Sephardim and Oriental Communities
Encyclopedia
Sephardim and Oriental Communities was a political party in Israel
and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud
party.
and Mizrahi Jews
who were already living in Israel at the time of independence, and was part of Minhelet HaAm
and the Provisional government
in 1948-49.
Under the full title of The National Unity List of Sephardim and Oriental Communities, the party gained 3.5% of the vote and four seats in the elections for the first Knesset
in 1949. Represented by Moshe Ben-Ami
, Eliyahu Eliashar
, Avraham Elmalih
and Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
, they joined the government
as a coalition partner of David Ben-Gurion
's Mapai
party, with Sheetrit appointed Minister of Police.
For the 1951 election
, the party changed its name to The list of Sephardim and Oriental Communities, Old Timers and Immigrants. However, they lost around half their share of the vote (1.8%) and half their seats, slumping to just two representatives. Only Eliashar retained his seat, with Binyamin Sasson
taking the second. This time they did not join the government.
On 10 September 1951 the party was merged into the General Zionists
, then the second largest party in the Knesset and briefly a member of the governing coalition that made up the fourth and fifth governments (though they were expelled from the sixth after abstaining from a motion of no-confidence).
Some party members were not happy about joining the General Zionists
and broke away to reform the party. They contested the 1955
and 1959 elections
, but failed to win a seat.
Later on, the General Zionists
merged with the Progressive Party
to form the Liberal Party
, which was briefly the third largest party in Israel before merging again with Herut
to form Gahal
, which eventually became Likud
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day 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...
party.
History
The Sephardim and Oriental Communities party represented Sephardi JewsSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
and Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
who were already living in Israel at the time of independence, and was part of Minhelet HaAm
Provisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
and the Provisional government
Provisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
in 1948-49.
Under the full title of The National Unity List of Sephardim and Oriental Communities, the party gained 3.5% of the vote and four seats in the elections for the first Knesset
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
in 1949. Represented by Moshe Ben-Ami
Moshe Ben-Ami
-Biography:Born in Tiberias at a time when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, Ben-Ami studied at a local yeshiva and the Lipshitz Teachers' Seminary in Jerusalem. He also studied law at the Jerusalem School of Jurisprudence, and was certified as a lawyer....
, Eliyahu Eliashar
Eliyahu Eliashar
-Biography:Born in Jerusalem at a time when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, Eliashar studied medicine at the University of Beirut, as well as law in Cairo and Jerusalem...
, Avraham Elmalih
Avraham Elmalih
-Biography:Born in Jerusalem, Elmalih was educated in a yeshiva and an alliance school before studying at the Archeological Institute, before working as a teacher in his home city, Istanbul, Jaffa and Damascus. In 1914 he established the Herut newspaper, editing it until 1919...
and Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit was an Israeli politician, minister and the only signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence to have been born in the country...
, they joined the government
First government of Israel
The first government of Israel formed by David Ben-Gurion on 8 March 1949, a month and a half after the elections for the first Knesset. His Mapai party formed a coalition with the United Religious Front, the Progressive Party, the Sephardim and Oriental Communities and the Democratic List of...
as a coalition partner of David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
's Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
party, with Sheetrit appointed Minister of Police.
For the 1951 election
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
, the party changed its name to The list of Sephardim and Oriental Communities, Old Timers and Immigrants. However, they lost around half their share of the vote (1.8%) and half their seats, slumping to just two representatives. Only Eliashar retained his seat, with Binyamin Sasson
Binyamin Sasson
Binyamin Sasson was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1951 and 1955.-Biography:Born in Baghdad during the Ottoman era, Sasson made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1937...
taking the second. This time they did not join the government.
On 10 September 1951 the party was merged into the General Zionists
General Zionists
The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:...
, then the second largest party in the Knesset and briefly a member of the governing coalition that made up the fourth and fifth governments (though they were expelled from the sixth after abstaining from a motion of no-confidence).
Some party members were not happy about joining the General Zionists
General Zionists
The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:...
and broke away to reform the party. They contested the 1955
Israeli legislative election, 1955
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40...
and 1959 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1959
Elections for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.-Results:¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party....
, but failed to win a seat.
Later on, the General Zionists
General Zionists
The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:...
merged with the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (Israel)
The Progressive Party was a 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...
to form the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Israel)
The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...
, which was briefly the third largest party in Israel before merging again with Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
to form Gahal
Gahal
Gahal , lit. Herut-Liberals Bloc) was the major right-wing political faction in Israel led by Menachem Begin from its founding in 1965 until it merged into Likud in 1973.-Background:...
, which eventually became 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...
.
External links
- Party history Knesset website