The Unity Party ( he, מפלגת האיחוד, ''Mifleget HaIhud''), officially the Unity Party for the Advancement and Education of the Society in Israel (Hebrew: מפלגת האיחוד לקידום ולחינוך החברה בישראל, ''Mifleget HaIhud LeKidum VeLeHinukh HaHevra BeYisrael'') and originally known as Equality in Israel – Panthers (Hebrew: שוויון בישראל - פנתרים, ''Shivion BeYisrael – Panterim'') was a short-lived

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

Background

The party was formed on 11 November 1980 by

Saadia Marciano Saadia Marciano ( he, סעדיה מרציאנו; 1 May 1950 – 21 December 2007) was an Israeli social activist and politician, and founder of the Israeli Black Panthers. Biography Born in Oujda, Morocco in 1950, Marciano's family immigrated t ...

. He had been elected to the Knesset on the list of the

Left Camp of Israel The Left Camp of Israel ( he, מחנה שמאל לישראל, ''Maḥaneh Smol LeYisrael'') was a left-wing political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli ( he, של"י), an acronym for "Peace for Israel" ( he, שלום לישראל, ''Sha ...

, a union of various left-wing groups, including Meri,

Moked Moked ( he, מוקד, lit. "Focus") was a left-wing political party in Israel. Background Moked came into existence during the seventh Knesset, when Maki (which had one seat, held by Shmuel Mikunis) merged with the Blue-Red Movement, which wa ...

, the

Independent Socialist Faction The Independent Socialist Faction ( he, סיעה סוציאליסטית עצמאית, ''Sia'a Sotzialistit Atzma'it'') was a political party in Israel in the 1970s. Background The party was established on 27 January 1976, during the eighth Kne ...

and the

Israeli Black Panthers The Black Panthers ( he, הפנתרים השחורים, translit. ''HaPanterim HaShkhorim'') were an Israeli protest movement of second-generation Jewish immigrants from North Africa and Middle Eastern countries. It was one of the first organiz ...

, but broke away soon after taking his seat in 1980 (the Left Camp had two seats which were held in rotation by five party members). On 30 December, the faction was named Equality in Israel – Panthers. In May 1981 he was joined by

Mordechai Elgrably Mordechai Elgrably (, born 14 July 1944) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for several parties between 1977 and 1981. Biography Born in Meknes in Morocco, Elgrably received a religious education and was a memb ...

, who had been elected to the Knesset on Dash's list, and had joined the

Democratic Movement A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...

after the party split, before leaving to sit as an independent MK. A name change resulted in the party becoming known as the Unity Party. However, the party failed to cross the 1%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

in the June 1981 elections and subsequently disappeared.

Knesset members

External links

Equality in Israel – Panthers
Knesset website
Unity Party
Knesset website Political parties established in 1980 Defunct political parties in Israel 1980 establishments in Israel 1980s disestablishments in Israel Political parties disestablished in the 1980s Socialist parties in Israel {{israel-party-stub