Gahal
Herut–Liberals Bloc גוש חרות-ליברלים | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Menachem Begin |
| Founded | 25 May 1965 |
| Dissolved | 1973 |
| Succeeded by | Likud |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv,Israel |
| Ideology | Liberalism Conservatism Liberal conservatism Factions Liberal Zionism Revisionist Zionism |
| Political position | Center-righttoright-wing |
| Member parties | Herut Liberal Party |
| Colours | Blue |
| Most MKs | 27 (1961) |
| Fewest MKs | 26 (1965, 1969) |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
Gahal(Hebrew:גח "ל,an acronym forGush Herut–Liberalim(Hebrew:גוש חרות-ליברלים),lit.Freedom–Liberals Bloc) was the mainright-leaningpolitical allianceinIsrael,ranging from thecentre-rightto right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until the establishment ofLikudin 1973. It was led byMenachem Begin.
History
[edit]Gahal was formed by an alliance ofHerutand theLiberal Partytowards the end of thefifth Knessetin preparation for the1965 elections.The alliance brought together the only two right-wing parties in theKnesset,each with 17 seats at the time. The Liberal Party had only been formed in 1961, by a merger of theGeneral Zionistsand theProgressive Party.The Gahal platform largely incorporated Herut's approach to security and foreign affairs and the Liberal Party's approach to economics and finance.[1]Though Gahal was led by Begin, Herut and the Liberals initially had nearly equal strength in the alliance.[2]
However, several former Liberal Party members were unhappy with the alliance, identifying Herut and its leader, Menachem Begin, as too right-wing. As a result, seven MKs broke away from the Liberal Party to form theIndependent Liberals,which later merged into theleft-wingAlignment.Nevertheless, the new party went into the elections with 27 seats, just seven less thanMapai,the party that had dominated Israeli politics since independence, although Mapai also had been reduced in size due to a breakaway of eight MKs led byDavid Ben-Gurionto foundRafi.
Led by Begin, in its first electoral test Gahal won 26 seats. However, it was outperformed by the Alignment (a new left-wing alliance of Mapai andAhdut HaAvoda) which won 46 seats. Gahal was reduced in strength when three of its MKs broke away to form theFree Centre,and a fourth later left.
During theSix-Day War,Alignment leader andPrime MinisterLevi Eshkolinvited Gahal to join anational unity government.The party remained in the government after the war, and kept its place whenGolda Meirbecame Prime Minister following Eshkol's death in 1969.
In theOctober 1969 electionsGahal maintained its 26-seat strength, but was comprehensively beaten by the Alignment, which won 56, in the strongest-ever election performance in Israeli political history. Nevertheless, Gahal remained within the national unity government. The announcement of theRogers Planon 9 December had alarmed Menachem Begin sufficiently to cause the Herut faction to stop haggling with the Labor Party and accept the six cabinet seats offered in the new government. At the UN, a similar American proposal toJordanon 18 December, explicitly calling for Israeli withdrawal from theWest Bank,removed any remaining differences between Gahal and the Prime Minister, since they both saw this as a challenge requiring a blunt and energetic response.[3]However, Gahal pulled out of the coalition in August 1970 after the government announced its support for the Rogers Plan. Although the government later retracted its support for the plan, Gahal did not rejoin the coalition.
Before the1973 elections,Gahal and several smaller right-wing parties (including its former breakaway the Free Centre, theNational List(a small party founded by David Ben-Gurion after he had left Rafi) and the non-parliamentaryMovement for Greater Israel) to form a new alliance namedLikud,the Hebrew word for 'consolidation'. Although Likud failed to overcome the Alignment in the 1973 elections, it comfortably won thenext electionsin 1977, ousting the left from power for the first time in Israel's history.
Composition
[edit]| Name | Ideology | Position | Leader | Former MKs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herut | Revisionist Zionism National conservatism |
Right-wing | Menachem Begin | 15 / 120
| |
| Libralit | Liberalism Centrism |
Centre-right | Peretz Bernstein Yosef Serlin |
11 / 120
| |
Electoral results
[edit]| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 256,957 (#2) | 21.3 | 26 / 120
|
– | Menachem Begin |
| 1969 | 296,294 (#2) | 21.7 | 26 / 120
|
|
Menachem Begin |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Ervin Birnbaum (1970).The Politics of Compromise: State and Religion in Israel.Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p.64.ISBN08386-7567-0.
- ^Don Peretz and Gideon Doron (1997).The Government and Politics of Israel(3 ed.). Perseus. p. 140.ISBN9780429974120.
- ^David A. Korn(Winter 1990). "US-Soviet Negotiations of 1969 and the Rogers Plan".Middle East Journal.44(1). Middle East Institute: 37–50.JSTOR4328055.
External links
[edit]- GahalKnesset website
| Authority control databases:National |
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