https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] POLITICAL PARTIES IN A NEW SOCIETY (THE CASE OF ISRAEL) Ovadia Shapiro PhD. Thesis University of Glasgow 1971. ProQuest Number: 10647406 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uesL ProQuest 10647406 Published by ProQuest LLO (2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to acknowledge debts of gratitude to; 1. Professor W.J.M. Mackenzie - my supervisor and teacher 2. Professor S.N, Eisenstadt - who was the first to introduce me to the studies of politics and Israeli society 3. Various friends in Israel, with whom I share a common intellectual interest, and with whom I have had many interesting discussions concerning various general aspects of politics in Israel - in particular to Dr. S. Avineri, Dr. E. Giitmarm, Dr. D, Horowitz, Dr. I. Kolatt and Dr. M. Lissak 4. Dr. S.C. Reif, Lecturer in the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Languages at this University, for the time and effort spent by him on improving my English and offering constructive criticism of my presentation 5. The Israeli Foreign Office, for presenting me with the "Arlosoroff Prize", which enabled me to start collecting the material for this study 6. The University of Glasgow, where I spent the years 1968-71 as Lecturer in Israeli Studies, for providing me with the opportunity and facilities for the completion of this dissertation 7. Various individuals, institutions, archives, libraries, and political parties in Israel, which enabled me to make use of material at their disposal and supplied me with information; in particular to: (1) The Central Zionist Archives and its Director, Dr. M, Hayman (2) The National and University Library - the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (3) The Archives of Mapai and Beit-Berl (4) Machon Jabotinsky of the Herut Party (5) Archion HaAvoda - the Archives of the Labour Movement (6) The Archives of the Knesset and the Knesset's Secretary, Mr. Lior (7) The Archives of the Hagana 8. Various "informants", mainly politicians and party leaders in the present or in the past, with whom I discussed many problems concerning their opinions and activities 0 .s. CONTENTS PART I page PARTIES OF THE PRESENT AND FimiEWORKS OF THE PAST 1 Chapter 1 - Israel's Party System - A General Outline 1 1. The Problem: a preliminary discussion .. I 2. General Frameworks for Analysis .. 4 3. Parties and Government - 1971 .. 7 4. The Map of Parties: A Facet Analysis ..10 5. A Preliminary Classification according to "Profiles'^ ..15 6. The Major Parties and Blocs ..20 7* The "Anti*?System" Secular Parties ..29 8. The Arab Lists ..39 9. Parties and Coalitions . .55 Chapter 2 - The Yishuv and the Zionist Organisation .,57 1* Prologue “ A State is Born ..37 2. The Social and Ideological Background: Zionism, Socialism and Religious Orthodoxy ..39 3. The World Zionist Organisation . .44 4. The Yishuv; the Germ of a New Society ..48 5* "Knesset-Israel": The Organisation of the Yishuv ..56 6. The "Palestinian Triangle" ..57 7* The Histadrut ..63 PART II THE MAJOR PARTIES: BACKGROUND AND GROWTH . .66 Chapter 3 “ Party Politics and Political Parties in the Pre- State Era. .. 66 1. Aims and Structure of this Part - . - . ,66 2. Social Conditions and Party-Politics in the Yishuv * • 66 3. Some Methodological Problems ..70 4. The Concept of "Party" and the Context of the Yishuv ..71 5. Units of Party-Political Activity in the Yishuv .,75 Chapter 4 - HaMaarach: Growth of Parties in the Labour Movement ,,79 1, Mapam: The Minor Partner in the Alignment ,,79 2* The Origins of the Labour Party^the pre-Mapai Period ..82 3. Mapai ..87 4. HaTnua-LeAchdut-HaAvoda - Poalei-Tzion .,97 11 Chapter 5 - General Zionists: Liberals and Independent Liberals 103 1. The Origins of Gahal: an outline 105 2. The "General Zionists" in the Zionist Organisation 107 3. The "General Zionists" in the Yishuv: The early phase 116 4. The "General Zionists" in the Yishuv: The later phase 120 3. Aliya Hadasha and the emergence of the Progressive Party 124 6. HaEzrachim -- an outline 128 7. The Farmers and the Moshavot 130 8. "BaGush HaEzrachi" and "Halchud-HaEzrachi" 138 Chapter 6 - Revisionism and Berut 147 1. "Tnuat BaBerut" (The Freedom Movement): a general outline 147 2. Jabotinsky and the "Revisionist Zionists" 152 3. The Betar Movement 159 4. The Revisionist Party in the Yishuv and the International Movement 166 5. Groups and Formations within the Revisionists in the Yishuv 174 6. The Rise of I.Tz.L. and the Decline of the Party 180 Chapter 7 " Religious and Ethnic Political Formations 184 1. Introduction 184 2. The Religious Parties; a general outline 186 3. Agudat-Israel and the Old Yishuv 188 4. The Zionist Religious Parties 198 3. HaMizrachi in Palestine 199 6. HaPoel-BaMizrachi 203 7, Ethnic Organisations 205 PART III GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ^ " 210 Chapter 8 - The Emerging Polity; Cleavages, "Verzuiling" and 210 a Predominant Party 1. The Emerging Polity: A Theoretical Presentation 210 2. The Background Cleavages: An Application of the Model 218 3. The "National Revolution" 218 ill page k. The "Industrial Revolution" 223 5. Unified Labour vs. Fragmented Bourgeoisie .. .. 226 6. The Glass Conflict and the Yishuv-Zionist Context; Additional Remarks .. .. 231 7. The "Organised Yishuv" as an Emerging Polity ., 235 S. The "Sectoral" Structure of the Yishuv and its Political Parties in the transition to Statehood .. ,, 239 9 . Some Problems of Accommodation in the Yishuv .. 248 10, The Emergence of a Predominant Party ., .. 252 BIBLIOGRAPHY ' .. .. 26l il SUMMARY The "leitmotifs" of this dissertation are; 1) that the emergence of Israel's party system is one aspect of a broader process of "society building"; 2) that "pre-situational" cleavages had a central part in the growth of party-political differentiation^-; :, 3) that the establishment of the State of Israel led to the institutionali­ sation of a unified party-system within one polity. The first part discusses the parties of the present and the frameworks of the past. The present Israeli party-system is presented in the first chapter as a multi-party one, with a tendency towards concentration of power in a few large blocs and with a predominant party which does not, however, command a majority in the legislature, Israel is, therefore, characterised by the combination of a predominant party and a coalition government. The second chapter traces the various frameworks, out of which these parties developed. The Jewish people in general^ and particularly the Zionist Organisation and the Jewish community in Palestine (the "Yishuv"}^ are the subjects of discussion. The general idea behind this discussion is that parties had their origins in various frameworks, while a common framework for interaction was only in its rudimentary stages. The second part is devoted to a general discussion of Israel's major parties in historical-political perspective. The point of departure is usually the present party or bloc, while the focus of the discussion moves to the "early" past and the various developments. Chapter 3 is a short introductory chapter which deals with concepts and definition, and their relevance to this study. It is followed by four chapters, which deal wâtli the Labour Party (Ch. 4), the complex of General-Zionist and "bourgeois" parties and political formations (Ch. 5)» the Revisionist Party of the pre-State era and the emergence of the present ïïerut Party (Cli, 6) and the religious parties (Ch, ?). Ethnic formations of the pre-State era are also discussed in Ch, ?• .11 Throughout the discussion in Part II, the growth of the various parties is traced. This is accompanied hy a presentation of major social and political cleavages which are related directly to the emergence of the party under discussion. These cleavages are, however, in many cases, central to the whole subject. The aim of this method of presentation is to gradually acquaint the reader with both the emerging parties, the major cleavages and the emerging polity. The third part, composed of one chapter, is devoted to general con­ clusions. In its first sections, there is an attempt to apply the "Lipset-llokkan" model of cleavages to the material presented throughout the study. This model is thus used as a tool for explanation of the