National List
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The National List (Hebrew: רשימה ממלכתית, Reshima Mamlakhtit), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud, Israel's largest right-wing bloc.
[edit] Background
The National List had been formed by Ben-Gurion prior to the 1969 elections after his former party, Rafi, had merged into the Alignment against his wishes.
The new party won four seats in the seventh Knesset, and Ben Gurion was joined in the Knesset by Meir Avizohar, Isser Harel and Yigael Hurvitz. During the session Avizohar defected to the Alignment, leaving the party with three seats. Ben Gurion resigned from the Knesset in 1970, and was replaced by Zalman Shoval.
Without Ben Gurion's leadership, the party began to disintegrate. Before the 1973 elections it merged with Gahal, the Free Centre and the non-parliamentary Movement for Greater Israel to create the Likud. The new party won 39 seats, with Hurvitz and Shoval being elected to the Knesset on the its list.
The party was briefly reformed during the ninth Knesset after Hurvitz, Shoval and Yitzhak Peretz had left Likud to create Rafi – National List. Peretz then broke away from the other two to recreate the National List. However, the reconstituted party only lasted for 12 days as Peretz rejoined Likud.
[edit] External links
- Party history Knesset website (English)
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