Likud


 

Likud

Founded in 1973

The Likud Party began as a joint electoral list established in 1973 ahead of the elections for the eighth Knesset, which included Herut, the Liberal Party, the Free Center, the National List, and the Movement for Greater Israel. In 1988, these all merged into a single party called Likud.

 

Likud Party History

Headed by Menachem Begin, Likud first came to power in 1977 and continued as the ruling party until 1984. It then remained in power as a partner in the three unity governments that ruled until 1990. Yitzhak Shamir served as prime minister on behalf of the Likud from 1986 to 1992. That year, after more than fifteen years in power, the Likud returned to the opposition, but was restored to government under Benjamin Netanyahu from 1996 to 1999 and again under Ariel Sharon from 2001 to 2005. At the end of 2005, there was a split in the party, with the resignation of Ariel Sharon and a number of Knesset members and activists and the establishment of Kadima. After three years in opposition, the Likud regained its status as the ruling party with the swearing-in of Netanyahu’s second government on March 31, 2009. Likud remained in power until the 2021 elections, which ended Netanyahu’s 12 consecutive years in office, and returned the Likud to the opposition. The party returned to power once more at the end of 2022, with the swearing-in of Netanyahu’s sixth government (the 37th government of Israel).

 

Likud Party Ideology

Ideologically, Likud has been identified for most of its existence as a party that combines nationalist elements with liberal characteristics, as is also reflected in the subtitle of its official name (Likud: A National-Liberal Movement). The opening paragraph of the Likud charter, which sets out the party’s goals, refers to nationalist issues such as the ingathering of the exiles, the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel, the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel, and the inculcation of traditional Jewish values in education and in the life of the state. Alongside these, there is also reference to liberal aspects such as the supremacy of the law and protection of civil rights, individual freedoms, prevention of discrimination, and support for a competitive free market with limited government involvement in the economy.

In practice, commitment to the Greater Land of Israel has often been balanced out by political pragmatism: Likud was the main party in the governments that agreed territorial concessions to Egypt in the Camp David Accords (1979), opened negotiations at the Madrid Conference (1991), continued the Oslo Accords and withdrew from most of Hebron, and led the unilateral disengagement plan that included the removal of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip (2005). Between returning to power in 2009 and the massacre of October 7, 2023, it advocated a “conflict management” approach, refrained from large-scale operations in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Lebanon, and de facto recognized Hamas rule in Gaza.

 

table
Election Year Votes Count Number Of Seats Share Of Votes List Of Candidates Platform
2022 1,115,336 32 23.4 Candidates Candidates
2021 1,066,892 30 24.2 Candidates Candidates
2020 1,352,449 36 29.5 Candidates Candidates
September 2019 1,113,617 32 25.1 Candidates Candidates
April 2019 1,140,370 35 26.5 Candidates Candidates
2015 985,408 30 23.4 Candidates Candidates
2009 729,054 27 21.6 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
2006 281,996 12 9.0 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
2003 925,279 38 29.4 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1999 468,103 19 14.1 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1996 767,401 32* 25.1 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1992 651,229 32 24.9 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1988 709,305 40 31.1 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1984 661,302 41 31.9 Candidates Candidates
1981 718,941 48 37.1 Candidates Candidates
1977 583,968 43 33.4 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform
1973 473,309 39 30.2 Candidates Candidates Platform Platform

Note that the candidates and platforms in this table are in Hebrew.

* For the 2013 election results see Likud Beitenu. In 1996 Likud ran on a joint list with Gesher and Tzomet.

Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Shamir, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon, David Levy, Moshe Arens, Yitzhak Moda'i, Moshe Nissim, Dan Meridor, Ehud Olmert, Moshe Katzav, Silvan Shalom.

Although several members of Herut and the Liberal Party members served as ministers in the governments of Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir in the late 1960s, it was only in 1977 that Likud came to power. From 1977 to 1984, Likud members of Knesset served in high-ranking ministerial positions such as the Ministry of Defense (Ezer Weizmann, Ariel Sharon, and Moshe Arens), the Ministry of Finance (Simcha Erlich, Yigal Horowitz, and Yoram Aridor) and the Foreign Ministry (Yitzchak Shamir). Many members of the Likud also served as ministers in the rotation governments of the 11th Knesset and in the governments of the 12th Knesset.

Likud once again led the government after the elections for the Fourteenth Knesset in 1996, when it ran in a joint list with the Gesher and Tzomet parties. In that government, in addition to the position of prime minister, Likud controlled important ministries such as Finance (Dan Meridor) and Defense (Yitzchak Mordechai). Likud once again became the party with the highest number of cabinet members in 2001 to 2005, when the governments of Ariel Sharon were in power.

Between 2009 and 2021 Likud, under the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu, was the governing party in four different cabinets. Likud returned to opposition status in June 2021 but regained control following the 2022 elections. It is the largest party in the current coalition. Besides Prime Minister Netanyahu, other Likud ministers include Yoav Galant (Defense), Yisrael Katz (Foreign Affairs) and Yariv Levin (Justice).