the 2013 election, the Likud-Yisrael Beiteninu alliance won 31 seats, 20 of which were Likud members. Netanyahu continued as Prime Minister after forming a coalition with
Yesh Atid,
the Jewish Home and
Hatnuah.
The electoral alliance was unpopular among both Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu. In November 2013, it was reported that both parties would be holding discussions on whether to end their partnership. According to ''
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
,'' "the alliance stoked anger among senior Likud politicians, both because of the historic change and the high price the party ostensibly paid...." Efforts by
Yisrael Beitenu to formally merge with Likud after the election were rebuffed by Likud activists who worried about the effect an influx of organized new power centers could have on their own influence in the ruling party.
2019–2022 elections
During the course of the
April 2019 Israeli legislative election
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.
April is commonly associated with ...
campaign, Likud facilitated the formation of the
Union of Right-Wing Parties
The Union of Right-wing Parties (, ''Ihud Miflagot HaYamin'') was a short-lived electoral alliance of right-wing to far-right religious Zionist parties which included The Jewish Home, Otzma Yehudit, and Tkuma. The list was created ahead of the ...
between the
Jewish Home,
Tkuma and
Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ' ...
by providing a slot on its own electoral list to Jewish Home candidate
Eli Ben-Dahan
Eliyahu Michael "Eli" Ben-Dahan ( he, אלי בן דהן, born 11 February 1954) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician. He most recently served as a member of the Knesset for Ahi and Deputy Minister of Defense. In that position, he was r ...
. In the aftermath of the election,
Kulanu merged into Likud.
During the
September 2019 Israeli legislative election
Snap legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 September 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 22nd Knesset. Following the previous elections in April, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition for a ...
campaign, Likud agreed to a deal with
Zehut, whereby the latter party would drop out of the election and endorse Likud in exchange for a ministerial post for its leader,
Moshe Feiglin, as well as policy concessions.
Prior to the
2020 Israeli legislative election,
Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Moshe Sa'ar ( he, גִּדְעוֹן סַעַר; born 9 December 1966) is an Israeli politician who has served as Minister of Justice since June 2021. Sa'ar was previously a member of the Knesset for the Likud between 2003 and 2014, as De ...
unsuccessfully challenged Netanyahu for the Likud leadership. In December of that year, Sa'ar left Likud, along with four other Likud MKs, to form
New Hope.
Prior to the
2021 Israeli legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 23 March 2021 to elect the 120 members of the 24th Knesset. It was the fourth election in two years. Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett announced that they had formed a rotation government on 2 June 20 ...
,
Gesher merged into Likud, receiving a slot on its electoral list. Likud also facilitated the formation of a joint list between the
Religious Zionist Party,
Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ' ...
and
Noam
Noam ( he, נועם) is a Hebrew name which means "pleasantness", and although it started as the male version of the female ''Na'omi'' (English: "Naomi" or "Noémie"), today, it is a very common Hebrew name for both males and females alike. The co ...
by providing the Religious Zionist Party a slot on the Likud list. On 14 June, after the swearing-in of the 36th government,
Ofir Sofer
Ofir Sofer (, born 1 August 1975) is an Israeli politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionist Party.
Sofer is a former IDF major and is considered a disabled veteran. Afterwards he worked at the Ministry for the ...
who held the slot, split from the Likud faction and returned to the Religious Zionist Party, decreasing the Likud faction by one to 29 seats in the Knesset.
Likud won the most seats in the
2022 Israeli legislative election
Ideological positions
Likud emphasizes national security policy based on a strong military force when threatened with continued enmity against Israel. It has shown reluctance to negotiate with its neighbors whom it believes continue to seek the destruction of the Jewish state, that based on the
principle of the party founder Menachem Begin concerning the preventive policy to any potential attacks on State of Israel. Its suspicion of neighboring Arab nations' intentions, however, has not prevented the party from reaching agreements with the Arabs, such as the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. Likud's willingness to enter mutually accepted agreements with the Arabs over the years is related to the formation of other right-wing parties. Like other right-wing parties in Israel, Likud politicians have sometimes criticized particular Supreme Court decisions, but it remains committed to rule of law principles that it hopes to entrench in a written constitution.
[
, the party remains divided between moderates and hard-liners.]
Likud is considered to be the leading party in the national camp in Israeli politics.
Platform
* The 1999 Likud Party platform emphasizes the right of settlement.
"The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting."
Similarly, they claim the Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
as the permanent eastern border to Israel and it also claims Jerusalem as belonging to Israel.
* The 'Peace & Security' chapter of the 1999 Likud Party platform rejects a Palestinian state.
"The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river. The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters of foreign affairs, security, immigration, and ecology, their activity shall be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel's existence, security and national needs."[
With Likud back in power, starting in 2009, ]Israeli foreign policy
Foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and other countries around the world. Israel has diplomatic ties . is still under review. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, in his "National Security" platform, neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea of a Palestinian state. "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land."
On 14 June 2009, Netanyahu delivered a speech at Bar-Ilan University (also known as "Bar-Ilan Speech"), at Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, that was broadcast live in Israel and across parts of the Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, on the topic of the Middle East peace process. He endorsed for the first time the creation of a Palestinian state
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (P ...
alongside Israel, with several conditions.
However, on 16 March 2015, Netanyahu stated in the affirmative, that if he were elected, a Palestinian state would not be created. Netanyahu argued, "anyone who goes to create today a Palestinian state and turns over land, is turning over land that will be used as a launching ground for attacks by Islamist extremists against the State of Israel." Some take these statements to mean that Netanyahu and Likud oppose a Palestinian state. After having been criticised by U.S. White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest for the "divisive rhetoric" of his election campaign, on 19 March 2015, Netanyahu retreated to "I don't want a one-state solution. I want a peaceful, sustainable two-state solution. I have not changed my policy."
The Likud Constitution of May 2014 is more vague and ambiguous. Though it contains commitments to the strengthening of Jewish settlement 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 ...
, it does not explicitly rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Economy
The Likud party claims to support a free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, pri ...
and liberal agenda, though, in practice, it has mostly adopted mixed economic policies. Under the guidance of Finance minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
and current party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud pushed through legislation reducing value added tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
(VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as customs duty
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
. Likewise, it has instituted free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...
(especially with the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
and 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
) and dismantled certain monopolies
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a spec ...
(Bezeq
Bezeq ( he, בזק) is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes).
History
Bezeq was fou ...
and the seaports). Additionally, it has privatize
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
d numerous government-owned companies, e. g., El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
and Bank Leumi
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Koloni ...
, and has moved to privatize land in Israel, which until now has been held symbolically by the state in the name of the Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
people. Netanyahu was the most ardent free-market Israeli finance minister to date. He argued that Israel's largest labor union, the Histadrut
Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...
, has so much power as to be capable of paralyzing the Israeli economy
The economy of Israel is a developed free-market economy. The prosperity of Israel's advanced economy allows the country to have a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful modern military said to possess a nuclear-weapons capability, modern in ...
, and claimed that the main causes of unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...
are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed." Under Netanyahu, Likud has and is likely to maintain a comparatively fiscally conservative economic stance. However, the party's economic policies vary widely among members, with some Likud MKs supporting more leftist economic positions that are more in line with popular preferences.
Palestinians
Likud has historically espoused opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of Israeli settlements
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
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 ...
and Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
. However, it has also been the party that carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
signed the Camp David Accords with Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
ian President Anwar al-Sadat
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
, which returned the Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a ...
(occupied by Israel in 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 ...
of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli Prime Minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's ...
James Baker
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...
) for the failure of the summit. On 14 June 2009, as Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which he endorsed a "Demilitarized Palestinian State", though said that Jerusalem must remain the unified capital of Israel.
In 2002, during 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. ...
, Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and refugee camps
A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...
in the West Bank. In 2005, Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza. Though re-elected Prime Minister on a platform of no unilateral withdrawals, Sharon carried out the Gaza disengagement plan, withdrawing from the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank. Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.
Sharon and the faction who supported his disengagement proposals left the Likud party after the disengagement and created the new Kadima party. This new party supported unilateral disengagement from most of the West Bank and the fixing of borders by the Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian co ...
. The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.
Netanyahu, who was elected as the new leader of Likud after Kadima's creation, and Silvan Shalom, the runner-up, both supported the disengagement plan; however, Netanyahu resigned his ministerial post before the plan was executed. Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.
Although settlement activity has continued under recent Likud governments, much of the activity outside the major settlement blocs has been to accommodate the Jewish Home, a coalition partner; support within Likud to build outside the blocs is not particularly strong.
In the 2019 election, Likud was widely criticized as a "racist party" after scaremongering anti-Arab rhetoric by its members as well as Netanyahu who claimed minority Arabs and Palestinians in Israel as "threats" and "enemies,".[Netanyahu Sparks Outrage Over Pact With Racist Party](_blank)
''New York Times''
Culture
Likud generally advocates free enterprise and nationalism, but it has sometimes compromised these ideals in practice, especially as its constituency has changed. Its support for populist economic programs are at odds with its free enterprise tradition, but are meant to serve its largely nationalistic, lower-income voters in small towns and urban neighborhoods.
On religion and state, Likud has a moderate stance, and supports the preservation of status quo. With time, the party has played into the traditional sympathies of its voter base, though the origins and ideology of Likud are secular. Religious parties have come to view it as a more comfortable coalition partner than Labor.
Likud promotes a revival of Jewish culture, in keeping with the principles of Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is an ideology developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who advocated a "revision" of the " practical Zionism" of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann which was focused on the settling of ''Eretz Yisrael'' ( Land of Israel) by indepen ...
. Likud emphasizes such Israeli nationalist themes as the use of the Israeli flag and the victory in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In July 2018, Likud lawmakers backed controversial Nation-State bill
Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People (), informally known as the Nation-State Bill () or the Nationality Bill, is an Israeli Basic Law which specifies the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish ...
into law which declaring Israel as 'nation-state of the Jewish people'.
Likud publicly endorses press freedom and promotion of private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
station Arutz Sheva
''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well a ...
("Channel 7"). Arutz Sheva was popular with the Jewish settler
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli set ...
movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective.
Historically, the Likud and its pre-1948 predecessor, the Revisionist movement advocated secular nationalism. However, the Likud's first prime minister and long-time leader Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
, though secular himself, cultivated a warm attitude to Jewish tradition and appreciation for traditionally religious Jews—especially from North Africa and the Middle East. This segment of the Israeli population first brought the Likud to power in 1977. Many Orthodox Israelis find the Likud a more congenial party than any other mainstream party, and in recent years also a large group of Haredim
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
, mostly modern Haredim, joined the party and established the Haredi faction in the Likud
Likud Haredi faction (HFL, he, המטה החרדי בליכוד), founded on 15 March 2011 in Bnei Brak, is a group of Likud party members affiliated with the Haredi sector. The goal of the faction is to influence Israeli Knesset members and min ...
.
Composition (1973–1988)
Leaders
Leader election process
During Begin's tenure as leader of Herut/Likud, his leadership was effectively unchallenged. From 1983 through 1992, Herut/Likud elected its party leaders through votes held in party agencies. The 1983 and 1984 Herut leadership elections were undertaken through a vote of Herut's Central Committee. The day after Yitzhak Shamir won the 1983 secret ballot
The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential v ...
vote of the Herut Central Committee to obtain Herut's party leadership, the party leaders of the other Likud coalition member parties announced that they agreed to have Shamir lead the Likud coalition.
The 1992 Likud leadership election was the first held after Likud became a unified party. The 1992 leadership election was held as a vote of the Likud Central Committee. After 1992, the party moved to electing its leaders through votes of its general membership, with the first such vote taking place in 1993.
Current MKs
Likud currently has 32 Knesset members. They are listed below in the order that they appeared on the party's list for the 2022 elections
The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2022 United Nations Security Council election
* 2022 national electoral calendar
* 2022 local e ...
.
# Benjamin Netanyahu
#Yariv Levin
Yariv Gideon Levin (, born 22 June 1969) is an Israeli lawyer and politician who serves as Speaker of the Knesset since December 2022, previously serving that role from 2020 to 2021. He currently serves as a member of Knesset for Likud, and prev ...
#Eli Cohen
Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen ( he, אֱלִיָּהוּ בֵּן שָׁאוּל כֹּהֵן, ar, إيلياهو بن شاؤول كوهين; 6 December 1924 – 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israel ...
# Yoav Galant
#Dudi Amsalem
David "Dudi" Amsalem ( he, דָּוִד "דּוּדִי" אַמְסָלֶם, born 11 August 1960), is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud. He previously held the posts of Minister of Communications, th ...
# Amir Ohana
#Yoav Kisch
Yoav Kisch ( he, יוֹאָב קִישׁ; born 6 December 1968) is an Israeli pilot and politician.
Biography
Kisch was born and raised in Tel Aviv. His paternal grandfather was Frederick Kisch, the highest-ranking Jew ever to serve in the Brit ...
#Nir Barkat
Nir Barkat ( he, נִיר בַּרְקָת; born 19 October 1959) is an Israeli businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Jerusalem between the years 2008–2018.
Biography
Nir Barkat was raised in Jerusalem. His father, Zalman, was a ...
#Miri Regev
Miriam "Miri" Regev ( he, מִרְיָם "מִירִי" רֶגֶב; born Miriam Siboni on 26 May 1965) is an Israeli politician and a former brigadier-general in the Israel Defense Forces, in which she served as IDF Spokeswoman. She currently ...
# Miki Zohar
#Avi Dichter
Avi Dichter ( he, אָבִי דִּיכְטֶר, ; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset and left Kadima in August 2012 in order to become M ...
# Israel Katz
# Shlomo Karhi
#Amichai Chikli
Amichai Chikli ( he, עַמִּיחַי שִׁיקְלִי, born 12 September 1981)
# Danny Danon
# Idit Silman
# David Bitan
#Yuli Edelstein
Yuli-Yoel Edelstein ( he, יוּלִי־יוֹאֵל אֵדֶלְשְטֵיין, russian: Ю́лий Ю́рьевич Эдельште́йн, link=no, uk, Ю́лій Ю́рійович Едельште́йн, born 5 August 1958) is an Israeli ...
# Eliyahu Revivo
# Galit Distel-Atbaryan
# Nissim Vaturi
# Shalom Danino
# Haim Katz
# Ofir Akunis
# Tali Gottlieb
# Hanoch Milwidsky
#Boaz Bismuth
Boaz Bismuth (born 25 November 1964) is a member of the Israeli Knesset, a journalist and columnist who served as editor-in-chief of Israel Hayom between April 2017 and January 2022, and Israeli Ambassador to Mauritania between 2004 and 2008.
...
# Moshe Saada
#Eli Dellal
Eliyahu "Eli" Dalal ( he, אליהו "אלי" דלל, born 24 February 1955) is an Israeli politician from Likud who was elected to the Knesset for Likud in the 2022 elections.
He previously served as deputy mayor of Netanya
Netanya (also kno ...
# Gila Gamliel
#Ofir Katz
Ofir Katz ( he, אוֹפִיר כָּץ; born 19 May 1980) is an Israeli politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for Likud.
Biography
Born in Afula, Katz joined Likud during at the age of 18, and started working for the office of Ben ...
# May Golan
Party organs
;Likud Executive
* Director General of the Likud: Zuri Siso
* Deputy DG, head of the Municipal Division, Head of the Computer Division: Zuri Siso
* Manager of the Likud Chairman's Office: Hanni Blaivais
* Director of Foreign Affairs and Likud spokesperson: Eli Hazan
;Likud Central Committee
The Central Committee decides on all matters between party conferences, with the exceptions of matters designated to another organ. , the Chairman of the Central Committee is Haim Katz.[Organs of the Likud]
(retrieved May 24, 2022)
The Central Committee has a considerable number of members. For example, in one vote, 3,050 members took part in 2005.
;Likud Secretariat
The Secretariat is the body that elects the Director General of the part and the heads various departments. It defines their powers and supervises their activities. the Chairman of the Secretariat is Haim Katz.[
;Likud Court
The Court is the supreme judicial organ in all matter of the party.][
;Legal Advisor
The Legal Advisor advises the party and its bodies in the matters of the state law and the Party constitution and represents the party before external authorities.][ The Legal Advisor has a significant power and may overturn the decisions of most of the party bodies, including the Central Committee. the Legal Advisor of the Likud Movement is Avi Halevy.][
;Likud Youth Movement
It is the official body in charge of all young members of Likud.][ It is a member group of the International Young Democrat Union.]
Election results
Knesset
Prime Minister
See also
* List of Likud Knesset Members
* New Likudniks
New Likudniks ( he, הליכודניקים החדשים "New Likudniks") is an Israeli Likud party faction, established in 2011 by leaders of the social justice protests.
The declared aim of the group is to invite a large number of people who b ...
References
External links
*
Likud Nederland
Likud
Knesset website
{{Authority control
Political parties in Israel
Conservatism in Israel
European Conservatives and Reformists
Liberal conservative parties
Political parties established in 1973
Revisionist Zionism
Zionist political parties in Israel
Conservative parties in Israel
National liberal parties
Betar
Liberal parties in Israel
National conservative parties
Right-wing populist parties
1973 establishments in Israel
Right-wing populism in Israel
Right-wing parties
Right-wing politics in Israel
Centre-right parties in Asia