Israeli legislative election, 1961

Last updated April 10, 2019

Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.^[1]

Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 3.25%, with the number of seats a party receives in the Knesset being proportional to the number of votes it receives. The Knesset is elected for a four-year term, although most governments have not served a full term and early elections are a frequent occurrence. Israel has a multi-party system based on coalition governments as no party has ever won a majority of seats in a national election, although the Alignment briefly held a majority following its formation by an alliance of several different parties prior to the 1969 elections. The legal voting age for Israeli citizens is 18. Elections are overseen by the Central Elections Committee and are held according to the Knesset Elections Law.

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.

Background

Election campaign

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
Mapai ¹	349,330	34.7	42	−5
Herut ²	138,599	13.8	17	0
Liberal Party ²	137,255	13.6	17	+3
National Religious Party	98,786	9.8	12	0
Mapam	75,654	7.5	9	0
Ahdut HaAvoda	66,170	6.6	8	+1
Maki ³	42,111	4.2	5	+2
Agudat Yisrael	37,178	3.7	4	0
Poalei Agudat Yisrael	19,428	1.9	2	0
Cooperation and Brotherhood	19,342	1.9	2	0
Progress and Development	16,034	1.6	2	0

Progress and Work	3,561	0.4	0	0
Religious Sephardim List	3,181	0.3	0	New
Supporters of Democracy	335	0.0	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	30,066	–	–	–
Total	1,037,030	100	120	0
Source: Nohlen et al.

¹ Eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi.

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.

² Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal. Seven Liberal Party members unhappy with the decision (largely former Progressive Party members) broke away to form the Independent Liberals.

Gahal was the major right-wing political alliance in Israel led by Menachem Begin from its founding in 1965 until the establishment of Likud in 1973.

The Progressive Party was a political party in Israel.

The Independent Liberals were a political party in Israel between the 1960s and 1980s.

³ Two MKs broke away from Maki to establish Rakah.

The Fifth Knesset

Tenth government

The fifth Knesset started with David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party forming the tenth government on 2 November 1961. His coalition included the National Religious Party, Ahdut HaAvoda, Agudat Israel Workers, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Progress and Development, and had 13 ministers. Kadish Luz of Mapai was appointed Knesset Speaker. The government collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned on 16 June 1963 citing personal reasons, but in reality was annoyed at a perceived lack of support from his colleagues. He later broke away from Mapai with several colleagues to form Rafi.

David Ben-Gurion was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of Israel.

Kadish Luz was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1955 and 1959 and Speaker of the Knesset from 1959 and 1969.

Eleventh government

Levi Eshkol took over Mapai and formed the eleventh government on 26 June 1963 with the same coalition partners as previously, but one more minister. The government resigned on 10 December 1964 when Ben-Gurion demanded that members of the Supreme Court investigate the Lavon Affair.

Levi Eshkol was an Israeli statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. A founder of the Israeli Labor Party, he served in numerous senior roles, including Minister of Defense (1963–1967) and Minister of Finance (1952–1963).

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.

The Lavon affair refers to a failed Israeli covert operation, codenamed Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of the false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside Egyptian-, American-, and British-owned civilian targets: cinemas, libraries and American educational centers. The bombs were timed to detonate several hours after closing time. The attacks were to be blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Communists, "unspecified malcontents" or "local nationalists" with the aim of creating a climate of sufficient violence and instability to induce the British government to retain its occupying troops in Egypt's Suez Canal zone. The operation caused no casualties among the population, but cost the lives of four operatives: two cell members who committed suicide after being captured; and two operatives who were tried, convicted, and executed by the Egyptian authorities.

Twelfth government

Eshkol formed the twelfth government a week later on 22 December 1964 with the same coalition partners and ministers as previously.

The fifth Knesset was notable for the coalescing of the two major right-wing parties (Herut and the Liberal Party) to form an electoral block (Gahal) capable of threatening Mapai's hegemony in Israeli politics. Gahal, which by then had become Likud, finally overtook Mapai (which had merged into the Alignment) in the 1977 elections.

Likud, officially the Likud-National Liberal Movement, is a centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. A secular party, it was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing parties. Likud's landslide victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. In addition, it was the first time in Israel that a right-wing party won the plurality of the votes. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the Knesset election in 1992. Nevertheless, Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task of forming a government after the 1996 elections. Netanyahu's government fell apart after a vote of no confidence, which led to elections being called in 1999 and Likud losing power to the One Israel coalition led by Ehud Barak.

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The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and chief executive of Israel.

Mapai was a centre-left political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Israeli Labor Party in 1968. During Mapai's time in office, a wide range of progressive reforms were carried out, as characterised by the establishment of a welfare state, providing minimum income, security, and free access to housing subsidies and health and social services.

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The tenth government of Israel was formed on 2 November 1961 following the August elections. Although David Ben-Gurion was appointed Prime Minister, the government was actually formed by Minister of Finance, Levi Eshkol. On 7 September Ben-Gurion had told President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi that he was unable to form a government; on 14 September Ben-Zvi asked Eshkol to form a government, with Eshkol subsequently announcing that he would do so with Ben-Gurion as PM. It turned out to be the last government led by Ben-Gurion.

The twelfth government of Israel was formed by Levi Eshkol on 22 December 1964, towards the end of the fifth Knesset.

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.

References

↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p124 ISBN 0-19-924958-X

External links

Historical overview of the Fifth Knesset Knesset website
Election results Knesset website
The Fifth Knesset Knesset website

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[1] Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p124 ISBN 0-19-924958-X

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