Tehiya ( he, תחיה, ''Revival''), originally known as Banai (Hebrew: , an acronym for ''Land of Israel Loyalists' Alliance'' (Hebrew: )), then Tehiya-Bnai (Hebrew: ), was an
ultranationalist
Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
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 existed from 1979 until 1992. In the eyes of many, Tehiya was identified with
Geula Cohen
Geulah Cohen (;
25 December 1925 – 18 December 2019) was an Israeli politician and activist who founded the Tehiya party. She won the Israel Prize in 2003. Between 1974 and 1992, she served as a member of Knesset, initially for Likud. She chan ...
, who founded the party and headed it throughout its existence.
Background
The party was formed in 1979 during the term of 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 ...
, when
Geula Cohen
Geulah Cohen (;
25 December 1925 – 18 December 2019) was an Israeli politician and activist who founded the Tehiya party. She won the Israel Prize in 2003. Between 1974 and 1992, she served as a member of Knesset, initially for Likud. She chan ...
and
Moshe Shamir
Moshe Shamir ( he, משה שמיר; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure. He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film '' He Walked Through the Fields'' was based.
Biogr ...
broke away from
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 ...
in response to the
Camp David Treaty between
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and Israel, particularly to the surrender of the
Sinai peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
to Egypt, and the eviction of its Israeli residents.
Tehiya was strongly affiliated with the extra-parliamentary movement of
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim ( he, גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים , ''Bloc of the Faithful'') was an Israeli ultranationalist Orthodox Jewish right-wing activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Gol ...
,
and included prominent members of
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza such as
Hanan Porat
Hanan Porat ( he, חנן פורת, 5 December 1943 – 4 October 2011) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, educator, and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Tehiya, the National Religious Party, Tkuma, and the National Union between ...
(later to be a member of 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 ...
for 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 ...
and the
National Union) and
Elyakim Haetzni
Elyakim Haetzni (, 22 June 1926 – 18 September 2022) was a German-born Israeli lawyer, settlement activist and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Tehiya from 1990 until 1992.
Biography
Born Georg Bombach in Kiel in 1926, Hae ...
. Another founder and prominent member was the
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
Yuval Neeman
Yuval Ne'eman ( he, יובל נאמן, 14 May 1925 – 26 April 2006) was an Israeli theoretical physicist, military scientist, and politician. He was Minister of Science and Development in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was the President o ...
.
In its first electoral test, the
1981 legislative election, Tehiya picked up three seats. Despite their previous difference of opinion, they were included in Menachem Begin's coalition government alongside
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 ...
, 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 ...
,
Agudat Israel
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 ...
,
Tami
Tami or TAMI may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tami (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with either the given name or nickname
* Mark Tami (born 1962), British politician and Member of Parliament
* Pierluigi Tami ...
and
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 ...
. Although Cohen did not take a ministerial position, Neeman became Minister of Science and Development.
In the
1984 elections, Tehiya became 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 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 ...
and Likud, albeit with only five seats. However, they refused to participate in the
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 ...
of
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 ...
and
Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
, which included the Alignment, Likud, the National Religious Party, Agudat Israel,
Shas
Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
,
Morasha
Morasha ( he, מורשה, ''Heritage''), later known as Morasha-Poalei Agudat Yisrael (), was a small, short-lived religious political party in Israel during the 1980s.
History
The Morasha party was formed in the run-up to the 1984 elections b ...
,
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 ...
and
Ometz. During the Knesset session
Rafael Eitan
Rafael "Raful" Eitan ( he, רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government m ...
defected from Tehiya to found a new party,
Tzomet
Tzomet ( he, צוֹמֶת, lit., ''Crossroads'') is a small, right-wing political party in Israel.
History
The party was founded by General Rafael Eitan in 1983, after his retirement from the position of chief-of-staff in 1982. He headed it throug ...
.
The party was reduced to three seats in the
1988 legislative election, and was again excluded from Shamir's national unity government. However, when the Alignment left the coalition in 1990, Tehiya were invited into a new narrow right-wing government which included Likud, the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Israel,
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah ( he, דגל התורה, , Banner of the Torah) is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence, it has been allied with Agudat Yisrael, under the name United Torah Judaism.
History
Degel HaTorah was ...
, the
New Liberal Party.
Although Cohen again declined a ministerial position, Neeman was appointed Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology. Despite its late entry to the government, the party pulled out of the coalition on 21 January 1992 in protest over Yitzhak Shamir's participation in the
Madrid conference
The Madrid Conference of 1991 was a peace conference, held from 30 October to 1 November 1991 in Madrid, hosted by Spain and co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an attempt by the international community to revive the ...
, which forced the government to hold new elections.
In the
1992 legislative election, the party failed to cross the
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
, and subsequently disappeared, with Cohen joining Likud that year. It is likely that most of its electorate went to Eitan's
Tzomet
Tzomet ( he, צוֹמֶת, lit., ''Crossroads'') is a small, right-wing political party in Israel.
History
The party was founded by General Rafael Eitan in 1983, after his retirement from the position of chief-of-staff in 1982. He headed it throug ...
, who jumped from two seats in the 1988 elections to eight in the 1992 votes. The two parties had competed on the same secular right-wing electorate.
Tehiya fronted a number of controversial positions in its time, some of which were adopted by the mainstream; most notably, the
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law (, ar, قانون القدس) is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on 30 July 1980 (17th Av, 5740).
Although the law did not use the term, the Israeli Supreme Court interpreted the ...
, which was proposed by the party and enacted on 30 July 1980 establishing
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
as the capital of the State of Israel.
Structure
The structure of Tehiya was based on a military model due to Gideon Altshuler, former head of an IDF brigade being made Secretary General, and Shmuel Gordan a former Lieutenant Colonel being made head of organization. The party only allowed Jewish members.
Knesset members
Election platform
The Tehiya platform at the 1988 elections included:
* Jewish sovereignty over the
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
, the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza
* Increase of the number of Jews living in all quarters of the
Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem.
The Old City is traditionally divided into ...
* Strengthening of 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 ...
, including technical development and severe punishment for refusal to serve
* Support and increase for the
settlements of the West Bank and Gaza, including establishment of a special police force
* Clemency for Jews convicted of crimes committed due to "security distress"
* Peace agreements only with Arab states who acquiesce to Jewish control over the entirety of the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
*
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
being the Palestinian State, all attempts to create a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River are to be prevented
* Cancellation of the access of Palestinians to the
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
* Death penalty for severe cases of violence by Palestinians
* Licence for Israeli soldiers to shoot stone throwers
* Punishments of Palestinians to include collective punishments
* Wide access roads through the casbahs of Palestinian cities
References
External links
Tehiya-BnaiKnesset website
TehiyaKnesset website
{{Israeli political parties
Defunct political parties in Israel
Zionist political parties in Israel
Neo-Zionism
Revisionist Zionism
Political parties established in 1979
Far-right political parties in Israel
1979 establishments in Israel