The National Left (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: השמאל הלאומי - ''Ha'Smol Ha'Leumi'') is an Israeli

political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

striving to express the classic values of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and the Israeli Left in face of the dwindling electoral success of left-wing parties in recent decades: "...Our great and Zionist national Left, who wants, just like Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl,

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 ...

and

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

democratic state with recognizable and defendable borders, an exemplary, model society, and social justice" (translated from The National Left site).The National Left site
The movement was created on the foundation of "The National Left, a first draft", a 2009 manifesto by playwright Shmuel Hasfari and attorney Eldad Yaniv describing the state of the Israeli Left and the potential dangers of continued Israeli presence in the West Bank territories, and attempting to restore the Left's influence on Israel's

political agenda In politics, a political agenda is a list of subjects or problems (issues) to which government officials as well as individuals outside the government are paying serious attention to at any given time. The political agenda is most often shaped by ...

by promoting a pragmatic agenda based on the values of the Left, an Israeli pullout from the West Bank and an end to the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

, and turning the Israeli society into a "model society"."Israeli Stores Stop Selling Book That Denounces Settlers"
by Robert Mackey, ''New York Times'', 12 April 2010
by Attile Somfalvi, YnetNews, 12 April 2010 The book was criticized for its harsh denouncement of settlers and the settlement enterprise, and its distribution by bookstore chain Tzomet Sfarim was stopped, following pressure by right-wing sources. On May 15, 2010, the movement held a rally in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

under the banner "Zionists do not settle"."Thousands join left-wing J'lem rally"
by Abe Selig, ''The Jerusalem Post'', 16 May 2010 The demonstration was organized by The National Left, Peace Now and other left-wing organizations.

References

External links

The National Left official site

The National Left blog

"The National Left, a first draft"
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Left Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Zionist organizations Political organizations based in Israel Left-wing politics in Israel