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 one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud, Israel's largest right-wing bloc.

Background

The National List had been formed by Ben-Gurion prior to the 1969 elections after his former party, Rafi, had merged into 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 ...

against his wishes. The new party won four seats in the seventh Knesset, and Ben Gurion was joined in the Knesset by

Meir Avizohar Meir Avizohar ( he, מאיר אביזוהר, born 27 September 1923, died 31 August 2008) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1969 and 1974. Biography Born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, Avizohar studie ...

Isser Harel Isser Harel ( he, איסר הראל, 1912 – 18 February 2003) was spymaster of the intelligence and the security services of Israel and the Director of the Mossad (1952–1963). In his capacity as Mossad director he oversaw the capture and co ...

and Yigal Hurvitz. During the session Avizohar defected to the Alignment, leaving the party with three seats. Ben-Gurion resigned from the Knesset in 1970, and was replaced by Zalman Shoval. Without Ben Gurion's leadership, the party began to disintegrate. Before the 1973 elections it joined the Likud alliance formed by Herut, the Liberal Party (which had formerly been allied as Gahal),

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 ...

and the Movement for Greater Israel. The new alliance won 39 seats, with Hurvitz and Shoval being elected to the Knesset on its list. In 1976 the National List merged with the Movement for Greater Israel and the Independent Centre (a breakaway from the Free Centre) to form the La'am faction within Likud, and ceased to exist as an independent entity.

Reformation

The party was briefly reformed during the ninth Knesset after Hurvitz, Shoval and Yitzhak Peretz had left Likud to create Rafi – National List on 26 January 1981. On 19 May Shoval and Hurvitz left to establish

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 ...

with

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...

, whilst Peretz renamed the party Rafi, before rejoining Likud on 27 May. Peretz then broke away from the other two to recreate the National List. However, the reconstituted party only lasted for 12 days as Peretz rejoined Likud. In 1983 Hurvitz broke away from Telem to establish Rafi – National List, which he later renamed Ometz.

External links

National List
Knesset website {{Israeli political parties Political parties disestablished in 1976 Political parties established in 1981 Political parties disestablished in 1981 Defunct political parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Liberal parties in Israel