The prime minister of Israel is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel.
Ratz, officially the Movement for Civil Rights and Peace was a left-wing political party in Israel that focused on human rights, civil rights and women's rights. It was active from 1973 until its formal merger into Meretz in 1997. However, it remains a registered political party.
Rafi was a center-left political party in Israel, founded by former Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion in 1965. In 1968 it was one of three parties that merged to form the Israeli Labor Party.
Gahal was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until the establishment of Likud in 1973. It was led by Menachem Begin.
Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.
Progress and Development was an Arab satellite list in Israel.
Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 2 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.
The Independent Liberals were a political party in Israel that existed between 1965 and 1992.
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 79%. The election was postponed for two months because of the Yom Kippur War.
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 May 1977 to elect the ninth Knesset. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right wing, led by Likud, won a plurality of seats, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai. The dramatic shift in Israeli politics caused by the outcome led to it becoming known as "the revolution", a phrase coined by TV anchor Haim Yavin when he announced the election results live on television with the words "Ladies and gentlemen—a revolution!". The election saw the beginning of a period lasting almost two decades where the left- and right-wing blocs held roughly equal numbers of seats in the Knesset.
The Alignment was the name of two political alliances in Israel, both of which ended their existence by merging, in January 1968 and October 1991, into the Israeli Labor Party.
Elections for the 12th Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.
Since the founding of the State of Israel, relatively few women have served in the Israeli government, and fewer still have served in the leading ministerial offices. While Israel is one of a small number of countries where a woman—Golda Meir—has served as Prime Minister, it is behind most Western countries in the representation of women in both the parliament and government.
The fifteenth government of Israel was formed by Golda Meir on 15 December 1969 following the October elections. The government was a continuation of the national unity government formed during the previous Knesset, and consisted of the Alignment, Gahal, the National Religious Party, the Independent Liberals and the Israeli Arab parties Progress and Development and Cooperation and Brotherhood. Gahal left the coalition in early August 1970 after the government agreed to accept the Rogers Plan.
The thirteenth government of Israel was formed by Levi Eshkol on 12 January 1966, following the November 1965 elections. His coalition included the Alignment, the National Religious Party, Mapam, the Independent Liberals, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Progress and Development and Cooperation and Brotherhood, and had eighteen ministers.
The fourteenth government of Israel was formed by Golda Meir on 17 March 1969, following the death of Prime Minister Levi Eshkol on 26 February. She kept the same national unity government coalition, including the newly formed Alignment alliance of the Labor Party and Mapam, as well as Gahal, the National Religious Party, the Independent Liberals, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Progress and Development, Cooperation and Brotherhood. The only change to the cabinet was the scrapping of the Minister of Information post, with the previous post-holder Yisrael Galili becoming a Minister without Portfolio instead.
The sixteenth government of Israel was formed by Golda Meir on 10 March 1974, following the December 1973 elections. However, following Meir's resignation as Prime Minister on 11 April, it only remained in office until 3 June, and at just 85 days, was the shortest-lived government in Israeli political history.
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.
Politics in Israel is dominated by Zionist parties. They traditionally fall into three camps, the first two being the largest: Labor Zionism, revisionist Zionism, and religious Zionism. There are also several non-Zionist Orthodox religious parties and non-Zionist secular left-wing groups, as well as non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Israeli Arab parties.
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