General Zionists

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הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים
General Zionists
logo
founding 1931 (World Association of General Zionists)
1946 (Party)
fusion May 8, 1961
(incorporated in: Miflaga Liberalit Jisra'elit )
Headquarters Tel Aviv
newspaper HaBoker , The Voice
Alignment Zionism , liberalism , secularism

The General Zionists ( Hebrew הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים) were a bourgeois and secular movement within Zionism . This politically moderate group, which can best be characterized as liberal, was largely shaped by Chaim Weizmann .

Emergence

After Theodor Herzl's death in 1904, the Zionist movement split into religious , socialist and revisionist Zionists . Those members of the World Zionist Congress who were not members of a specific faction and wanted to stand above the party struggles have since been referred to as General Zionists.

Political party

In 1931, during a congress in Krakow, the World Association of General Zionists was founded. The “radical Zionists” in Poland under the leadership of Jitzchak Gruenbaum also joined him. This movement was very popular among Jews in Poland and other European countries. They initially supported the idea of ​​Zionism, but also supported European middle class positions such as private property and the free market economy .

The General Zionists in Palestine split in 1935 into a more left-wing group “A”, which supported Chaim Weizmann's policy towards Great Britain in the British mandate and the Histadrut union , and a more right-wing group “B”, which opposed Weizman's policies. However, both were shaped by industrialists, merchants, landowners, office workers and intellectuals. The rival groups reunited in 1946 to form the General Zionist Party.

After Israel's independence in 1948, the left-wing wing split off again and formed the Miflaga Progresivit (Progressive Party). The remaining ranks of the General Zionists moved politically to the right in response to the general political hegemony of the ruling Mapai party and the socialist Zionists. The party was subsequently led by Jisra'el Rokach , who was Tel Aviv Mayor from 1936 to 1953. Chaim Weizmann, a General Zionist, became Israel's first state president in 1949.

Knesset faction

The General Zionists had seven seats in the founding meeting of the Knesset on February 14, 1949. Mapai received 46 seats, Mapam 19, the United Religious Front 15, Cherut 14 and the Progressives 5 seats. In January 1952, the General Zionists voted against the start of reparation negotiations with the Federal Republic of Germany, together with the Communists , the left-wing socialist Mapam and the revisionist Zionist Cherut von Menachem Begin .

The General Zionists were represented in the Israeli parliament for the first 13 years, from 1951 to 1955 they constituted the second largest faction in the Knesset. Until 1952 they stood in opposition to the governments of David Ben-Gurion , which were made up of the left Mapai and religious parties. From 1952 to 1955, the General Zionists were represented as a smaller coalition partner in the cabinets of Ben-Gurion IV and Sharet I , and they provided interior minister with Jisra'el Rokach , among others . Years in the opposition followed.

In 1961 the General Zionists merged with the Miflaga Progresivit (Progressive Party) to form Miflaga Liberalit Jisra'elit (Israeli Liberal Party). This joined in 1965 with the right-wing Cherut to form the center-right alliance Gachal , from which the Likud emerged in 1973 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Michael Brenner: The development of political Zionism according to Herzl. Federal Agency for Civic Education, accessed on August 18, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b c Bernard Reich, David H. Goldberg: Historical Dictionary of Israel. Scarecrow Press, Lanham (MD) / Plymouth 2008, p. 298.
  3. ↑ Israel's Parliament - Knesset / Kneseth. In: hagalil.com. Jewish News, accessed August 18, 2015 .
  4. Jump up ↑ Israel - The Village and God's Earth . In: Der Spiegel . No. 4 , 1952 ( online ).