The seventeenth government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Rabin on 3 June 1974, following the resignation of Prime Minister Golda Meir on 11 April and Rabin's election as Labor Party leader on 26 April. It was the first time an Israeli government had been led by a native-born Israeli (although Rabin was born in the British Mandate for Palestine prior to independence). As well as the 54-seat Alignment (of which the Labor Party was the largest faction, alongside

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

and the two Labor-affiliated Israeli Arab parties,

Progress and Development Progress and Development ( he, קידמה ופיתוח, ''Kidma VePituah''; ar, تقدم وتطور) was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History Progress and Development was established in 1959, drawing its support from the Galilee area. Like ...

and the

Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers The Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers ( he, רשימה ערבית לבדואים וכפריים, ''Reshima Aravit LeBedouim VeKfariym'', ar, القائمة العربية للبدو والفلاحين) was an Arab satellite list in Israel. ...

, which merged into the United Arab List towards the end of the Knesset term), Rabin also included the Independent Liberals, who held four seats, and Ratz, which had three. The coalition had only a one-seat majority, with just 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, and was the first in Israeli political history to not contain a religious party. This status lasted until 30 October when the National Religious Party (NRP) joined the coalition, taking the number of seats up to 71, although Ratz left on 6 November, reducing the number by three. In forming the government, Rabin dropped the development portfolio. The government was dissolved by Rabin on 22 December 1976, following the abstention of the NRP on a vote of no confidence regarding an apparent breach of the Sabbath during a ceremony at an Israeli Air Force base, but continued, without the NRP members, who all resigned on 22 December, as a

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

until the formation of the eighteenth government following the May 1977 elections. However, following the Dollar Account affair in March 1977, Rabin announced on 6 April that he was resigning as head of the Labor Party, and

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

was unanimously elected to succeed him. As Israeli law prohibited resignation from a caretaker government, Rabin suspended himself from his duties as Prime Minister and Peres took his place as an unofficial acting Prime Minister.Israeli Government- Legal Situation
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 November 1995

Cabinet members

} , National Religious Party , style="background:, , - , Moshe Baram (from 16 January 1977) , Alignment , style="background:, , - , rowspan=3,

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

, Shulamit Aloni (until 6 November 1974) , Ratz , style="background:, , - ,

Yisrael Galili Yisrael Galili ( he, ישראל גלילי; 10 February 1911 – 8 February 1986) was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the Haganah. Biography Y ...

, Alignment , style="background:, , - ,

Gideon Hausner Gideon Hausner ( he, גדעון האוזנר, 26 September 1915 – 15 November 1990) was an Israeli jurist and politician. Between 1960 and 1963, he served as Attorney General and was later elected to the Knesset and served in the cabinet. Ha ...

, Not an MK ⁴ , style="background:, , - , Deputy Minister of Agriculture , Jabr Muadi (from 24 March 1975) , Alignment,

,
United Arab List , style="background:, , - , rowspan=2, , Jabr Muadi (until 24 March 1975) , Alignment , style="background:, , - ,

Eliyahu Moyal Eliyahu Moyal (, 2 August 1920 – 6 September 1991) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1974 and 1981. Biography Born in Salé in Morocco, Moyal became general secretary of the city's Communit ...

(from 24 March 1975) , Alignment , style="background:, ¹ Although Rosen, Shem-Tov and Uzan were not members of the Knesset at the time, they had previously been MKs for the Alignment. ² Although Bar-Lev and Rabinovitz were not MKs at the time, they were later elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list. ³ Ofer committed suicide following the Yadlin affair. ⁴ Kol and Hausner had been elected to the Knesset on the Independent Liberals list, but resigned their seats after being appointed to the cabinet. ⁵ Hasani died in office.

References

External links

Eighth Knesset: Government 17
Knesset website {{Israeli governments 17 1974 establishments in Israel 1976 disestablishments in Israel Cabinets established in 1974 Cabinets disestablished in 1976 1974 in Israeli politics 1975 in Israeli politics 1976 in Israeli politics 1977 in Israeli politics 17