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The Progressive Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה פְּרוֹגְרֶסִיבִית, ''Miflaga Progresivit'') was a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
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 ...
.


History

The Progressive Party was a liberal party, most of whose founders came from the ranks of the
New Aliyah Party The New Aliyah Party ( he, עלייה חדשה, ''Aliyah Hadasha'' lit. ''New Immigration'') was a political party in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. History The party was established in 1942 by immigrants from Austria and Germany who had arrived ...
and
HaOved HaTzioni HaOved HaTzioni (, lit. ''The Zionist Worker'') is a settlement movement in Israel. The movement was established in 1936 by former members of HaNoar HaTzioni, and its first settlement, kibbutz Usha, was founded on 7 November 1937. In 1948 the ...
, which had been active prior to independence. It consisted primarily of immigrants from
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
. It was formed by three groups: First, and most numerous, was the mostly Central European, middle class
New Aliyah Party The New Aliyah Party ( he, עלייה חדשה, ''Aliyah Hadasha'' lit. ''New Immigration'') was a political party in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. History The party was established in 1942 by immigrants from Austria and Germany who had arrived ...
, which generally took a liberal position on social issues. Second was
HaOved HaTzioni HaOved HaTzioni (, lit. ''The Zionist Worker'') is a settlement movement in Israel. The movement was established in 1936 by former members of HaNoar HaTzioni, and its first settlement, kibbutz Usha, was founded on 7 November 1937. In 1948 the ...
, a non-socialist
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
in 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 ...
that rejected the idea of
class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...
. Last was "group A" of the
General Zionists The General Zionists ( he, הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים, translit. ''HaTzionim HaKlaliym'') were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann an ...
, which was made up of artisans, small farmers, and members of the liberal professions, and which unlike "group B" was left-of-center and oriented toward the Histadrut. The Progressives favored private investment and shifting control over essential services and welfare functions from the Histadrut to the state. Although they were not socialists, they were intellectually sympathetic to
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
aspirations and open to cooperating with
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 ...
in a coalition government. In the 1949 Constituent Assembly elections the party gained won seats, with
Idov Cohen Idov Cohen ( he, אידוב כהן, 4 November 1909 – 16 May 1998) was a Romanian-Israeli politician and journalist. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Progressive Party and Liberal Party between 1949 and 1963. Biography Born in Mih ...
,
Yeshayahu Forder Yeshayahu Foerder (, 25 March 1901 – 9 June 1970) was a German–Israeli lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Progressive Party between 1949 and 1957. Biography Born in Charlottenburg, Germany, Foerder studied ec ...
,
Avraham Granot Avraham Granot ( he, אברהם גרנות, 18 June 1890 – 5 July 1962) was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence. Biography Abraham Granovsky (later Granot) was born in Făleşti, i ...
,
Yizhar Harari Yizhar Harari (, 16 July 1908 – 1 February 1978) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. Biography Harari was born in Jaffa, then under Ottoman rule. He studied political science and journalism at the University of Paris and then law at ...
and
Pinchas Rosen Pinchas Rosen ( he, פנחס רוזן, born Felix Rosenblüth, 1 May 1887 – 3 May 1978) was an Israeli statesman, and the country's first Minister of Justice, serving three times during 1948–51, 1952–56, and 1956–61. He was also leader of ...
taking their place as
Members of the Knesset Lists of Knesset members cover members of the Knesset of Israel. They are organized by session, by ethnicity and by position. By session * List of members of the first Knesset (1949–51) * List of members of the second Knesset (1951–55) * Lis ...
(MKs). They joined the government as a coalition partner of
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 ...
's Mapai party, and were members of both the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and second governments of Israel. In the 1951 elections the party lost a seat and dropped to four MKs. They were not included in Ben-Gurion's original coalition, but were brought into the fourth government as a replacement for the
ultra-orthodox 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 ...
parties
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 ...
, who had resigned over
religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...
issues. They were also a coalition partner in the fifth government (created when Ben-Gurion resigned and was replaced by
Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett ( he, משה שרת, born Moshe Chertok (Hebrew: )‎ 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was a Russian-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. A member of Mapai, Sharett's term was b ...
), but were dropped from the sixth government after a
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
had been brought against the ruling Mapai-led coalition. The Progressive Party regained their original strength at the 1955 elections, returning to five seats, and were members both the
seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...
and eighth governments, headed by the returning Ben-Gurion.
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...
(LI) maintained contacts with both the Progressive Party and the General Zionists in the 1950s. The Progressive Party applied for affiliation at Liberal International's 1955 Lucerne congress and was accepted. This was on the condition that the Progressives would not object to the General Zionist party's affiliation when it decided to apply, which the Progressives willingly accepted (the General Zionists affiliated several years later). Yeshayahu Foerder represented the Progressive Party at the following LI congress in Stresa in 1956, and brought a draft resolution on the Israeli–Egyptian conflict. After discussion, the LI accepted the resolution without change, marking the first time the LI had voted, at the specific request of a member group, a resolution involving that group's national interest. The resolution was moderate and had been discussed with the Liberal International Executive. It called on the United Nations for greater efforts to maintain strict observance of the Middle East armistice terms and to negotiate a comprehensive settlement securing the territorial integrity of all the states involved. In the 1959 elections the party gained another seat, their representation rising to six MKs. Again they joined Ben-Gurion's
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
. On 8 May 1961 the party merged with the
General Zionists The General Zionists ( he, הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים, translit. ''HaTzionim HaKlaliym'') were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann an ...
to form 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 ...
."Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups"
Knesset website
It was the motion of no confidence brought by the new Liberal Party and
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 ...
that brought down the government. The 1961 elections saw the Liberal Party become the third largest in the Knesset, though they did not join the
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
. Later in the session, the majority of the Liberal Party MKs merged with
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 ...
to form
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 ...
(which later became
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 ...
in 1973). However, the MKs that agreed with the merger were largely previous members of the General Zionists. Most former Progressive Party MKs objected to the alliance with Herut and set up the Independent Liberals instead.


Leaders


Knesset election results


See also

*
Politics of Israel Politics in Israel are dominated by Zionist parties. They traditionally fall into three camps, the first two being the largest: Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism and Religious Zionism. There are also several non-Zionist Orthodox religious pa ...


References


External links


Progressive Party
Knesset website {{Authority control Political parties established in 1948 General Zionism Zionist political parties in Israel Liberal parties in Israel Defunct political parties in Israel Defunct liberal political parties Political parties disestablished in 1961 Social liberal parties Progressive parties 1961 disestablishments in Israel 1948 establishments in Israel