Mizrachi ( he, המזרחי, ''HaMizrahi'', an acronym for ''Merkaz Ruhani'' (), lit., ''Religious Centre'') was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
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 ...
, and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day
Jewish Home Party.
History
The
Mizrachi movement was founded in 1902 in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
as a
religious Zionist
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...
organisation. It also had a trade union,
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home.
History ...
, started in 1921. In the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
, the movement developed into a political party, ''HaMizrachi''.
For the
elections for the first Knesset, it ran as part of a joint list called the
United Religious Front
The United Religious Front (, ''Hazit Datit Meuhedet'') was a political alliance of the four major religious parties in Israel, as well as the Union of Religious Independents, formed to fight in the 1949 elections.
History
The idea of a united r ...
, alongside the
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home.
History ...
,
Agudat Yisrael
Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...
, and
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 ...
. The group won 16 seats, of which the Mizrachi Party took four, making it the third-largest party 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 ...
, after
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 ...
and
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 ...
. It was invited to join the coalition government 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 ...
.
The United Religious Front played a major part in bringing down the first government, due to it disagreement with Mapai over issues pertaining to education in the new immigrant camps and the religious education system, as well as its demands that the Supply and Rationing Ministry be closed and a businessman appointed as Minister for Trade and Industry. Ben-Gurion resigned on 16 October 1950. When the problems had been solved two weeks later, he formed the second government, with the same coalition partners and ministers as previously.
In the
1951 elections, the party ran for the Knesset alone. However, they won only two seats. They joined the coalition that made up the third government, and both its MKs were made ministers –
David-Zvi Pinkas
David-Zvi Pinkas ( he, דָּוִד־צְבִי פִּנְקָס, 5 December 1895 – 14 August 1952) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he was the country's third Minister of Tra ...
became
Minister of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
, and
Mordechai Nurock
Mordechai Nurock ( he, מרדכי נורוק, 7 November 1879 – 8 November 1962) was a Latvian-born Israeli who served in both the parliaments of Latvia and Israel. He was also Israel's first Minister of Postal Services, though he only held th ...
became Minister of Postal Services. However, when the third government collapsed, both Pinkas and Nurock lost their ministerial positions, although the party remained in the coalitions of the fourth, fifth, and sixth governments.
For the
1955 elections, the party joined forces with its ideological twin, Hapoel HaMizrachi, to form the National Religious Front. The new party won 11 seats (though only two were held by Mizrachi members), making it the fourth-largest, and were again coalition partners in both governments of the third Knesset. In 1956, the union of the two parties was made permanent, and the name changed to 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 ...
.
Knesset members
External links
Party historyKnesset website
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 1902
Defunct political parties in Israel
Orthodox Jewish political parties
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionist political parties in Israel