Labour Party, Israel Israel's major progressive party on the left, created in 1968 as a merger of the
Mapai Party with two smaller socialist parties. It combined
Zionism with
socialism, through the encouragement of Jewish immigration, social welfare policies, the separation of the Jewish religion from a secular state, and negotiation with other Arab states to achieve a lasting peace settlement, even at the expense of surrendering the occupied
West Bank and
Gaza Strip. As the
Mapai successor, it was at first considered the natural party of government, and was led by
Meir and
Rabin. However, the establishment of a strong and relatively cohesive conservative opposition in the form of the
Likud bloc, and allegations of corruption which forced Rabin to resign in 1977, ultimately led to its election defeat in 1977, when
Begin became the country's first non-socialist Prime Minister.
Weakened by internal leadership divisions between
Rabin and
Peres, which lasted for more than two decades (1974–95), the party failed to challenge effectively the popular Begin or his successor,
Shamir. Under the leadership of Peres, the Labour Party did participate in government, 1984–90. From 1986, however, it governed as a junior partner of Likud, whose hardline policies against the Palestinians it was forced to tolerate. Unable to lead the party to a decisive victory, Peres was replaced (again) by Rabin in 1992. The Labour Party won 44 seats in the 1992 general elections against 32 for Likud, whereupon under the leadership of Rabin and a tireless Peres the party realized a major change in Israeli diplomacy, negotiating the
Oslo Accords which led to the recognition of the
PLO. As the transition towards Palestinian self-rule proceeded smoothly, support for Labour grew to new heights.
The party's popularity collapsed in February 1996, when a number of suicide bombs organized by
Hezbollah triggered calls for a tougher line against the Palestinians, and an election victory for Likud under
Netanyahu. Netanyahu became very unpopular during his term in office. In response, the Labour Party barred the veteran Peres from running for the direct elections to the Prime Ministership, as it was fearful that Peres would squander a near-certain victory. Instead, it backed Ehud
Barak, who responded to popular concerns about security. Barak was elected with a decisive majority, but in the parliamentary elections Labour's strength was further eroded: in conjunction with two smaller parties, the once dominant party only had 26 out of 120 seats, against 44 in 1992. Barak never had sufficient parliamentary backing in his dealings with an increasingly radical and militant Palestinian leadership, and he lost early presidential elections in 2001 to
Sharon. The latter formed a grand coalition, with Peres representing the Labour Party as its most prominent member.
