The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, 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 ...

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 ...

. Despite being founded 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 ...

, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

by Meir Avizohar,

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 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

. Without Ben Gurion's leadership, the party began to disintegrate. Before the 1973 elections it joined the

alliance formed by

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 ...

, 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 formerly been allied as

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 ...

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 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 ...

. The new alliance won 39 seats, with Hurvitz and Shoval being elected to the

on its list. In 1976 the National List merged with the Movement for Greater Israel and 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 Cent ...

(a breakaway from the Free Centre) to form the

La'am La'am ( he, לע"ם, lit. ''For the Nation''), acronym of Likud Avoda Mamlakhtit was a political faction in Israel that formed part of Likud between 1976 and 1984. History Between its formation in 1973 and formal merger in 1988, Likud consiste ...

faction within Likud, and ceased to exist as an independent entity.

Reformation

The party was briefly reformed during the

ninth Knesset Legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 May 1977 to elect the ninth Knesset. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right wing, led by Likud, won a plurality of seats, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignme ...

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