A party that was synonymous with the story of modern Israel is now an anachronism, writes MARK WEISS
UNTIL THE 1970s the Israeli Labor party, then known as Mapai, not only dominated domestic politics, but the influence of the party permeated all sections of Israeli society.
Founded in 1930, Mapai led the Jewish labour movement in mandate Palestine on the course of “constructive socialism”, fusing socialism and Zionism, setting up collective kibbutz farms and establishing the powerful Histadrut trade union federation.
It was the Mapai leadership, led by the iconic David Ben Gurion, that led the struggle for Israeli independence in 1948.
Although Israel was a democracy, Mapai dominated all aspects of the nascent state. It was difficult to pursue a successful career in the civil service or even academia without a membership card of the powerful socialist party.
Despite its influence, the party never received more than 47 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, and its share of the vote gradually declined over the years.
In the early 1970s the party was linked to a number of corruption scandals. The shock of the 1973 Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war, when a surprise attack by Egyptian and Syrian forces caught Israel off guard, convinced many that it was time for a change.
The historic tipping point came in 1977 when the right-wing Likud, headed by the charismatic Menahem Begin, won the election, forcing Labor into opposition for the first time.
Although Labor was to return to power, headed by Yitzhak Rabin and then Ehud Barak, the right-wing Likud replaced Labor as Israel’s party of choice.
Labor was no longer the natural party of government.
In the 1980s and 1990s, as Israel became more affluent and closely aligned to Washington, Labor’s socialist message became increasingly anachronistic.
Israelis were more interested in owning a second car than with working-class solidarity.
As society changed, Labor failed to revamp itself as a vibrant social democratic alternative.
Labor put peace at the top of its agenda, but failed efforts to achieve peace with Israel’s Arab neighbours left voters repeatedly disillusioned.
The party continued to decline in the polls and at the last election, in 2009, Labor under Ehud Barak made its worst-ever showing, winning only 13 of the 120 Knesset seats.
Labor was now Israel’s fourth-largest party, winning fewer votes than Avigdor Lieberman’s far-right Yisrael Beiteinu.
Many in the party found it hard to accept joining Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition, dominated by right-wing and religious parties. Many in the party questioned how the party’s interests were served by staying in the government.
In recent months Labor slipped even further in the polls. The party was beset with infighting and political intrigue, heading for what appeared to be total disintegration.
The Knesset members who remained talked yesterday about rebuilding Labor without Ehud Barak, but it appeared that the once dominant force in Israeli politics was heading for oblivion.