The Assembly of Representatives (, ''Asefat HaNivharim'') was the elected parliamentary assembly of the Jewish community in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. It was established on 19 April 1920, and functioned until 13 February 1949, the day before the first Knesset, elected on 25 January, was sworn in. The Assembly met once a year to elect the executive body, the Jewish National Council, which was responsible for education, local government, welfare, security and defense. It also voted on the budgets proposed by the Jewish National Council and the Rabbinical Council.

History

Under the British Mandate, the

Yishuv The Yishuv (), HaYishuv Ha'ivri (), or HaYishuv HaYehudi Be'Eretz Yisra'el () was the community of Jews residing in Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 2 ...

(Jewish community), established a network of political and administrative institutions, among them the Assembly of Representatives. To ensure that small groups were properly represented, a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

was introduced. The first elections were held on 19 April 1920, and the largest faction,

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...

, won only 70 of the Assembly's 314 seats. The

ultra-orthodox Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

community and the ultra-orthodox

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael (; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement ...

party boycotted the Assembly elections due to their objections to secular Zionism. The second elections were held in 1925, and following the passing of the ''Religious Communities Organisation Ordinance'' in 1926, the Assembly was recognised by the British authorities in 1928.Assembly of Representatives (Assefat Hanivharim)
Knesset website Further elections were held in 1931 and 1944. In the latter elections, some groups, especially the Sephardic Jews, boycotted the elections and were not represented.Simple ceremony marks opening session of newly elected Palestine Jewish Assembly
Jewish Telegraph Agency, 13 September 1944 From 1944 onwards the Assembly was also boycotted by Hatzohar due to disagreements with the elected leaders over policy.

Elections

* 19 April 1920 * 6 December 1925 * 5 January 1931 * 2 August 1944

References

{{Israeli elections History of Mandatory Palestine Politics of Mandatory Palestine Jewish organizations in Mandatory Palestine 1920 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1949 disestablishments in Israel