Meretz-Yachad
Encyclopedia
New Movement-Meretz previously known as Meretz, then Yachad, and then Meretz-Yachad is a left-wing, Zionist, social democratic
political party in Israel
.
The party emphasizes peace with the Palestinians, human rights
(especially for ethnic and sexual minorities), religious freedom and environmentalism
.
by an alliance of three left-wing parties; Ratz, Mapam
and Shinui
, and was initially led by Ratz's chairwoman and long-time Knesset member Shulamit Aloni
. The name "Meretz" (מרצ) was chosen as an acronym for Mapam (מפ"ם) and Ratz (רצ). The third party of the alliance wasn't reflected in its name, but was instead mentioned in the party's campaign slogan: "ממשלה עם מרצ, הכוח לעשות את השינוי" (A government with vigor [Meretz], the strength to make the change [Shinui]). Its first electoral test was a success, with the party winning twelve seats, making it the third largest in the Knesset
. Meretz became the major coalition partner of Yitzhak Rabin
's Labor Party, helping pave the way for the Oslo Accords
. The party also picked up several ministerial portfolios; Aloni was made Minister of Education, though disputes over the role of religion in education meant she was moved out of the education ministry to become Minister Without Portfolio
in May 1993. In June she became Minister of Communications and Minister of Science and Technology, a role that was later renamed Minister of Science and the Arts. Amnon Rubinstein
became Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology and later Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport, whilst Yossi Sarid
was named Minister of the Environment and Yair Tzaban
Minister of Immigrant Absorption.
After the 1996 elections
, in which Meretz lost a quarter of its seats, Aloni lost internal leadership elections to Yossi Sarid
and retired. In 1997 the three parties officially merged into a single entity, though part of Shinui (under the leadership of Avraham Poraz
) broke away to form a separate movement. Later in the Knesset session David Zucker
also left the party to sit as an independent MK.
The 1999 elections saw the party regain some of its former strength, picking up 10 seats, including the first ever female Israeli Arab MK
, Hussniya Jabara
. Meretz were invited into Ehud Barak
's coalition, with Sarid becoming Education Minister, Ran Cohen
Minister of Industry and Trade, and Haim Oron
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. However, after Ariel Sharon
beat Barak in a special election for Prime Minister in 2001, Meretz left the government.
On October 22, 2002, Meretz MK Uzi Even
made history by becoming the first openly gay
Member of Knesset, after Amnon Rubinstein
retired. This created a vacancy and Even was next on the Meretz list. His term lasted less than three months, however, as the Knesset was dissolved in January, 2003. Even's entry to the Knesset was met by mixed reactions from the ultra-orthodox
parties; Shas
's Nissim Ze'ev was the harshest, saying Even "symbolized the bestialization of humanity," adding that he should be "hidden under the carpet" and banned from entering the Knesset.
For the 2003 elections, Meretz were joined by Roman Bronfman
's Democratic Choice
. However, the party shrank again, this time to just six seats. Sarid immediately took responsibility and resigned from leadership, though he did not retire from the Knesset and continued serving as an MK, before stepping down prior to the 2006 elections.
In December 2003, Meretz was disbanded in order to merge with Yossi Beilin
's non-parliamentary Shahar (Hebrew: שח"ר) movement. The original name suggested for the new party was Ya'ad (Hebrew: יעד, Goal), but was not used because it sounded like the Russian
word for poison ("yad"), and it was feared that it might alienate Israel's one million Russian-speaking voters (although there had been two parties previously in Israel using the name - Ya'ad
and Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
, the latter ironically a forerunner of Meretz, they both existed before large-scale immigration from the Soviet Union
). Instead, the name Yachad (Hebrew: יח"ד) was chosen. As well as meaning "Together", it is also a Hebrew acronym for Social-Democratic Israel (Hebrew: ישראל חברתית דמוקרטית, Yisrael Hevratit Demokratit).
The new party was established in order to unite and resuscitate the Israeli Zionist peace camp, which had been soundly defeated in the 2003 elections (dropping from 56 Knesset members in 1992 to 24 in 2003) following the Al-Aqsa Intifada
. The party's purpose was to unite a variety of dovish Zionist movements with the dovish wing of the Israeli Labor Party. However, the efforts were largely unsuccessful as, except for the original Meretz, Shahar and Democratic Choice
, no other movement joined the new party. It has suffered from declining popular interest in left-wing peace movements, as a result of the rise in Palestinian violence, and only 20,000 people are now registered members of the party, half the number who were prior to the 1999 party primaries.
In March 2004, Yossi Beilin
was elected party leader, beating Ran Cohen
, and started a two year term as the first chairman of Yachad. In July 2005 the party decided to change its name to Meretz-Yachad, because opinion polls revealed that the name Yachad was not recognisable to the Israeli public, and that they preferred the old name Meretz. The chairman Beilin opposed the motion to revert the name to Meretz and a compromise between the old and new names, Meretz-Yachad, was agreed upon.
However, in the 2006 election campaign the party dropped the Yachad part of its name, running as just Meretz, under the slogan "Meretz on the left, the Human in the centre". Nevertheless, it failed to stop the party's decline, as they won just five seats. In 2007, Tsvia Greenfeld, sixth on the party list, became the first ever female Ultra-orthodox
Knesset member, following Yossi Beilin
's decision to retire from politics.
In the party leadership contest in late 2007 Beilin withdrew his candidacy after it became clear that Haim Oron
was leading in the polls. Oron went on to win the internal elections held on 18 March 2008 with 54.5% of the vote, beating Ran Cohen
(27.1%) and Zehava Gal-On
(18.1%) to become Meretz's new chairman.
Because Meretz had failed to attract voters disappointed with the Labor Party despite Labor's falling numbers in the ballot box, or even those who had voted for the Pensioners Party, an initiative was launched to broaden Meretz's representation. Polls show most such voters prefer Tzipi Livni
's Kadima party, which is widely viewed as committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians. In talks over assembling a government under her leadership, Livni arrived at terms of an agreement with Meretz, and even promised the party it could count on fielding two ministers. Many Meretz voters would also ultimately choose Kadima
in 2009 elections.
On December 22, 2008, Meretz finalized its merger with Hatnua HaHadasha ("The New Movement") for the 2009 Israeli elections. The alliance failed miserably, winning just three seats, with the left-wing bloc in general suffering a harsh blow in Israeli legislative elections in 2009.
, Green
, left-wing
social democratic party. It has inherited Meretz's membership in the Socialist International
. It sees itself as the political representative of the Israeli Peace movement, in the Knesset - as well as municipal councils and other local political bodies.
In the international media it has been described as left-wing
, social democratic, dovish, secular, civil libertarian, and anti-occupation
. Some view the party on the far-left of the Israeli political spectrum
.
After a dismal result for Meretz in 2009 elections, Meretz leader Haim Oron announced, "Based on the energies which I saw today as well, and the forces existing within us, we must overcome the difficult feeling we are experiencing this evening. We won't be annihilated," promising that Meretz will continue to be "a key element in the establishment of a Zionist dovish and humanistic Social-Democratic Left in the State of Israel. This vacuum has not been filled in these elections."
has abandoned the "securitist" approach of its predecessor Meretz and focused its criticism at the conduct of former PM Ariel Sharon
and the government. The party was torn in whether to support Sharon's disengagement plan
, though in November 2004, it announced that it would abstain in motions of no confidence
in the Likud
government in order to prevent the government from falling prior to the implementation of the plan. With the defection of Shinui
from Ariel Sharon
's government, Meretz-Yachad's decision helped Sharon to execute his plan.
and the Jewish National Fund
.
Meretz USA joined with other progressive Zionists in the United States and Canada to form the Union of Progressive Zionists
, which later became J Street
U, a college student network, as well as the Jewish Academic Network for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
Hashomer Hatzair
, a progressive Zionist youth movement with branches in many countries, is informally associated with Meretz through its historic connection with Mapam
.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political party in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
The party emphasizes peace with the Palestinians, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
(especially for ethnic and sexual minorities), religious freedom and environmentalism
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
.
History
Meretz was formed in 1992 prior to the electionsIsraeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
by an alliance of three left-wing parties; Ratz, Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
and Shinui
Shinui
Shinui is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for...
, and was initially led by Ratz's chairwoman and long-time Knesset member Shulamit Aloni
Shulamit Aloni
Shulamit Aloni is an Israeli politician and left-wing activist. She is a prominent member of the Israeli peace camp, founded the Ratz party and was leader of the Meretz party and served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993.-Biography:...
. The name "Meretz" (מרצ) was chosen as an acronym for Mapam (מפ"ם) and Ratz (רצ). The third party of the alliance wasn't reflected in its name, but was instead mentioned in the party's campaign slogan: "ממשלה עם מרצ, הכוח לעשות את השינוי" (A government with vigor [Meretz], the strength to make the change [Shinui]). Its first electoral test was a success, with the party winning twelve seats, making it the third largest in the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
. Meretz became the major coalition partner of Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
's Labor Party, helping pave the way for the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
. The party also picked up several ministerial portfolios; Aloni was made Minister of Education, though disputes over the role of religion in education meant she was moved out of the education ministry to become Minister Without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
in May 1993. In June she became Minister of Communications and Minister of Science and Technology, a role that was later renamed Minister of Science and the Arts. Amnon Rubinstein
Amnon Rubinstein
Amnon Rubinstein is an Israeli law scholar, politician, and columnist. A member of the Knesset between 1977 and 2002, he served in several ministerial positions. He is currently dean of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and a patron of Liberal International.-Early life:Rubinstein was born...
became Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology and later Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport, whilst Yossi Sarid
Yossi Sarid
Yossi Sarid is a left-wing Israeli news commentator and former politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006...
was named Minister of the Environment and Yair Tzaban
Yair Tzaban
-Biography:Tzaban was born in Jerusalem in 1930. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he fought in the Palmach. He was among the founders of Kibbutz Tzora, near Jerusalem....
Minister of Immigrant Absorption.
After the 1996 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1996
Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...
, in which Meretz lost a quarter of its seats, Aloni lost internal leadership elections to Yossi Sarid
Yossi Sarid
Yossi Sarid is a left-wing Israeli news commentator and former politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006...
and retired. In 1997 the three parties officially merged into a single entity, though part of Shinui (under the leadership of Avraham Poraz
Avraham Poraz
Avraham Poraz is an Israeli lawyer and former politician.- Biography :Poraz was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1945 and immigrated to Israel in 1950...
) broke away to form a separate movement. Later in the Knesset session David Zucker
David Zucker (politician)
David "Dedi" Zucker is an Israeli peace activist and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Ratz, Meretz and as an independent between 1986 and 1999.-Biography:...
also left the party to sit as an independent MK.
The 1999 elections saw the party regain some of its former strength, picking up 10 seats, including the first ever female Israeli Arab MK
Arab members of the Knesset
There have been Israeli Arab members of the Knesset since the first Knesset elections in 1949. The following is a list of the sixty-three past and present members. Some Israeli Druze dispute the label "Arab" and consider Druze a separate ethnic group, however they are still included in this...
, Hussniya Jabara
Hussniya Jabara
Hussniya Jabara is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz between 1999 and 2003. She was the first Israeli Arab woman to become a Knesset member.-Biography:Jabara was born to a Muslim farming family in Tayibe...
. Meretz were invited into Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
's coalition, with Sarid becoming Education Minister, Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen is an Israeli politician and former Knesset member for Meretz-Yachad. He is a resident of Mevaseret Zion and married with four children....
Minister of Industry and Trade, and Haim Oron
Haim Oron
Haim "Jumas" Oron is an Israeli politician and former Minister of Agriculture. He is currently head of the political party New Movement-Meretz, for whom he served as a member of the Knesset.-Biography:...
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. However, after Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
beat Barak in a special election for Prime Minister in 2001, Meretz left the government.
On October 22, 2002, Meretz MK Uzi Even
Uzi Even
Professor Uzi Even is an Israeli professor of chemistry in Tel Aviv University and a former politician.-Biography:Born in Haifa to eastern European Jewish immigrants, Even studied for a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics at the Technion, and a Ph.D at Tel Aviv University...
made history by becoming the first openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Member of Knesset, after Amnon Rubinstein
Amnon Rubinstein
Amnon Rubinstein is an Israeli law scholar, politician, and columnist. A member of the Knesset between 1977 and 2002, he served in several ministerial positions. He is currently dean of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and a patron of Liberal International.-Early life:Rubinstein was born...
retired. This created a vacancy and Even was next on the Meretz list. His term lasted less than three months, however, as the Knesset was dissolved in January, 2003. Even's entry to the Knesset was met by mixed reactions from the ultra-orthodox
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
parties; Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
's Nissim Ze'ev was the harshest, saying Even "symbolized the bestialization of humanity," adding that he should be "hidden under the carpet" and banned from entering the Knesset.
For the 2003 elections, Meretz were joined by Roman Bronfman
Roman Bronfman
Dr Roman Bronfman is a left wing Israeli politician. He was born in the Soviet Union, and immigrated to Israel in 1980. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before entering politics, he was a lecturer and journalist....
's Democratic Choice
Democratic Choice
The Democratic Choice was a minor political party in Israel headed by Roman Bronfman.-Background:The party was formed in July 1999 during the 15th Knesset when Roman Bronfman and Alexander Tzinker broke away from Yisrael BaAliyah...
. However, the party shrank again, this time to just six seats. Sarid immediately took responsibility and resigned from leadership, though he did not retire from the Knesset and continued serving as an MK, before stepping down prior to the 2006 elections.
In December 2003, Meretz was disbanded in order to merge with Yossi Beilin
Yossi Beilin
Dr. Yosef "Yossi" Beilin is a left-wing Israeli politician and a former Knesset member, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and Justice Minister, representing both the Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, of which he served as chairman between 2003 and 2006. He is best known for his involvement with the...
's non-parliamentary Shahar (Hebrew: שח"ר) movement. The original name suggested for the new party was Ya'ad (Hebrew: יעד, Goal), but was not used because it sounded like the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
word for poison ("yad"), and it was feared that it might alienate Israel's one million Russian-speaking voters (although there had been two parties previously in Israel using the name - Ya'ad
Ya'ad (political party)
Ya'ad was a short-lived, one-man political party in Israel. It is not related to the other political party of the same name, Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement.-Background:...
and Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement , commonly known as just Ya'ad, was a short-lived political party in Israel. It is not related to the other party by the name of Ya'ad which existed during the ninth Knesset.-Background:...
, the latter ironically a forerunner of Meretz, they both existed before large-scale immigration from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
). Instead, the name Yachad (Hebrew: יח"ד) was chosen. As well as meaning "Together", it is also a Hebrew acronym for Social-Democratic Israel (Hebrew: ישראל חברתית דמוקרטית, Yisrael Hevratit Demokratit).
The new party was established in order to unite and resuscitate the Israeli Zionist peace camp, which had been soundly defeated in the 2003 elections (dropping from 56 Knesset members in 1992 to 24 in 2003) following the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
. The party's purpose was to unite a variety of dovish Zionist movements with the dovish wing of the Israeli Labor Party. However, the efforts were largely unsuccessful as, except for the original Meretz, Shahar and Democratic Choice
Democratic Choice
The Democratic Choice was a minor political party in Israel headed by Roman Bronfman.-Background:The party was formed in July 1999 during the 15th Knesset when Roman Bronfman and Alexander Tzinker broke away from Yisrael BaAliyah...
, no other movement joined the new party. It has suffered from declining popular interest in left-wing peace movements, as a result of the rise in Palestinian violence, and only 20,000 people are now registered members of the party, half the number who were prior to the 1999 party primaries.
In March 2004, Yossi Beilin
Yossi Beilin
Dr. Yosef "Yossi" Beilin is a left-wing Israeli politician and a former Knesset member, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and Justice Minister, representing both the Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, of which he served as chairman between 2003 and 2006. He is best known for his involvement with the...
was elected party leader, beating Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen is an Israeli politician and former Knesset member for Meretz-Yachad. He is a resident of Mevaseret Zion and married with four children....
, and started a two year term as the first chairman of Yachad. In July 2005 the party decided to change its name to Meretz-Yachad, because opinion polls revealed that the name Yachad was not recognisable to the Israeli public, and that they preferred the old name Meretz. The chairman Beilin opposed the motion to revert the name to Meretz and a compromise between the old and new names, Meretz-Yachad, was agreed upon.
However, in the 2006 election campaign the party dropped the Yachad part of its name, running as just Meretz, under the slogan "Meretz on the left, the Human in the centre". Nevertheless, it failed to stop the party's decline, as they won just five seats. In 2007, Tsvia Greenfeld, sixth on the party list, became the first ever female Ultra-orthodox
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Knesset member, following Yossi Beilin
Yossi Beilin
Dr. Yosef "Yossi" Beilin is a left-wing Israeli politician and a former Knesset member, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and Justice Minister, representing both the Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, of which he served as chairman between 2003 and 2006. He is best known for his involvement with the...
's decision to retire from politics.
In the party leadership contest in late 2007 Beilin withdrew his candidacy after it became clear that Haim Oron
Haim Oron
Haim "Jumas" Oron is an Israeli politician and former Minister of Agriculture. He is currently head of the political party New Movement-Meretz, for whom he served as a member of the Knesset.-Biography:...
was leading in the polls. Oron went on to win the internal elections held on 18 March 2008 with 54.5% of the vote, beating Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen
Ran Cohen is an Israeli politician and former Knesset member for Meretz-Yachad. He is a resident of Mevaseret Zion and married with four children....
(27.1%) and Zehava Gal-On
Zehava Gal-On
Zahava Gal-On is an Israeli politician. She is a member of the Knesset for Meretz, as a mid-term replacement after the retirement of the head of the party Haim Oron and is well-known for her outspokenness, opposition to Meretz's election strategy, and very liberal and pluralist...
(18.1%) to become Meretz's new chairman.
Because Meretz had failed to attract voters disappointed with the Labor Party despite Labor's falling numbers in the ballot box, or even those who had voted for the Pensioners Party, an initiative was launched to broaden Meretz's representation. Polls show most such voters prefer Tzipi Livni
Tzipi Livni
Tzipporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is an Israeli lawyer and politician. She is the current Israeli Opposition Leader and leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset. Raised an ardent nationalist, Livni has become one of her nation's leading voices for the two-state solution. In Israel she has...
's Kadima party, which is widely viewed as committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians. In talks over assembling a government under her leadership, Livni arrived at terms of an agreement with Meretz, and even promised the party it could count on fielding two ministers. Many Meretz voters would also ultimately choose Kadima
Kadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...
in 2009 elections.
On December 22, 2008, Meretz finalized its merger with Hatnua HaHadasha ("The New Movement") for the 2009 Israeli elections. The alliance failed miserably, winning just three seats, with the left-wing bloc in general suffering a harsh blow in Israeli legislative elections in 2009.
Ideology
Meretz defines itself as a ZionistZionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, Green
Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
, left-wing
Politics of Israel
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive...
social democratic party. It has inherited Meretz's membership in the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
. It sees itself as the political representative of the Israeli Peace movement, in the Knesset - as well as municipal councils and other local political bodies.
In the international media it has been described as left-wing
Politics of Israel
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive...
, social democratic, dovish, secular, civil libertarian, and anti-occupation
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
. Some view the party on the far-left of the Israeli political spectrum
Politics of Israel
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive...
.
After a dismal result for Meretz in 2009 elections, Meretz leader Haim Oron announced, "Based on the energies which I saw today as well, and the forces existing within us, we must overcome the difficult feeling we are experiencing this evening. We won't be annihilated," promising that Meretz will continue to be "a key element in the establishment of a Zionist dovish and humanistic Social-Democratic Left in the State of Israel. This vacuum has not been filled in these elections."
Principles
It emphasizes the following principles (not necessarily in order of importance):- Peace between Israel and the PalestiniansIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
based on a two-state solutionTwo-state solutionThe two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
as laid out in the Geneva AccordGeneva AccordThe Geneva Initiative, also known as the Geneva Accord, is a model permanent status agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, the Clinton Parameters, and the Arab Peace Initiative...
. - Dismantling most of the Israeli settlementIsraeli settlementAn Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
s in the West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. - Human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
issues: - Struggle for the protection of human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in the Israeli-occupied territoriesIsraeli-occupied territoriesThe Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
. - Rights of minorities in Israel (such as Israeli Arabs and foreign workers), fight against discriminationDiscriminationDiscrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, and support for affirmative actionAffirmative actionAffirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
. - Women's rightsWomen's rightsWomen's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
and feminismFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
. - LGBT rightsLGBT social movementsLesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
. - Struggle for social justiceSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
: - Making Israel a social democraticSocial democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
welfare stateWelfare stateA welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. - Protecting workers' rights and fighting against their exploitation (especially, though not exclusively, in the case of foreign workers and immigrants).
- Separation of religion and stateSeparation of church and stateThe concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, and religious freedom. - LiberalLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
secular education. - Israel's security.
- EnvironmentalismEnvironmentalismEnvironmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Meretz-Yachad's approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
has abandoned the "securitist" approach of its predecessor Meretz and focused its criticism at the conduct of former PM Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
and the government. The party was torn in whether to support Sharon's disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
, though in November 2004, it announced that it would abstain in motions of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
government in order to prevent the government from falling prior to the implementation of the plan. With the defection of Shinui
Shinui
Shinui is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for...
from Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
's government, Meretz-Yachad's decision helped Sharon to execute his plan.
Issues being debated internally
Issues that are still under debate in Meretz:- Opinion about refusal to serve in the Israeli militaryRefusal to serve in the Israeli militaryRefusal to serve in the Israeli military includes both refusal to obey specific orders and refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces in any capacity due to pacifist or anti-militarist views or disagreement with the policies of the Israeli government as implemented by the army, such as the...
and whether Meretz supports the refusniks (officially it disapproves of them)? - Should Palestinians be given symbolic "right of returnRight of returnThe term right of return refers to a principle of international law, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the right to return to, and re-enter, his or her country of origin...
" to Israel, as laid out in the Geneva AccordGeneva AccordThe Geneva Initiative, also known as the Geneva Accord, is a model permanent status agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, the Clinton Parameters, and the Arab Peace Initiative...
? - Support for unilateral steps in trying to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians?
Meretz supporters abroad
A number of progressive Zionist organizations that share many of the ideas and ideals of Meretz-Yachad are affiliated with the Israel-based World Union of Meretz; this includes Meretz USA in the U.S. and the London-based Meretz UK, France's Cercle Bernard Lazare. The World Union of Meretz has representation in a number of organizations, such as the World Zionist OrganizationWorld Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
and the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
.
Meretz USA joined with other progressive Zionists in the United States and Canada to form the Union of Progressive Zionists
Union of Progressive Zionists
The Union of Progressive Zionists was a North American network of Jewish student activists who have organized around principles of social justice and peace in Israel and Palestine...
, which later became J Street
J Street
J Street is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It was founded in April 2008....
U, a college student network, as well as the Jewish Academic Network for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
, a progressive Zionist youth movement with branches in many countries, is informally associated with Meretz through its historic connection with Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
.
External links
- Official website
- English portal of official website
- Meretz-Yachad Knesset website
- Meretz Knesset website
- Meretz and the Democratic Choice Knesset website