Külügyi Szemle - A Teleki László Intézet Külpolitikai Tanulmányok Központja folyóirata - 2003 (2. évfolyam)
2003 / 1. szám - KÖZEL-KELET - Gazdik Gyula: The evolution of the Israeli party system
Gyula Gazdik during the tenure of Labour Party-led coalition governments. At the May 1997 party congress, the political platform recognised the Palestinians' right to self-government, including a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty. Whereas the platform stresses the party's commitment to the traditions of the Zionist left, it is willing to compromise in both foreign and domestic policy matters for the sake of pragmatism. This approach would apply to the entire Arab-Israeli peace process and the stabilisation of the region. The combination of factors, including the deterioration of regional security; the failure of the second Camp David negotiations with the Palestinians; the eruption of the Al- Aqsa intifada in September 2000 - all challenged the Labour Party-supported Oslo process.8 Other factors contributed even more to the waning of the party: the demise of the Plistadrut; the declined social influence of traditional collectivist values; the reduced political influence of Ashkenazim middle class grassroots support and the proliferation of ethno-religious political blocs. The ranks of Zionist leftist alignments include the Enjoyment /Meretz/ grouping, which emerged after the 1988 elections from the coalition of the left-wing Mapam, the Civil Rights Movement /Ratz/ and the liberal gathering Change /Shinui/. The Meretz list gained a remarkable ten per cent of the mandates in the 1992 elections. However, four years later it lost two mandates, which - by contrast to the setbacks suffered by the Mai - is insignificant. Subsequently, the Mapam and the Ratz transformed the Meretz grouping into a political party and - barring a few smaller groups - the party's liberal platform seceded from its left-wing partners. Despite the numerous hurdles ahead - for the sake of Israel's security - an all-embracing peace settlement with the Arab neighbours and the Middle East in general remains the top priory in Meretz's political programme. Moreover, the continuation of the Oslo process and a historical concord with the Palestinians, including the recognition of their rights to a sovereign state, also remains a key issue. On the other hand, Meretz is more radical over a number of issues - such as the Israeli settlements - than the Labour Party. The liquidation of small settlements and attachment of the larger ones to Israel is only one of the aims of Meretz. As an alternative, it would persuade the settlers to find new habitat in the present territory of Israel.9 Besides the Zionist parties, the anti-Zionist communist bloc that emerged in 1920 also appears on the left on the political spectrum. From the onset, the Israeli Communist Party /Maki/ participated in parliamentary life. During the 1960s however, the internal squabbles split the party into two factions. While the party retained the original name for some time, it subsequently - prior to the 1973 elections - adopted the title Focus /Moked/. On the other hand, the party leadership continued to represent the official platform. The New Communist List /RaKach/’ served as a platform for members representing the former anti-Zionist orientation. The divergence between the parties eventually gave rise to alignments based on ethnicity. While the 40 Külügyi Szemle
