General Zionists

General Zionists
ציונים כלליים‎
General Zionists ציונים כלליים‎
Leader	Meir Dizengoff,; Israel Rokach,; Peretz Bernstein,; Yosef Sapir; Shoshana Persitz
Founder	Yehoshua Sofersky
Founded	1922
Dissolved	8 May 1961
Merged into	Liberal Party
Headquarters	Tel Aviv,Israel
Newspaper	HaBoker
Ideology	Zionism; Liberalism; Classical liberalism; Economic liberalism
Political position	Pre-1948:Centre; 1948–1961:Centre-right
Most MKs	23 (1951)
Election symbol
	Politics of Israel; Political parties; Elections;

TheGeneral Zionists(Hebrew:הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים,romanized:HaTzionim HaKlaliym) were a centristZionistmovement and apolitical party in Israel.The General Zionists supported the leadership ofChaim Weizmannand their views were largely colored by central European culture.^[2]The party was considered to have bothconservativeandliberalwings,^[3]^[4]^[5]and is one of the ancestors of the modern-dayLikud.

History

General Zionism initially referred to the beliefs of the majority of members of theZionist Organization(ZO) who had not joined a specificfactionor party and belonged to their countrywide Zionist organizations only.^[6]The term was first used at the 1907Zionist Congressto describe the delegates who were affiliated with neitherLabor Zionismnorreligious Zionism.^[7]

In 1922, various non-aligned groups and individuals established the Organization of General Zionists as a non-ideological party within the Zionist Organization (later the World Zionist Organization) at a time when the Zionist movement was becoming polarized betweenLabour ZionistsandRevisionist Zionism.Eventually the General Zionists became identified with Europeanliberalandmiddle classbeliefs inprivate propertyandcapitalism.

In 1929, the General Zionists established a world organization, holding their first conference in 1931. At this conference, rifts opened up between the conservative right wing and those who held more moderate views.^[2]They were divided over social issues, economics andlabourissues (e.g. theHistadrut). The "General Zionists A" favored the economic policies of Labour Zionism and were supportive ofChaim Weizmann's compromising approach to relations with the British. The "General Zionists B" were skeptical of socialism and more outspoken against British policy in Palestine.^[8]

After the independence of the State of Israel, the gap between the two groups widened. The General Zionists A helped form theProgressive Party,which won five seats in 1949 Knesset elections and entered the Mapai-led governing coalition. The General Zionists B, running as the General Zionists, won seven seats and chose to remain in the opposition.^[8]In the years following the establishment of the state ofIsraelin 1948, the General Zionists moved towards the right in opposition to the hegemony ofMapaiand other Labour Zionist movements in Israeli politics.

The General Zionist party supported private enterprise, the suspension of state support to collective institutions, and the termination of theHistadrut's control of the economy. However, it favored leaving the Histadrut with state control over several aspects of economy and welfare. It also supported a unified system of education (as it contributed to the passage of the 1953 State Education Law) and a written constitution to enshrine democratic freedom and civil rights. It wassecularist,though not as vocally so as the Progressive Party.^[9]

In 1936 the General Zionists established a daily newspaper,HaBoker,which was edited for the first ten years of its existence byPeretz Bernstein.It ceased publication in 1965.

Political activity in Israel

The General Zionists entered theelections for the first Knessetin 1949. They won 5.2% of the vote and seven seats, and were not included in either ofDavid Ben-Gurion's coalition governments.

The1951 electionswere a huge success, with the party winning 20 seats, making it the second largest in theKnesset.The party was enlarged soon after the elections when theSephardim and Oriental Communitiesparty and theYemenite Associationmerged into it (though the one Yemenite Association MK left the party again before the end of the session). Although it was not included in the coalition for the third government, it was brought into the fourth government after Ben-Gurion had sacked theUltra-orthodoxparties,Agudat YisraelandPoalei Agudat Yisrael,over thereligious educationdispute that had brought down the previous government. It was also included inMoshe Sharett's fifth government, but not the sixth.

In the1955 electionsthe party slumped to 13 seats, and were not included in either of the third Knesset's coalition governments.

A further slump to eight seats in the1959 electionsand exclusion from the coalition made the party rethink its strategy. Eventually the party decided to merge with the 6-seatProgressive Partyto form theLiberal Party.Nevertheless, the party helped bring down the government in 1961 when it andHeruttabled amotion of no confidencein the government over theLavon Affair.

In the1961 electionsthe newIsrael Liberal Partywon 17 seats, making it the third largest in the Knesset. During the session, ten MKs (mostly former General Zionists) merged with theright-wing Herutto formGahalwhile the other seven (most from the Progressive Party) set up theIndependent Liberals.Gahal later becameLikud.

Leaders

Leader		Took office	Left office
1	Peretz Bernstein	1949	1961
2	Israel Rokach	1949	1955
3	Yosef Sapir	1955	1961

Knesset election results

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Place	Seats won	+/−
1949	Peretz Bernstein Israel Rokach	22,661	5.2	5th	7 / 120
1951		111,394	16.2	2nd	20 / 120	13
1955		87,099	10.2	3rd	13 / 120	7
1959	Peretz Bernstein Yosef Sapir	59,700	6.2	5th	8 / 120	5
1961	Peretz Bernstein Yosef Sapir	Part of theLiberal Party			7 / 120	1

References

^Jacob Metzer (2004)."Jewish land – Israel lands".In John H Munro; Stanley Engerman;Jacob Metzer(eds.).Land Rights, Ethno-nationality and Sovereignty in History.Routledge. p. 101.ISBN 978-1-134-35746-8.
^^a ^bSasson Sofer (2007).Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy.Cambridge University Press. p. 272.ISBN 9780521038270.Retrieved21 June2015.
^Zeev Sternhell (1998).The Founding Myths of Israel: Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State.Princeton University Press. p. 241.ISBN 978-1-400-82236-2.
^Herman Kruk (2002).The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944.Yale University Press. p. XXXVI.ISBN 978-0-300-04494-2.
^Colin Shindler (2015).The Rise of the Israeli Right.Cambridge University Press. p. 262.ISBN 978-0-521-19378-8.
^"General Zionism".Jewish Virtual Library.Retrieved21 June2015.
^Hiro, Dilip (2013).A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Middle East.Interlink Publishing.pp. 361–62.ISBN 9781623710330.
^^a ^bRafael Medoff; Chaim I. Waxman (2013).Historical Dictionary of Zionism.Routledge. p. 62.ISBN 9781135966423.Retrieved21 June2015.
^Ervin Birnbaum (1970).The Politics of Compromise: State and Religion in Israel.Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p.64.ISBN 08386-7567-0.Retrieved21 June2015.

External links

General ZionistsKnesset website

[EngermanEngerman2004-1] Jacob Metzer (2004)."Jewish land – Israel lands".In John H Munro; Stanley Engerman;Jacob Metzer(eds.).Land Rights, Ethno-nationality and Sovereignty in History.Routledge. p. 101.ISBN 978-1-134-35746-8.

[Sofer_p272-2] Sasson Sofer (2007).Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy.Cambridge University Press. p. 272.ISBN 9780521038270.Retrieved21 June2015.

[“Sternhell1998”-3] Zeev Sternhell (1998).The Founding Myths of Israel: Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State.Princeton University Press. p. 241.ISBN 978-1-400-82236-2.

[“Kruk2002”-4] Herman Kruk (2002).The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944.Yale University Press. p. XXXVI.ISBN 978-0-300-04494-2.

[“Shindler2015”-5] Colin Shindler (2015).The Rise of the Israeli Right.Cambridge University Press. p. 262.ISBN 978-0-521-19378-8.

[6] "General Zionism".Jewish Virtual Library.Retrieved21 June2015.

[7] Hiro, Dilip (2013).A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Middle East.Interlink Publishing.pp. 361–62.ISBN 9781623710330.

[Medoff-8] Rafael Medoff; Chaim I. Waxman (2013).Historical Dictionary of Zionism.Routledge. p. 62.ISBN 9781135966423.Retrieved21 June2015.

[9] Ervin Birnbaum (1970).The Politics of Compromise: State and Religion in Israel.Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p.64.ISBN 08386-7567-0.Retrieved21 June2015.

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