The Assembly of Representatives ( he, אספת הנבחרים, ''Asefat HaNivharim'') was the elected parliamentary assembly of the

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. It was established on 19 April 1920, and functioned until 13 February 1949, the day before the first Knesset, elected on 25 January, was sworn in. The Assembly met once a year to elect the executive body, the Jewish National Council, which was responsible for education, local government, welfare, security and defense. It also voted on the budgets proposed by the Jewish National Council and the Rabbinical Council.

History

Under the British Mandate, the

Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...

(Jewish community), established a network of political and administrative institutions, among them the Assembly of Representatives. To ensure that small groups were properly represented, a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

was introduced. The first elections were held on 19 April 1920, and the largest faction,

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...

, won only 70 of the Assembly's 314 seats. The ultra-orthodox community and the ultra-orthodox Agudat Yisrael party boycotted the Assembly elections due to their objections to secular Zionism. The second elections were held in 1925, and following the passing of the ''Religious Communities Organisation Ordinance'' in 1926, the Assembly was recognised by the British authorities in 1928.Assembly of Representatives (Assefat Hanivharim)
Knesset website Further elections were held in 1931 and 1944. In the latter elections, some groups, especially the Sephardic Jews, boycotted the elections and were not represented.Simple ceremony marks opening session of newly elected Palestine Jewish Assembly
Jewish Telegraph Agency, 13 September 1944 From 1944 onwards the Assembly was also boycotted by

Hatzohar Hatzohar (, an acronym for ''HaTzionim HaRevizionistim'' (), lit. ''The Revisionist Zionists''), officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim (, lit. ''Union of Revisionist Zionists'') was a Revisionist Zionist organization and political party in Ma ...

due to disagreements with the elected leaders over policy.

Elections

* 19 April 1920 * 6 December 1925 * 5 January 1931 * 2 August 1944

References

{{Mandatory Palestine topics History of Mandatory Palestine Politics of Mandatory Palestine Jewish organizations in Mandatory Palestine 1920 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1949 disestablishments in Israel