Israeli Labor Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Labor Party מפלגת העבודה‎
Chairman	Yair Golan
Secretary-General	Eran Hermoni
Founded	23 January 1968; 57 years ago (1968-01-23)
Merger of	Workers' Party Labor Unity Workers List
Headquarters	Tel Aviv
Youth wing	Israeli Young Labor
Membership (2022)	36,000
Ideology	Social democracy Labor Zionism Secularism Two-state solution Progressivism
Political position	Center-left to left-wing
National affiliation	Alignment (1968–1991) One Israel (1999–2001) Zionist Union (2014–2019)
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists (observer)
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colours	Red, blue
Knesset	4 / 120
Election symbol
אמת‎ أ‌م‌ت‎

The Israeli Labor Party (known in Hebrew as HaAvoda, meaning "The Labor") is a major political party in Israel. It believes in social democracy, which means it supports a fair society and a strong government role in helping people. The party also follows Labor Zionism, which combines workers' rights with the idea of a Jewish homeland.

The Labor Party was formed in 1968. It brought together three older parties: the Workers' Party, Labor Unity, and Workers List. For many years, until 1977, all of Israel's prime ministers came from the Labor movement. Today, the party leader is Yair Golan, who was chosen in May 2024.

The Labor Party is known for supporting peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. It also favors policies that help society and the economy. The party is part of the Progressive Alliance and is an observer member of the Party of European Socialists.

History of the Labor Party

Israeli Labor Party ballot slip – "Emet"

Becoming a Strong Political Party (1968–1977)

Original logo of the party from the 1980s

The Israeli Labor Party was created in 1968. Before that, a large left-wing party called the Workers' Party (Mapai) joined with Labor Unity. This happened before the 1965 elections. They formed an alliance to keep their power.

Some members, led by former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, left the Workers' Party. They formed a new group called Workers List. They were unhappy about changes to the election system.

The alliance, known as the Labor Alignment, won many seats in the 1965 elections. They formed a government with other parties. After the Six-Day War, more parties joined the government.

On January 23, 1968, the Workers' Party, Labor Unity, and Workers List officially merged. This created the Israeli Labor Party. In 1969, the new party joined with another group, Mapam, forming the Alignment.

The Labor Party became the most powerful part of the Alignment. They led the government for many years. During the 1970s, Labor governments expanded social programs. They increased pension benefits and created new social security plans. These included disability insurance and unemployment insurance. They also started programs for housing and sick leave pay.

Years in Opposition and Comeback (1977–2001)

Party logo adopted in 1992, used until 2016

Logo of the Labor-Meimad List during the 2003 election

Leaning version of the current party logo, adopted in 2016

In the 1977 elections, the Labor Party lost power for the first time. They became the main opposition party. In 1984, Labor joined a "national unity government" with the Likud party. The role of Prime Minister was shared between the two parties.

In 1991, the Alignment officially ended. All its groups became part of the Labor Party. The country faced economic problems and many new immigrants. In 1992, led by Yitzhak Rabin, Labor won the elections. They formed a new government.

This Labor government improved social support for people. They helped single parents and people with disabilities. They also increased grants for families in need. In 1995, a national health insurance policy was started. They also invested in development projects.

Labor's role became strongly linked to the Oslo Accords. These were peace agreements based on "land for peace." The government narrowly approved these agreements.

In 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated because of the peace talks. Shimon Peres took over and called early elections in 1996. Labor won the most seats, but Peres lost the election for Prime Minister to Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 1999, Ehud Barak became the Labor leader. The party formed an alliance called One Israel. Barak won the election for Prime Minister. He formed a large government with several other parties.

Decline of the Party (2001–Present)

After some riots and violence, Ehud Barak resigned in 2001. He lost a special election to Ariel Sharon of the Likud party. Labor still joined Sharon's government for a while. They held important roles like Foreign Affairs Minister and Defense Minister.

In 2003, Labor left the government. They had disagreements about the peace process. In the 2003 elections, Labor won fewer seats. Amram Mitzna became leader but soon resigned. Shimon Peres then became interim leader.

In 2005, Amir Peretz was elected as the new Labor leader. He wanted to bring back the party's focus on social issues. He took the party out of the government. This led to new elections in 2006.

Before the 2006 elections, a new party called Kadima was formed. It included Sharon and many members from Likud and Labor. In the elections, Labor won 19 seats. They joined the government led by Kadima.

In 2007, Ehud Barak was re-elected as Labor leader. He became Defense Minister. In the 2009 elections, Labor won only 13 seats. This made them the fourth largest party.

Many reasons are given for Labor's decline. Some say the party lost its connection to building the state of Israel. Others point to its support for the Oslo Accords, which faced problems. Changes in the population also affected their votes.

In 2011, Ehud Barak left Labor to form a new party. This led to a call for new leadership. Shelly Yachimovich was elected leader in 2011. She promised a new start for Israeli society. Isaac Herzog replaced her as leader in 2013.

In the 2015 elections, Labor formed an alliance called Zionist Union. They won 24 seats, with 19 belonging to Labor. This alliance continued until 2019.

In April 2019, Labor's support dropped sharply. They won only 6 seats, their worst result ever. Avi Gabbay resigned as leader. In July 2019, Amir Peretz was elected leader again. He formed alliances with other parties for the next elections.

In March 2020, Labor joined a "national unity government" led by Benjamin Netanyahu. This was despite earlier promises not to. Amir Peretz became the Economic Minister.

In 2021, Merav Michaeli was elected Labor leader. She did not join the Netanyahu government. In the 2021 elections, Labor increased its seats to 7. The party then joined a new government. Michaeli was re-elected leader in 2022. However, in the 2022 elections, the party won only four seats.

In December 2023, Merav Michaeli announced she would step down. In May 2024, Yair Golan won the leadership election.

Political Principles

Past Principles

The original party that formed Labor, Mapai, believed in Labor Zionism. This idea combined creating a Jewish homeland with workers' rights. Early leaders focused on building the new state of Israel. This included forming the Israel Defense Forces and settling many Jewish immigrants. They wanted to unite all people in Israel under a new Israeli culture.

In the past, Labor was tougher on security issues. During their time in power, Israel fought several wars.

Current Principles

Today, the Labor Party supports a mixed economy. This means a balance between private businesses and government involvement. They believe in strong social welfare programs. These programs help people with things like minimum wage and social security.

In foreign policy, Labor works closely with the United States. They believe that peace with Palestinians needs strong agreements. Labor supports a two-state solution. This means creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

On social issues, Labor supports same-sex marriage. They also want public transportation to run on Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest).

Labor is committed to Israel being both a Jewish and a democratic state. They believe in a strong defense force. They also support protecting individual human rights. The party opposed the "Nation State Bill" in 2018. They want to add a rule that emphasizes equality for all citizens.

Party leaders

No.	Image	Leader	Took office	Left office	Prime Ministerial tenure	Knesset elections	Elected/reelected as leader
1		Levi Eshkol	1968	1969	1963–1969	1965 (as leader of Mapai)	1965 (Mapai)
2		Golda Meir	1969	1974	1969–1974	1969, 1973	1969
3		Yitzhak Rabin	1974	1977	1974–1977		1974, 1977 (Feb)
4		Shimon Peres	1977	1992	1984–1986	1977, 1981, 1984, 1988	1977 (Apr), 1980, 1984
(3)		Yitzhak Rabin	1992	1995	1992–1995	1992	1992
(4)		Shimon Peres	1995	1997	1995–1996	1996	1995
5		Ehud Barak	1997	2001	1999–2001	1999	1997
6		Binyamin Ben-Eliezer	2001	2002			2001
7		Amram Mitzna	2002	2003		2003	2002
(4)		Shimon Peres interim	2003	2005			2003
8		Amir Peretz	2005	2007		2006	2005
(5)		Ehud Barak	2007	2011		2009	2007
9		Shelly Yachimovich	2011	2013		2013	2011
10		Isaac Herzog	2013	2017		2015	2013
11		Avi Gabbay	2017	2019		2019 (Apr)	2017
(8)		Amir Peretz	2019	2021		2019 (Sep), 2020	2019
12		Merav Michaeli	2021	2024		2021, 2022	2021, 2022
13		Yair Golan	2024	Incumbent			2024

How Leaders are Chosen

In the past, the Labor Party's leader was chosen by a vote of its Central Committee. Later, they changed this to a vote by delegates at party meetings. Since 1992, the party leader is usually chosen by a vote of all party members.

There have been a few exceptions. After Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995, the Central Committee chose Shimon Peres as the new leader. In 2003, the Central Committee also chose Shimon Peres to be an interim leader until a new permanent leader could be elected.

Other Important Members

Many important figures in Israel's history have been part of the Labor Party. These include several former Presidents and Ministers:

• Yigal Allon – Acting Prime-Minister
• Moshe Dayan – Defense Minister
• Abba Eban – Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Chaim Herzog – President of Israel
• Isaac Herzog – President of Israel
• Efraim Katzir – President of Israel
• Yitzhak Navon – President of Israel
• Zalman Shazar – President of Israel
• Ezer Weizman – President of Israel

Election Results

Knesset Elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1969	Golda Meir	Part of Alignment		49 / 120		Coalition
1973				44 / 120	5	Coalition
1977	Shimon Peres			28 / 120	16	Opposition
1981				40 / 120	12	Opposition
1984				37 / 120	3	Coalition
1988		685,363	30.02 (#2)	39 / 120	2	Coalition (1988–1990)
						Opposition (1990–1992)
1992	Yitzhak Rabin	906,810	34.65 (#1)	44 / 120	5	Coalition
1996	Shimon Peres	818,741	26.83 (#1)	34 / 120	10	Opposition
1999	Ehud Barak	Part of One Israel		23 / 120	11	Coalition (1999–2002)
						Opposition (2002–2003)
2003	Amram Mitzna	455,183	14.46 (#2)	18 / 120	5	Opposition (2003–2005)
						Coalition (2005)
						Opposition (2005–2006)
2006	Amir Peretz	472,366	15.06 (#2)	18 / 120		Coalition
2009	Ehud Barak	334,900	9.93 (#4)	13 / 120	5	Coalition (2009–2011)
						Opposition (2011–2013)
2013	Shelly Yachimovich	432,118	11.39 (#3)	15 / 120	2	Opposition
2015	Isaac Herzog	Part of Zionist Union		19 / 120	4	Opposition
Apr 2019	Avi Gabbay	190,870	4.43 (#6)	6 / 120	13	Snap election
Sep 2019	Amir Peretz	212,782	4.80 (#9)	5 / 120	1	Snap election
2020		Part of Labor-Gesher-Meretz		3 / 120	2	Coalition
2021	Merav Michaeli	268,737	6.09 (#6)	7 / 120	4	Coalition
2022		175,922	3.69 (#10)	4 / 120	3	Opposition
TBD	Yair Golan	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Prime Minister Elections

Current Members of Knesset (MKs)

Images for kids

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  Seats held by the Labor party since its founding.

See also

In Spanish: Partido Laborista Israelí para niños

• Israeli Labor Party primaries