Likud (
HaLikud, lit.
The Consolidation) is the major
center-right political party in
Israel. It was founded in 1973 by
Menachem Begin in an alliance with several
right-wing and
liberal parties. Likud's victory in the
1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party has won only one
Knesset election since 1992, in 2003. However, Likud's candidate
Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for
Prime Minister in
1996 and was given the task to form a government after the
2009 elections. After a convincing win in the
2003 elections, Likud saw a major split in 2005, when Likud leader
Ariel Sharon left the party to form the new
Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in
2006 elections. Following the
2009 elections, the party appears to have mostly recovered from its loss, and now leads the
Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A member of the party is often called a Likudnik ().
Ideological positions
Economy
The Likud supports
free market capitalism and
liberalism, though in practice it has mostly adopted
mixed economic policies. Under the guidance of
Finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud pushed through legislation reducing
value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as
customs duty. Likewise, it has instituted
free trade (especially with the
European Union and the
United States) and dismantled certain
monopolies (
Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has
privatized numerous government-owned companies, e.g.
El Al and
Bank Leumi. Netanyahu was the most ardent free-market Israeli finance minister to-date. He argued that Israel's largest
labor union, the
Histadrut, has so much power as to be capable of paralyzing the
Israeli economy, and claimed that the main causes of
unemployment are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed." Under Netanyahu, Likud has and is likely to maintain a comparatively
right-wing conservative economic stance, although it might be considered
centrist or even progressive from a world view.
Palestinian policy
Likud has in the past espoused
hawkish policies towards the
Palestinians, including opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of
Israeli settlements in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip. However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister,
Menachem Begin, signed the
Camp David Accords with
Egyptian President
Anwar al-Sadat, which returned the
Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the
Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries.
Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli Prime Minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the
Madrid Conference following the
Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including
United States Secretary of State James Baker) for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Netanyahu restated Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the
Oslo Accords was largely accepted by the opposition
Labor Party, even though the shape of any such state was not clear.
In 2002, during the
Second Intifada, Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and
refugee camps in the West Bank. In 2005
Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the "
Greater Israel" policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza. Though re-elected Prime Minister on a platform of no unilateral withdrawals, Sharon carried out the
Israeli unilateral disengagement plan, withdrawing from the
Gaza Strip and demolishing the Israeli settlements there, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank. Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.
Sharon and the faction who supported his disengagement proposals left the Likud party after the disengagement and created the new
Kadima party. This new party supported unilateral disengagement from most of the West Bank and the fixing of borders by the
Israeli West Bank barrier. The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.
Netanyahu, who was elected as the new leader of Likud after Kadima's creation, and
Silvan Shalom, the runner-up, both supported the disengagement plan, however Netanyahu resigned his ministerial post before the plan was executed. Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.
Likud charter
- The 1999 Likud charter emphasized the right of settlement in "Judea (and) Samaria" (more commonly known as the "West Bank") and Gaza,"
- The 'Peace & Security' chapter of the 1999 Likud Party platform “flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river.” The chapter continued: “The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state.”
With Likud back in power, starting in 2009,
Israeli foreign policy is still under review. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, in his "National Security" platform, neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea of a Palestinian state. "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land."
Anti-Arab statements by Likud members
- In February 2004 Likud member and deputy defense minister Ze'ev Boim, speaking at a memorial ceremony, said "What is it about Islam as a whole and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some form of cultural deprivation? Is it some genetic defect? There is something that defies explanation in this continued murderousness." In a comment, Likud member of Knesset Yehiel Hazan supported Boim's statements: "I think this it is in their blood. It is something genetic. I have not researched this, but there is no other way to explain this,". He added "Don't believe an Arab, even one who has been in the grave for 40 years."
- In remarks at the Knesset in December 2004, Likud member Yehiel Hazan repeatedly likened Palestinians to "worms" and stated that the Palestinians are a nation of "murderers" and "terrorists."
- In a New Yorker magazine interview Moshe Feiglin, leader of the right wing Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud Central Committee, is quoted saying “You can’t teach a monkey to speak and you can’t teach an Arab to be democratic. You’re dealing with a culture of thieves and robbers. Muhammad, their prophet, was a robber and a killer and a liar. The Arab destroys everything he touches.”
Culture
Likud promotes a revival of
Jewish culture, in keeping with the principles of
Revisionist Zionism.
Likud emphasizes such Israeli nationalist themes as the use of the
Israeli flag and the victory in the
1948 Arab-Israeli war. Likud publicly endorses
press freedom and promotion of
private sector media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular
right-wing pirate radio station
Arutz 7 ("Channel 7). Arutz 7 was popular with the
Jewish settler movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective. However, the Likud is inclined towards the
Torah and expresses support for it within the context of civil
Judaism, as a result of its
Irgun past, which aligned itself according to the word of the
Tanakh.
History
Likud has its roots in
Irgun, a
militant group operating in
British Mandate Palestine. The military wing of
Irgun was co-oped into the
Israeli Defence Forces at Israels foundation, while the political wing became
Herut and eventually Likud. Over the years it has undergone an evolution into a more
pragmatic party.
[ Likud leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his party is committed to a "full peace" with the Palestinians, though he is still under international pressure to explicitly endorse a Palestinian state. If he does, the he would join the ranks of hard-line Israeli leaders such as Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, who changed their minds about giving up land and ended up making far-reaching concessions.]Leaders
Current MKs
Likud currently has 27 Knesset members. They are listed below in the order that they appeared on the party's list for the 2009 elections.
Other prominent members
Active:
Past figures (deceased, retired or left Likud):
- Tzipi Livni, former Foreign Minister and current Leader of the Opposition
- Ehud Olmert, former Mayor of Jerusalem and former Prime Minister of Israel
- Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister and Likud party leader (September 1999 - November 2005) now in a coma.
See also
