National Union (Israel)
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- This article is about the Israeli political party. For the party of Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, see National Union (Portugal)
National Union (Hebrew: Ha'ihud Ha'Leumi האיחוד הלאומי) is a nationalist Israeli extreme right-wing party list (סיעה) formed from the merger of three parties: Moledet ("homeland"), Tkuma ("revival") and "Renewed National Religious Zionist party". The three parties still operate somewhat independently, but run as one party list in Israeli elections. Throughout most of the 15th and 16th Knesset assemblies, Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu was a part of the National Union, but they split in 2005. On February 9, 2006, the National Union list formed a joint list with Mafdal (National Religious Party) for the 2006 Israeli elections. The joint list is called "Ha-Ihud Ha-Leumi - Mafdal".
The party was formed in 1999 by Rehavam Zeevi, the leader of Moledet, as an alliance with Herut and Tkuma. Herut later left the union. In 2000 Yisrael Beitenu joined the union, more than doubling its size and radically altering its voter demographics, by adding to it a large body of Russian immigrants. Its leader, Avigdor Lieberman, former secretary to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (1996-1999) and himself a Russian immigrant in the early 1980s, became leader of the National Union in 2001 following the assassination of Zeevi (at the time the Israeli tourism minister). Yisrael Beitenu ran alone for the 17th Knesset and won 12 seats.
The party has a joint platform, and in particular it support the settlement of all the Land of Israel, advocated more military power in the War on terror and harsher measures against Palestinian terrorism, rejects all current Oslo-based peace efforts - which they see as dangerous to Israel, the notion of a Palestinian state, and advocates voluntary transfer of the Palestinians. See Moledet for details of the notion of transfer in Israel. However, on the rhetoric level, its three constituents retain their unique identity:
- Moledet focuses on the notion of transfer and more generally national security issues. It prides itself on being composed equally of secular and religious elements, although its members are sympathetic to NRP views.
- Tkuma represents the religious side. While not actively opposing the Israel Beytenu dominated platform, it uses Jewish religious motives and argumentation to advance the union's common ground.
- Renewed National Religious Zionist party - split from the NRP on 2005, they represent the National-Ultra-Orthodox (חרדים לאומיים)faction of the national-religious public in Israel. They put focus on supporting the Israeli settlements, fighting terrorism, fighting corruption and reestablish the high-status of Religious Zionism.
After the unilateral pull-out from the Gaza Strip, in which party member MK Tzvi Handel was expelled from his house, HaIhud-HaLeumi-Mafdal adopted the orange color as its banner, stating that it represents the Jewish Zionist spirit of the idealogical and pure youth of the Religious Zionism which rallied under the orange color to protest against the disgengagement plan. With the join of the Mafdal, the party adopted Mafdal's social views which stress Jewish education, help for the poor and the unfortunate and fighting Israel's Jewish and social-welfare character. The party is supported by the chief rabbis of the Religious Zionist Movement (such as Rabbi Abraham Shapira) as well by the Staff of the Union of Handicapped (rewarding Mafdal's pro-handicapped legistlation, see also Shaul Yahalom).
In the 2006 elections Ha-Ihud Ha-Leumi - Mafdal won 9 out of 120 seats in the Knesset.
Knesset members
- Tkuma
- * Tzvi Hendel
- * Uri Uriel
- Renewed National Religious Zionist party
- * Effi Eitam
- * Rabbi Yitzhak Levy
- Mafdal
- * Zevulon Orlev
- * Eli Gabbai
- * Nissan Slomiansky
External links
- [National Union (official English site)]
- [Moledet (official English site)]
- [American Friends of Israel's National Union Party]
- [National Union-Mafdal] - the joint list, in the Hebrew Wikipedia
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