Moledet () was a minor

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

to far-right political party in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

History

Moledet was established by Rehavam Ze'evi in 1988. It won two seats in the Knesset elections later that year, taken by Ze'evi and Yair Sprinzak. It joined

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir (, ; 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, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...

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in February 1991 and Ze'evi was appointed Minister without Portfolio. However, he resigned from the cabinet on 21 January the following year. In the 1992 elections, the party won three seats, with Yosef Ba-Gad and Shaul Gutman joining Ze'evi in the Knesset. However, Gutman left the party to establish Yamin Yisrael on 27 July 1995, whilst Ba-Gad left to sit as an independent on 12 March 1996.Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups
Knesset The party won two seats in the 1996 elections, taken by Ze'evi and Binyamin Elon, and supported

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

, although it did not join it. On 4 March 1999, the party gained a third MK when Moshe Peled left Tzomet to found Mehora, which he immediately merged into Moledet. Prior to the 1999 elections, the party joined the National Union alliance alongside Herut – The National Movement and Tkuma. The Union won four seats, with two taken by Moledet members Elon and Ze'evi. The alliance joined the

formed by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

on 7 March 2001 after he won the election for Prime Minister, and Ze'evi was appointed Minister of Tourism. However, he was assassinated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on 17 October 2001, and his seat taken by Uri Ariel of Tkuma. Elon was elected party leader and assumed Ze'evi's place in the cabinet until 14 March 2002. Prior to the 2006 elections, the National Union formed an alliance with the National Religious Party, which went on to win nine seats; Moledet again held two seats, taken by Elon and Eldad. On 3 November 2008 the party announced a merger with other members of the National Union, the National Religious Party and Tkuma to form a new right-wing party, later named the Jewish Home. However, the Jewish Home excluded ex-Moledet members from the top slots of the candidate list for the 2009 elections. Moledet then rejected the merger and joined the revived National Union. Although the Union won four seats, the highest place Moledet candidate was fifth-placed Uri Bank, who failed to enter the Knesset. In the lead up to the 2013 elections, Tkuma merged with the Jewish Home. Bank supported the merger and allowed Tkuma to continue using the letter 'Tet' on the ballot.

Ideology

The party advocated encouraging voluntary

population transfer Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...

(as opposed to forced transfer) of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

population of the

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. While other parties, namely Kach and

Herut Herut () 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. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

, also advocated transfer, Moledet was the party most associated with the concept in Israel, given the dearth of other elements in its platform and Ze'evi's success in bringing together opposing political elements—both secular and religious—under the transfer flag. In contrast to Kach and the ideas of Meir Kahane, Moledet advocated only voluntary transfer.

Party leaders

*1988−2001: Rehavam Ze'evi *2001−2008: Binyamin Elon *2008−2013: Uri Bank

Election results

References

External links