Independent Liberals
(Liberalim Atzma'iyim)
Independent Liberals
Founded in 1965
The Independent Liberals party (Liberalim Atzma'iyim) was founded in 1965 by a number of members of the Liberal Party, who disapproved of their party's collaboration with Herut in the Gahal joint list. Most of those resigning had originally been members of the Progressive Party, for whom cooperation with hawkish Herut and Menachem Begin represented a deviation from the moderate foreign policy and security stance that characterized the party. The Independent Liberals ran in Knesset elections as an independent list five times. In the 1981 elections for the 10th Knesset, however, it did not pass the electoral threshold and ceased to exist as an independent party. In the 1984 elections for the 11th Knesset, one of its representatives was elected within the framework of the Labor Alignment (Ma'arach) list.
With respect to socio-economic issues, the party espoused an approach that it termed "social liberalism." The foreign and security policies of the Independent Liberals party were moderate and centrist. Regarding issues of religion and state, the party took a clearly liberal, secular stance.
| Election Year | Votes Count | Number Of Seats | Share Of Votes | List Of Candidates | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 11,764 | - | 0.6 |
Candidates
|
|
| 1977 | 20,384 | 1 | 1.2 |
Candidates
|
|
| 1973 | 56,560 | 4 | 3.6 |
Candidates
|
|
| 1969 | 43,933 | 4 | 3.2 |
Candidates
|
|
| 1965 | 45,299 | 5 | 3.8 |
Candidates
|
Note that the candidates and platforms in this table are in Hebrew.
Pinchas Rosen, Moshe Kol, Gideon Hausner
The Independent Liberals party was a consistent partner in the various Alignment (Ma'arach) coalition governments that held power from 1965 through 1977. Until the Eighth Knesset, Moshe Kol represented this party in the government. In the course of the Eighth Knesset, the party received two portfolios in the government, and Kol was joined by Gideon Hausner.