Mapai
Workers' Party of the Land of Israel מפלגת פועלי ארץ ישראל | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | David Ben-Gurion (1930–54) Moshe Sharett (1954–55) David Ben-Gurion (1955–63) Levi Eshkol (1963–68) |
| Founders | David Ben-Gurion Yosef Sprinzak |
| Founded | 5 January 1930 |
| Dissolved | 23 January 1968 |
| Merger of | Ahdut HaAvoda Hapoel Hatzair |
| Merged into | Israeli Labor Party |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Newspaper | Davar |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left[4] to left-wing[5] |
| National affiliation | Alignment (1965–1968) |
| International affiliation | Socialist International |
| Regional affiliation | Asian Socialist Conference |
| Colours | Red |
| Most MKs | 47 (1959) |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
Mapai (Hebrew: מַפָּא"י, an abbreviation for מִפְלֶגֶת פּוֹעֲלֵי אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael, lit. 'Workers' Party of the Land of Israel') was a Labor Zionist political party in Mandatory Palestine and the State of Israel. It was the dominant party in Israeli politics from the country's founding until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968.
History
[edit]Yishuv
[edit]Mapai was founded on 5 January 1930 by a merger of Hapoel Hatzair and the original Ahdut HaAvoda, which had been founded in 1919 by the more right-wing faction of Poale Zion led by David Ben-Gurion. In the early 1920s the Labor Zionist movement had established the Histadrut trade union, which became a central force in the Jewish settler economy and infrastructure in Palestine. This position contributed to Mapai's later dominance in Zionist political life. The party's predecessors also played a role in the founding of Hashomer and Haganah, the first organized Jewish paramilitary groups active in Palestine.
Ben-Gurion assumed the leadership of Mapai and became the de facto head of the Jewish community in Palestine, known as the Yishuv.
Mapai was affiliated with the Labour and Socialist International from 1930 to 1940.[6]
After statehood
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Mapai achieved a decisive victory in the 1949 Constituent Assembly elections, receiving 36% of the vote and winning 46 of the 120 seats. Ben-Gurion formed a coalition government with the United Religious Front, the Progressive Party, the Sephardim and Oriental Communities and the Democratic List of Nazareth.
In the 1951 Knesst elections Mapai increased its vote share to 37%, winning 47 seats. Ben-Gurion again formed a government supported by Mizrachi, Hapoel HaMizrachi, Agudat Yisrael, Poalei Agudat Yisrael and Mapai’s affiliated Arab satellite lists (the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work and Agriculture and Development). He resigned in December 1953 and was succeeded by Moshe Sharett. In the 1955 elections, Mapai's vote share fell to 32%, seeing the party reduced to 40 seats. However, it remained the largest party in the Knesset. Ben-Gurion returned as Prime Minister and formed a coalition including the National Religious Front, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda and Mapai's Arab satellite parties. The government was later joined by the Progressive Party.
Mapai's electoral strength peaked in the 1959 elections, receiving 38% of the vote and winning 47 seats. Ben-Gurion again formed a coalition with the National Religious Party, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda, the Progressive Party and the Arab satellite parties. However, the Lavon Affair weakened the party’s standing, and in the 1961 elections its vote share was reduced to 35%, winning 42 seats. Although Ben-Gurion formed another coalition with the National Religious Party, Ahdut HaAvoda, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Progress and Development, internal tensions led to his resignation as party leader. He founded the Rafi party in 1965, taking seven Mapai MKs with him. Meanwhile, the Revisionist Zionist Herut party and the Israeli Liberal Party merged to form Gahal, consolidating opposition forces. To counter the strengthened opposition, Mapai entered an alliance with Ahdut HaAvoda, forming the Labor Alignment before the 1965 elections. The alliance received 37% of the vote and won 45 seats, maintaining its lead over Gahal, which had won 26 seats. On 23 January 1968 Mapai merged with Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi to form the Israeli Labor Party.
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Ideology
[edit]A democratic socialist party, Mapai implemented a range of social and economic policies during its time in government,[7][8] including the establishment of a welfare state[9] and the expansion of labor rights.[10]
Notable legislation passed by Mapai-led governments included the 1949 Compulsory Education Law, mandating schooling for all children aged 5 to 14,[11] the National Insurance Act of 1953, and the Social Welfare Service Law of 1958, which established social welfare programs such as family allowances, workers’ compensation, maternity benefits, and old-age and survivors’ pensions.[12]
Membership
[edit]Membership in Mapai was limited to Jews only for much of its existence, with a succession of Arab satellite lists nominally representing Arab citizens of Israel in elections, including the Democratic List of Nazareth, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Agriculture and Development, Progress and Work, Cooperation and Brotherhood, Progress and Development and Cooperation and Development. Mapai supported maintaining martial law over Arab citizens, which restricted their movement outside their towns of residence without permits from Israeli authorities.[13]
Party leaders
[edit]Selection of party leaders
[edit]Until 1963 Mapai did not have formal procedures for selecting its leader. From the party's founding, David Ben-Gurion served as its dominant and largely unchallenged figure. During his brief retirement between 1954 and 1955, Moshe Sharett held the position of official party leader, though Ben-Gurion continued to be regarded as the de facto head of the party.
Following Ben-Gurion’s second retirement in 1963, leading members of Mapai held informal consultations that produced a consensus to appoint Levi Eshkol as leader. This decision was subsequently approved by the party’s Central Committee. After assuming leadership, Eshkol introduced an amendment to the party’s constitution establishing that Mapai's candidate for prime minister—and therefore its leader—would be chosen through a vote of the Central Committee. This rule was applied in 1965 when Ben-Gurion sought unsuccessfully to regain the party leadership in a formal election conducted by the Central Committee.[14]
General secretaries
[edit]- 1930–1954 – David Ben-Gurion
- 1954–1955 – Moshe Sharett
- 1955–1963 – David Ben-Gurion
- 1963–1968 – Levi Eshkol
Election results
[edit]| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 21,497 (#1) | 43.5 | 27 / 71
|
New | David Ben-Gurion |
| 1944 | 73,367 (#1) | 36.5 | 64 / 171
|
 37
| |
| 1949 | 155,274 (#1) | 35.7 | 46 / 120
|
 18
| |
| 1951 | 256,456 (#1) | 37.3 | 45 / 120
|
1
| |
| 1955 | 274,735 (#1) | 32.2 | 40 / 120
|
5
| |
| 1959 | 370,585 (#1) | 38.2 | 47 / 120
|
7
| |
| 1961 | 349,330 (#1) | 34.7 | 42 / 120
|
5
| |
| 1965 | Part of the Labor Alignment | 37 / 120
|
5
|
Levi Eshkol | |
References
[edit]- ^ Jones, Clive A. (2013). Soviet Jewish Aliyah, 1989–1992: Impact and Implications for Israel and the Middle East. Routledge. p. 61.
[...] Mapai, the democratic socialist party of David Ben Gurion.
- ^ Busky, Donald F. (2000). Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 210. ISBN 9780275968861. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ Shafir, Gershon; Peled, Yoav, eds. (2000). The New Israel: Peacemaking And Liberalization. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 9780429964718. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ Sharon Weinblum (2015). Security and Defensive Democracy in Israel: A Critical Approach to Political Discourse. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-317-58450-6.
- ^ "Reshaping the Political Order in Israel, 1965–1967". JSTOR. 3 November 2018. JSTOR 48563804.
Israel's two main left-wing parties, Mapai and Ahdut HaAvodah.
- ^ Zielińska, Janina (2003), "Kowalski [Kowalski-Wierusz], Alfred(-Wierusz)", Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t047801, retrieved 2021-02-26
- ^ "Beba Idelson". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ "National Labour Law Profile: The State of Israel". www.ilo.org. 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ Israel Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments By Inc Ibp, 2013, P.114
- ^ Golda Meir A Political Biography By Meron Medzini, 2017
- ^ The Ausführender – 45 rpm, OCLC 1183600724, retrieved 2021-02-26
- ^ "Israel – Welfare". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ Segev, Tom (2007). 1967: Israel, the War, and the Year that Transformed the Middle East. New York: MacMillan. p. 68. ISBN 9781429911672.
- ^ Kenig, Ofer (2009). "Democratizing Party Leadership Selection in Israel: A Balance Sheet". Israel Studies Forum. 24 (1): 62–81. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
External links
[edit]
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|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- Political parties in Mandatory Palestine
- Political parties established in 1930
- 1930 establishments in Mandatory Palestine
- Political parties disestablished in 1968
- 1968 disestablishments in Israel
- Defunct political parties in Israel
- Socialist parties in Israel
- Zionist political parties in Israel
- Members of the Labour and Socialist International
- Labor Zionism
- Poale Zion
- Left-wing nationalist parties
- Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew