The Progressive Party (, ''Miflaga Progresivit'') was a
liberal political party in Israel.
History
The Progressive Party was a liberal party, most of whose founders came from the ranks of the
New Aliyah Party and
HaOved HaTzioni, which had been active prior to independence. It consisted primarily of immigrants from
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
.
It was formed by three groups: First, and most numerous, was the mostly Central European, middle class
New Aliyah Party, which generally took a liberal position on social issues. Second was
HaOved HaTzioni, a non-socialist
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
in the
Histadrut that rejected the idea of
class struggle. Last was "group A" of the
General Zionists
The General Zionists () were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann and their views were largely colored by central European culture. The party was considered ...
, which was made up of artisans, small farmers, and members of the liberal professions, and which unlike "group B" was left-of-center and oriented toward the Histadrut.
[ The Progressives favored private investment and shifting control over essential services and welfare functions from the Histadrut to the state. Although they were not socialists, they were intellectually sympathetic to ]socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
aspirations and open to cooperating with Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
in a coalition government.[
In the 1949 Constituent Assembly elections the party gained won seats, with Idov Cohen, Yeshayahu Forder, Avraham Granot, Yizhar Harari and Pinchas Rosen taking their place as Members of the Knesset (MKs). They joined the government as a coalition partner of ]David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
's Mapai party, and were members of both the first and second governments of Israel.
In the 1951 elections the party lost a seat and dropped to four MKs. They were not included in Ben-Gurion's original coalition, but were brought into the fourth government as a replacement for the ultra-orthodox parties 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 ...
and Poalei Agudat Yisrael, who had resigned over religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...
issues. They were also a coalition partner in the fifth government (created when Ben-Gurion resigned and was replaced by Moshe Sharett), but were dropped from the sixth government after a motion of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
had been brought against the ruling Mapai-led coalition.
The Progressive Party regained their original strength at the 1955 elections, returning to five seats, and were members both the seventh and eighth governments, headed by the returning Ben-Gurion.
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...
(LI) maintained contacts with both the Progressive Party and the General Zionists in the 1950s. The Progressive Party applied for affiliation at Liberal International's 1955 Lucerne congress and was accepted. This was on the condition that the Progressives would not object to the General Zionist party's affiliation when it decided to apply, which the Progressives willingly accepted (the General Zionists affiliated several years later).[
In the 1959 elections the party gained another seat, their representation rising to six MKs. Again they joined Ben-Gurion's ]coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
. On 8 May 1961 the party merged with the General Zionists
The General Zionists () were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann and their views were largely colored by central European culture. The party was considered ...
to form the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
."Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups"
Knesset website It was the motion of no confidence brought by the new Liberal Party and Herut that brought down the government.
The 1961 elections saw the Liberal Party become the third largest in the Knesset, though they did not join the coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
. Later in the session, the majority of the Liberal Party MKs merged with Herut to form Gahal (which later became Likud
Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
in 1973). However, the MKs that agreed with the merger were largely previous members of the General Zionists. Most former Progressive Party MKs objected to the alliance with Herut and set up the Independent Liberals instead.
Leaders
Knesset election results
See also
* Politics of Israel
References
External links
Progressive Party
Knesset website
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 1948
General Zionism
Zionist political parties in Israel
Liberal parties in Israel
Defunct political parties in Israel
Defunct liberal political parties
Political parties disestablished in 1961
Social liberal parties
Progressive parties
1961 disestablishments in Israel
1948 establishments in Israel