Israeli legislative election, 1959
Encyclopedia
Elections
for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel
on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.
¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party
.
² The Religious Torah Front split into its two constituent parts, Agudat Yisrael (four seats) and Poalei Agudat Yisrael (two seats).
's Mapai party forming the ninth government
on 17 December 1959. His coalition included the National Religious Party, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda, the Progressive Party and the three Israeli Arab parties, Progress and Development, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Agriculture and Development. The government had 16 ministers. Mapai's Kadish Luz
became the Speaker of the Knesset.
The government collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned on 31 January 1961, over a motion of no-confidence brought by Herut and the General Zionists concerning the Lavon Affair
. After Ben-Gurion was unable to form a new government new elections
were called. At only one year and nine months, the fourth Knesset is the shortest Knesset term to date.
Elections in Israel
Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 2%, 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...
for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapai Mapai Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968... |
370,585 | 38.2 | 47 | |
| Herut Herut Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:... |
130,515 | 13.5 | 17 | |
| National Religious Party National Religious Party The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992... |
95,581 | 9.9 | 12 | |
| Mapam Mapam Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented... |
69,468 | 7.2 | 9 | 0 |
| General Zionists General Zionists The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:... ¹ |
59,700 | 6.2 | 8 | |
| Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party.... |
58,043 | 6.0 | 7 | |
| Religious Torah Front Religious Torah Front The Religious Torah Front was a political alliance in Israel composed of Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael.-History:The Religious Torah Front was formed when the Ultra-orthodox parties Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael decided to fight the 1955 elections on a joint list.In the... ² |
45,569 | 4.7 | 6 | 0 |
| Progressive Party Progressive Party (Israel) The Progressive Party was a political party in Israel.-History:The Progressive Party was a liberal party, most of whose founders came from the ranks of the New Aliyah Party and HaOved HaTzioni, which had been active prior to independence... ¹ |
44,889 | 4.6 | 6 | |
| Maki Maki (historical political party) Maki was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.-History:... |
27,374 | 2.8 | 3 | |
| Progress and Development Progress and Development Progress and Development was a political party in Israel.-History:Progress and Development was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to fight the 1959 elections... |
12,347 | 1.3 | 2 | New |
| Cooperation and Brotherhood Cooperation and Brotherhood Cooperation and Brotherhood was a political party in Israel.-History:Cooperation and Brotherhood was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to participate in the 1959 elections... |
11,104 | 1.1 | 2 | New |
| Agriculture and Development Agriculture and Development Agriculture and Development was a political party in Israel.-History:Agriculture and Development was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to fight the 1951 elections... |
10,902 | 1.1 | 1 | 0 |
| Union of North African Immigrants Wadi Salib events The Wadi Salib riots were a series of street demonstrations and acts of vandalism in the Wadi Salib neighborhood of Haifa, Israel, in 1959, sparked by charges of ethnic discrimination against Mizrahi Jews.-History:... |
8,199 | 0.8 | 0 | New |
| Progress and Work Progress and Work Progress and Work was a political party in Israel.-History:The Progress and Work party was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to fight the 1951 elections... |
4,651 | 0.5 | 0 | |
| Independent Faction for Israeli Arabs | 3,818 | 0.4 | 0 | New |
| Israeli Arab Labour Party | 3,369 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Sephardi National Party | 3,133 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| National Union Sephardim and Oriental Communities Sephardim and Oriental Communities was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud party.-History:The Sephardim and Oriental Communities party represented Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who were already living in Israel at the time of independence, and was part... |
2,456 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Holocaust Handicapped and Injured Faction | 1,765 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Yemenite Faction Yemenite Association The Yemenite Association was a political party in Israel.-History:The party was founded by Yemenite Jews in 1923. It took part in Israel's first elections in 1949, crossing the electoral threshold by just 53 votes, and winning one seat, which was taken by Zecharia Glosca.Despite the influx of... |
1,711 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Independents | 1,611 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Socialist Union (Bund) Arbeter-ring in Yisroel - Brith Haavoda The Arbeter-ring in Yisroel – Brith Haavoda is the Israeli branch of the International Jewish Labor Bund, launched in 1951.-Secretaries:Its first secretary was Isachar Artuski , a former Polish Communist who had joined the Bund in 1935... |
1,322 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| New Immigrants Front | 631 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Third Power | 594 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| Invalid/blank votes | 24,967 | |||
| Total | 994,306 | 100 | 120 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||
¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Israel)
The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...
.
² The Religious Torah Front split into its two constituent parts, Agudat Yisrael (four seats) and Poalei Agudat Yisrael (two seats).
The Fourth Knesset
The fourth Knesset started with David Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
's Mapai party forming the ninth government
Ninth government of Israel
The ninth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion on 17 December 1959 following the November 1959 elections. Ben-Gurion largely kept the same coalition partners as during the previous government The ninth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion on 17 December 1959 following...
on 17 December 1959. His coalition included the National Religious Party, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda, the Progressive Party and the three Israeli Arab parties, Progress and Development, Cooperation and Brotherhood and Agriculture and Development. The government had 16 ministers. Mapai's Kadish Luz
Kadish Luz
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.-Biography:...
became the Speaker of the Knesset.
The government collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned on 31 January 1961, over a motion of no-confidence brought by Herut and the General Zionists concerning the Lavon Affair
Lavon Affair
The Lavon Affair refers to a failed Israeli covert operation, code named 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 for plans to plant bombs inside Egyptian, American and...
. After Ben-Gurion was unable to form a new government new elections
Israeli legislative election, 1961
Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.-Results:¹ Eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi² Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal...
were called. At only one year and nine months, the fourth Knesset is the shortest Knesset term to date.
External links
- Historical overview of the Fourth Knesset Knesset website
- Elections to the Fourth Knesset Knesset website
- Factional and Government Make-Up of the Fourth Knesset Knesset website