Development and Peace
Encyclopedia
Development and Peace originally known as Flatto-Sharon (Hebrew: פלאטו שרון) was a right wing one-man political party in Israel
.
had fled to Israel from France
in 1976 after being charged with embezzling $60 million. In order to prevent his extradition, which France had requested, and despite hardly speaking Hebrew, he decided to run in the 1977 Knesset elections
, hoping to gain parliamentary immunity.
Named after himself, Flatto-Sharon's party ran on right-wing populism (he was a supporter of the Gush Emunim
settlement movement) and promises to provide apartments to young voters.
The new party won 2% of the vote, enough for two seats. However, as it was a one-man list, only one seat was taken. It has been suggested that the surprising level of support that the party won was a response to France's refusal to extradite Abu Daoud
, who was wanted in Israel for the murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich
. Once ensconced in the Knesset
, Flatto-Sharon joined Menachem Begin
's coalition, with one of his first acts being to vote in favour of a law that prohibited the extradition of Israeli citizens.
Later during the Knesset session he renamed the party Development and Peace and also helped in negotiations to free Israeli POWs
. However, after serving for two years, Flatto-Sharon was convicted of vote buying, sentenced to nine months in prison and suspended from the Knesset. After several appeals, he was finally jailed for three months in 1984.
The party ran in the 1981
and 1984 elections
, but did not pass the electoral threshold
of 1% in either, and subsequently disappeared. Flatto-Sharon was never extradited to France to serve the five year sentence given to him in his absence, as the five year statute of limitations had expired. He is now an established businessman and billionaire
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Background
The party was founded after Shmuel Flatto-SharonShmuel Flatto-Sharon
Shmuel "Samy" Flatto-Sharon is a controversial French-Israeli businessman, radio talk-show host and former politician who was a member of the Knesset between 1977 and 1981.-Biography:...
had fled to Israel from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1976 after being charged with embezzling $60 million. In order to prevent his extradition, which France had requested, and despite hardly speaking Hebrew, he decided to run in the 1977 Knesset elections
Israeli legislative election, 1977
The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...
, hoping to gain parliamentary immunity.
Named after himself, Flatto-Sharon's party ran on right-wing populism (he was a supporter of the Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim was an Israeli messianic and political movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While not formally established as an organization until 1974 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Gush Emunim sprang out of the conquests of the Six-Day War in 1967, encouraging...
settlement movement) and promises to provide apartments to young voters.
The new party won 2% of the vote, enough for two seats. However, as it was a one-man list, only one seat was taken. It has been suggested that the surprising level of support that the party won was a response to France's refusal to extradite Abu Daoud
Abu Daoud
Mohammad Daoud Oudeh , commonly known by his nom de guerre Abu Daoud or Abu Dawud was a Palestinian militant known as the planner, architect and mastermind of the Munich massacre...
, who was wanted in Israel for the murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
. Once ensconced in the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, Flatto-Sharon joined Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
's coalition, with one of his first acts being to vote in favour of a law that prohibited the extradition of Israeli citizens.
Later during the Knesset session he renamed the party Development and Peace and also helped in negotiations to free Israeli POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. However, after serving for two years, Flatto-Sharon was convicted of vote buying, sentenced to nine months in prison and suspended from the Knesset. After several appeals, he was finally jailed for three months in 1984.
The party ran in the 1981
Israeli legislative election, 1981
Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...
and 1984 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1984
Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...
, but did not pass the electoral threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
of 1% in either, and subsequently disappeared. Flatto-Sharon was never extradited to France to serve the five year sentence given to him in his absence, as the five year statute of limitations had expired. He is now an established businessman and billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
.
External links
- Flatto-Sharon Knesset website
- Development and Peace Knesset website