![PikiWiki Israel 142 May First - MAPAM אחד במאי - מפquot;ם](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/PikiWiki_Israel_142_May_First_-_MAPAM_%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93_%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%99_-_%D7%9E%D7%A4quot%3B%D7%9D.jpg)
Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
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 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 Hatzair Workers Party, the non-kibbutz-based Socialist League, and the left-Labor Zionist
Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
-
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 ...
in its outlook, and represented the left-wing
Kibbutz Artzi
The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...
movement. It also took over the Hashomer Hatzair-affiliated newspaper ''
Al HaMishmar
''Al HaMishmar'' ( he, על המשמר, ''On Guard'') was a daily newspaper published in Mandatory Palestine and Israel between 1943 and 1995. The paper was owned by, and affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair as well as the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Pa ...
'' ("On the lookout").
In the
elections for the first Knesset, Mapam received 19 seats, making it the second largest party after the mainstream Labor Zionist
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 ...
. As the party did not allow non-Jews to be members at the time, it had also set up an
Arab list, the
Popular Arab Bloc
The Popular Arab Bloc ( he, הגוש העממי הערבי, ''HaGush Ha'Amami HaAravi'') was an Arab satellite list that contested the 1949 Israeli Constituent Assembly election. The list was launched by Mapam, just three weeks before the electi ...
, to contest the elections (a tactic also used by Mapai, with whom the
Democratic List of Nazareth
The Democratic List of Nazareth ( he, רְשִׁימָה דֶּמוֹקְרָטִית שֶׁל נָצְרַת, ''Reshima Demokratit shel Natzrat''; ar, قائمة الناصرة الديمقراطية) was an Arab satellite list in Israel and t ...
were affiliated). However, the Arab list failed to cross the 1% electoral threshold. Following the elections, the party conducted extensive negotiations with Ben-Gurion for inclusion in the coalition government, but were eventually excluded. During the session they gained one seat when
Eliezer Preminger
Eliezer Preminger (, 13 April 1920 – 15 September 2001) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Maki, the Hebrew Communists and Mapam between 1949 and 1951.
Biography
Born in Vienna in 1920, Preminger made aliyah ...
joined after leaving
Maki
Maki may refer to:
People
*Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name)
*Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name)
Places
*Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran
*Maki, Rigan, Ke ...
and then setting up his own party, the
Hebrew Communists
The Hebrew Communists ( he, קומוניסטים עברים, ''Komunistim Ivrim'') were a short-lived political party in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. The Hebrew Communists were founded in 1945 by some former members of the Palestine Communist ...
.
In the
1951 elections the party dropped to 15 seats and again were not included in the coalition. However, they did become the first Zionist party to have an
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 ...
,
Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni ( ar, رستم بستوني, he, רוסתם בסתוני; 15 March 1923 – 26 April 1994) was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Israeli Arab to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.
Biography
Bastuni was bo ...
, representing them in the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
.
From Mapam's point of view, the most important event of the second Knesset were the
Prague Trials
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...
of 1953, which severely shook the party's faith in the Soviet Union. The
show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...
s in which mostly
Jew
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""Th ...
ish leaders of the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...
were purged, falsely implicated Mapam's envoy in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
,
Mordechai Oren
Mordechai Oren (1905–1985) was a leader of Mapam and the Kibbutz Artzi Hashomer Hatzair. He was implicated in a scandal which created an uproar in the state of Israel during the early fifties when he was tried in a show trial in Eastern Eur ...
, as part of a Zionist conspiracy. After the Prague Trials and later,
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
's
Secret Speech
"On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" (russian: «О культе личности и его последствиях», «''O kul'te lichnosti i yego posledstviyakh''»), popularly known as the "Secret Speech" (russian: секре ...
at the
20th Party Congress in the Soviet Union, Mapam moved away from some of their more radical left wing positions, and towards
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
.
This created a split in the party.
Avraham Berman
Adolf Avraham Berman (, 17 October 1906 – 3 February 1978) was a Polish-Israeli activist and communist politician.
Biography
Born in Warsaw in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), the younger brother of Jakub Berman. Berman attended the Unive ...
,
Rostam Bastuni
Rostam Bastuni ( ar, رستم بستوني, he, רוסתם בסתוני; 15 March 1923 – 26 April 1994) was an Israeli politician and journalist, and the first Israeli Arab to represent a Zionist party in the Knesset.
Biography
Bastuni was bo ...
and
Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh ( he, מֹשֶׁה סְנֶה ; 6 January 1909 – 1 March 1972) was a Haganah commander and an Israeli politician. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party (Maki).
Biography
Mosze Klaynboym (lat ...
left the party and set up the
Left Faction
The Left Faction ( he, סיעת שמאל, ''Siat Smol'') was a short-lived political party in Israel.
History
The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 (during the second Knesset) as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague T ...
, while
Hannah Lamdan and
David Livschitz
David Livschitz (, born 12 May 1897, died 30 October 1973) was a Russia-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam, the Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda and Mapai between 1951 and 1959.
Biography
Born in the Rus ...
created their own party, the
Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda. Although Bastuni later returned to Mapam, Berman and Sneh eventually joined
Maki
Maki may refer to:
People
*Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name)
*Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name)
Places
*Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran
*Maki, Rigan, Ke ...
and Lamdan and Livschitz joined Mapai. Four other party members left to recreate
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 ...
, though the Knesset speaker did not recognise the group as an independent party during the Knesset session. It also displeased the USSR.
Although it had been reduced to seven seats by the end of the second Knesset, the party picked up nine seats in the
1955 elections. Having effectively renounced the Soviet Union, Mapam were now included in Ben-Gurion's coalitions for both the seventh and eighth governments. However, they were to blame for Ben-Gurion's resignation and the collapse of the government on 5 July 1959 when they and
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 ...
voted against the government on the issue of selling arms to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
but refused to leave the coalition.
In the
1959 elections the party retained its nine seats, and despite their previous differences, were included in Ben-Gurion's coalition.
In the
1961 elections they again won nine seats, but this time were not members of the governing coalition.
The
1965 elections saw the party lose a seat, dropping to eight mandates, but enter into the coalition government. In January 1969 the party formed an alliance with the
Israeli Labor Party
The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a social democratic and Zionist political party in Israel. The p ...
, which was named 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 ...
. The Alignment went on to win the highest-ever number of seats in the
1969 elections (56 out of 120). At the time, Soviet commentators described Mapam as "one of the most
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
ones among the left-socialist parties".
Mapam briefly broke away from the Alignment during the
eighth Knesset, but returned shortly after. The party then remained part of the Alignment until after the
1984 elections, when it broke away due to anger over
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
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
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 ...
, taking six seats with it (later reduced to five when
Muhammed Wattad
Muhammed Wattad ( ar, محمد وتد, he, מוחמד ותד; 1 June 1937 – 24 September 1994) was an Israeli Arab journalist, writer and politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1981 and 1988.
Biography
Born in Jatt during th ...
defected to
Hadash
Hadash ( he, חד״ש, lit=New), an acronym for ''HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom uLeShivion'' ( he, הַחֲזִית הַדֶּמוֹקְרָטִית לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְשִׁוְיוֹן, lit=The Democratic Front for Peace and Equalit ...
). However, in the
1988 elections the party won only three seats.
As a result of their declining support, the party joined with
Ratz and
Shinui
Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a ...
to form
Meretz, a new left-wing, social-democratic and pro-peace alliance, which became the third largest party in the Knesset in the
1992 elections.
In 1995 the party's newspaper, ''Al HaMishmar'', ceased publication.
In 1997 the merger into Meretz with Ratz and part of Shinui (much if not most of Shinui's membership did not agree with the merger, and reformed as an independent party headed by
Avraham Poraz
Avraham Poraz ( he, אברהם פורז, born 9 August 1945) is an Israeli lawyer and former politician.
Biography
Poraz was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1945 and immigrated to Israel in 1950. He served in the Military Police Corps of the ...
) was formalised and Mapam (and Ratz) ceased to exist.
From 1951 to 1979, Mapam also published an Arabic newspaper, ''Al-Mirsad'' ("Observation post", named similarly to the Hebrew newspaper ''Al HaMishmar'', which means "On the lookout"). It appeared weekly, except for a short period as a daily.
1948 policy towards Arabs
Mapam entered the
1948 coalition government with a radically different policy towards Arab civilians from that being pursued by
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 ...
. Mapam's executive committee advocated Jewish–Arab coexistence, opposed the expulsion of civilians and was in favour of the right of refugees to return to their homes after the war. In June 1948 all cadres were issued with a policy statement, "Our policy towards Arabs during the war", which had been written by
Aharon Cohen Aharon Cohen ( he, אהרון כהן; 1910-1980) was a senior member of Mapam, a pro- USSR Israeli political party which existed during the first two decades of statehood.
Born in Britchany, Bessarabia in what was the Tsarist empire, now Romania. ...
the Head of Mapam's Arab Affairs Department . Mapam was particularly opposed to the destruction of Arab houses.
Aharon Zisling, one of two Mapam members of the cabinet, raised the issue repeatedly towards the end of June. At a
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 ...
Centre meeting, 24 July 1948, Ben-Gurion accused Mapam of hypocrisy, citing events at
Mishmar HaEmek
Mishmar HaEmek ( he, מִשְׁמַר הָעֵמֶק, . "Guard of the Valley") is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Megiddo Regional Council. Mishmar HaEmek is one of ...
, he said: "They faced a cruel reality ...
ndsaw that there was
nlyone way and that was to expel the Arab villagers and burn the villages. And they did this, and they were the first to do this."
Mapam was also opposed to the establishment of settlements on Arab land. But this created a dilemma as the kibbutz movement ideologically closest to Mapam,
Kibbutz Artzi
The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...
, was in the vanguard of the settlement movement. Of twelve new settlements created during May and June 1948 six were Mapam-related groups. In August 1948, proposals were put forward for the creation of 32 new settlements, all but five of which were beyond the proposed UN partition frontier. As a compromise Mapam agreed on condition that there was sufficient "surplus land" at each location to allow for the return of the original inhabitants. In the following months Mapam further diluted its position on the right of refugees to return by adding that there should be no return while a state of war existed and then it should only apply to the "peace-minded". With the explosion of opposition to the Government's proposal to the UN, 28 July 1949, that 100,000 might be allowed to return, the issue of return quietly dropped off the agenda.
![Mapam Givat Brenner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Mapam_Givat_Brenner.jpg)
The gulf between policy makers in the executive and Mapam members who dominated the leadership of the armed forces was again revealed following the military operations in the autumn of 1948. In early November the editor of the Mapam
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
,
Eliezer Pra'i, received a letter describing events at
al-Dawayima
Al-Dawayima, Dawaymeh or Dawayma ( ar, الدوايمة) was a Palestinian town, located in the former Hebron Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, and in what is now the Lakhish region, some 15 kilometres south-east of Kiryat Gat.Zafrir Rinat‘Bu ...
. There followed a meeting of the Political Committee, 11 November 1948, which was briefed by recently ousted Chief of Staff of the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
,
Yisrael Galili
Yisrael Galili ( he, ישראל גלילי; 10 February 1911 – 8 February 1986) was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah.
Biography
Y ...
, about the killing of civilians during Operations
Yoav
Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible.
Name
The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - deri ...
and
Hiram. Aharoh Cohen led a call for an independent inquiry. The problem for Mapam was that the commanders of these operations were senior Mapam members,
Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh ( he, יצחק שדה, born Izaak Landoberg, August 10, 1890 – August 20, 1952), was the commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. ...
and
Moshe Carmel
Moshe Carmel ( he, משה כרמל, 17 January 1911 – 14 August 2003) was an Israeli soldier and politician who served as Transportation Minister of Israel, Minister of Transportation for eight years.
Background
Born in Mińsk Mazowiecki in ...
. It was agreed to accept Ben-Gurion's
internal inquiry.
In December party co-leader,
Meir Ya'ari
Meir Ya'ari ( he, מאיר יערי, 24 April 1897 – 21 February 1987) was an Israeli politician, educator, and social activist. He was the leader of Hashomer Hatzair, Kibbutz Artzi, and Mapam, and a member of the Knesset.
Biography
Meyer Wa ...
, publicly criticised the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
for using the expulsion of civilians as an "imperative of strategy". This was probably directed at Mapam member
Yigal Allon
Yigal Allon ( he, יגאל אלון; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician, commander of the Palmach, and general in the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Labor P ...
, who had been chief of operations during
Operation Danny
Operation Danny ( he, מבצע דני, ''Mivtza Dani'') was an Israeli military offensive launched at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and ...
.
[Morris, page 211. 12 December 1948 at ]Kibbutz Artzi
The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...
Council. "I am appalled." A memo, probably written by Allon, had argued that the refugees clogged roads, caused economic problems, damaged moral and would lead to anti-government demonstrations.
Leaders
Election results
Knesset members
See also
*
Labor Zionism
*
Hashomer Hatzair movement
References
External links
Party historyKnesset website
Hashomer Hatzair/Mapam Archiveat
marxists.orgMAPAMA brief introduction to MAPAM's views on the Middle East and international issues. Tel Aviv, International Department of MAPAM, June 1985
MAPAMby Susan Hattis Rolef. ''
Encyclopaedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
'' article at
encyclopedia.com
Encyclopedia.com (also known as HighBeam Encyclopedia) is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference works including pictures and videos.
History
The website was launched by ...
{{Authority control
Defunct political parties in Israel
Zionist political parties in Israel
Political parties disestablished in 1997
Israel–Soviet Union relations
Socialist parties in Israel
Labor Zionism