The Democratic Union () was a liberal-

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used diffe ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

formed between

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

, Israel Democratic Party,

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

defector

Stav Shaffir Stav Shaffir (; born 17 May 1985) is an Israeli politician. She is the leader of the Green Party and was a member of the Knesset for the Democratic Union alliance. She came to national prominence as one of the leaders of the 2011 Israeli social ...

, and the

Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...

that ran in the

September 2019 Israeli legislative election Snap legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 September 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 22nd Knesset. Following the previous elections in April, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition for a ...

. On 19 December 2019,

defector

and her party, the

, announced a press conference in which she would leave the alliance to run independently in the 2020 Israeli legislative election. The Democratic Union initially announced on 7 January 2020 that it will run in the 2020 election, this time including

and Democratic Choice. On 13 January 2020, it was announced that a new Labor-Gesher-Meretz slate had been formed for the 2020 election, excluding Shaffir, but including

Yair Golan Yair may refer to: *A spelling variant of the Jewish name Jair In the Biblical Book of Judges, Jair or Yair ( he, יָאִיר ''Yā’īr'', "he enlightens") was a man from Gilead of the Tribe of Manasseh, east of the River Jordan, who judge ...

in a reserved Meretz slot.

History

A meeting was held between

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Ja ...

and Issawi Frej (with

"mediating") on 24 July to make various agreements between their respective factions, with Barak allowing Meretz leader

Nitzan Horowitz Nitzan Horowitz ( he, נִצָּן הוֹרוֹבִיץ; Transliterated: ; born 24 February 1965) is an politician and former journalist serving as Minister of Health since 2021. He is currently leader of Meretz. He previously was the chief U. ...

first place on the list, as well as Barak being placed in tenth place on the list, but with "first pick of portfolios" if the alliance goes into government. The Meretz party voted on 28 July to approve the agreement regarding the Democratic Union. The agreement binds the parties to not join a coalition with a right-wing government, declaring: "We will not lend our hand to a right-wing government headed by Netanyahu, and not a right-wing government headed by the puppets of Netanyahu in any situation, in any scenario, in any way." The parties also pledge to "defend the democratic character of the state, with an emphasis on the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, to abolish the Nation-state Law, and to promote peace and a political settlement with the Palestinian Arabs".

Composition

Former members

Former MKs

The Democratic Union had five members in the 22nd Knesset.

, Israel Democratic,

Election results

References

2019 establishments in Israel 2020 disestablishments in Israel Political parties disestablished in 2020 Political parties established in 2019 Defunct political party alliances in Israel Social democratic parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Meretz {{Israel-party-stub