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Likud Party)
Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means "consolidation") is a right-wing political party in Israel.
Ideological Positions
Palestinian-related Issues
No single approach to Palestinian statehood, settlers, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip dominates Likud thought. At the height of terror attacks by Palestinians in 2002, Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and refugee camps and Israel continues to control those in the West Bank today. In 2005 Ariel Sharon, elected Prime Minister as head of the Likud, carried out the unilateral evacuation of the Gaza Strip, including the demolition of Israeli settlements there and in part of the West Bank. While a majority of the Likud's parliamentarians tacitly supported this policy, approving a coalition government with the Labor Party, a minority opposed the policy vociferously. Most Likud members support the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Economy
The Likud claims to support free market capitalism, though in practice it has mostly adopted moderate economic policies, with neoliberal tendencies. The Likud, under the guidance of Finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pushed through legislation reducing the VAT, income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as the customs duty. Likewise, it has instituted free-trade (especially with the EU and the U.S.) and dismantled certain monopolies (Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has managed to privatize numerous government owned companies (El Al and Bank Leumi). The last Finance minister Netanyahu, the most ardent free-market minister to-date, argues that Israel's largest labor union, the Histadrut, has so much power as to paralyze the Israeli economy. He also claims that the main causes of unemployment are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed.
Culture
The Likud promotes a revival of Jewish-oriented culture, in keeping with the principles of revisionist zionism.
History
The Likud's roots are in Zeev Jabotinsky's Revisionist Zionist movement which became the Herut party and was the main opposition to the Labour Zionist Mapai party.
Formation and the Menachem Begin years
The Likud was formed by the joining together of La'am (made up of the Free Center, State List and the "Movement for Greater Israel") and Gahal (Gush Herut Liberalim) in preparation for the 1973 elections. The Likud worked as a coalition of its factions led by Menachem Begin's Herut until 1988 when the factions formally dissolved and Likud became a unitary political party. From its establishment in 1973, Likud enjoyed great support from blue-collar Sephardim who felt discriminated against by the ruling Mapai (Labour) party.
The first Likud prime minister was Menachem Begin (elected 1977). A former leader of the hard-line paramilitary Irgun, he helped initiate the peace process with Egypt, which resulted in the Camp David Accords and the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
Yitzhak Shamir, Netanyahu's first term and Ariel Sharon
The second premier was Yitzhak Shamir, who first became PM in October 1983 following Begin's resignation. The third was Benjamin Netanyahu, elected in May 1996. The fourth was Ariel Sharon, elected March 2001, who resigned from both the Likud and as Prime Minister on 21st November 2005. Sharon served as defense minister during Operation Peace for the Galilee (1982). His entire tenure was marked by the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
In 1998 a number of right wing members of Likud, including Benny Begin, son of the former Prime Minister, quit the party denouncing it as having become too moderate for having agreed to the Wye River Accords. They formed a new Herut party.
In 2001, following the terrorist attacks of the al-Aqsa Intifada, Ehud Barak lost the elections to Likud leader Ariel Sharon. At the 2003 elections the Likud doubled its power, rising to 40 mandates (out of 120) and securing power jobs in the government, ministries, public institutes and state bureaucracy.
Kadima split
Ariel Sharon's perceived shift to the political centre, especially in his execution of the Disengagement Plan, alienated him from many Likud supporters and effectively fragmented the party. He faced several serious challenges to his authority shortly before his departure. The first was in March 2005, when he and Netanyahu proposed a budget plan which met fierce opposition, though it was eventually approved. The second was in September 2005, when Sharon's critics in Likud forced a vote on a proposal for an early leadership election, which was defeated by 52% to 48%. In October, Sharon's opponents within the Likud Knesset faction joined with the opposition to prevent the appointment of two of his associates to the Cabinet, demonstrating that Sharon had effectively lost control of the Knesset and that the 2006 budget was unlikely to pass.
The next month, Labour announced its withdrawal from Sharon's governing coalition following its election of Amir Peretz as leader. On 21st November 2005, Sharon announced he would be leaving Likud and forming a new centrist party, Kadima, and that elections would take place in early 2006. As of 21st November seven candidates had declared themselves as contenders to replace Sharon as leader: Netanyahu, Uzi Landau, Shaul Mofaz, Yisrael Katz, Silvan Shalom and Moshe Feiglin. Landau and Mofaz later withdrew, the former in favour of Netanyahu and the latter to join Kadima.
Under Netanyahu again
Netanyahu went on to win the Likud Party Chairman elections in December, obtaining 44.4% of the vote. Shalom came in a second with 33%, leading Netanyahu to guarantee him second place on the party's list of Knesset candidates. Shalom's perceived moderation on social and foreign-policy issues is considered an electoral asset. Observors noted that voter turnout in the elections was particularly low in comparison with past primaries, with less than 40 percent of the 128,000 party members casting ballots. [2] There was a large media focus on far-right candidate Feiglin achieving 12.4% of votes, with some left-wing and center politicians and journalists suggesting that the comparatively large amount of support for Feiglin indicated a radical shift among Likud voters, which could possibly result in changing both its vision and image in the future. [3]
The founding of Kadima is a major challenge to the Likud's generation-long status as one of Israel's two major parties. Sharon's perceived centrist policies have drawn considerable popular support as reflected by public opinion polls. The Likud is now led by figures who oppose further unilateral evacuations, and its standing in the polls has suffered.
Leaders
Prominent members
Active:
Past figures (deceased, retired or left Likud):
See also: List of Likud Knesset Members
See also
