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1955 Israeli legislative election

{{short description|Elections for the third Knesset}}

{{Infobox legislative election

| election_name = Elections for the 3rd Knesset

| previous_election = 1951

| next_election = 1959

| election_date = 26 July 1955

| turnout = 82.8%

| country = Israel

| party1 = Mapai

| leader1 = David Ben-Gurion

| seats1 = 40

| last_election1 = 45

| votes1 = 274,735

| percentage1 = 32.2

| party2 = Herut

| leader2 = Menachem Begin

| seats2 = 15

| last_election2 = 8

| votes2 = 107,190

| percentage2 = 12.6

| party3 = General Zionists

| leader3 = Israel Rokach

| seats3 = 13

| last_election3 = 20

| votes3 = 87,099

| percentage3 = 10.2

| party4 = National Religious Front

| leader4 = Haim-Moshe Shapira

| seats4 = 11

| last_election4 = 10

| votes4 = 77,936

| percentage4 = 9.1

| party5 = Ahdut HaAvoda

| leader5 = Yitzhak Tabenkin

| seats5 = 10

| last_election5 = new

| votes5 = 69,475

| percentage5 = 8.2

| party6 = Mapam

| leader6 = Meir Ya'ari

| seats6 = 9

| last_election6 = 15

| votes6 = 62,401

| percentage6 = 7.3

| party7 = Religious Torah Front

| leader7 = Yitzhak-Meir Levin

| seats7 = 6

| last_election7 = 5

| votes7 = 39,836

| percentage7 = 4.7

| party8 = Maki (historical political party)

| leader8 = Shmuel Mikunis

| seats8 = 6

| last_election8 = 5

| votes8 = 38,492

| percentage8 = 4.5

| party9 = Progressive Party (Israel)

| leader9 = Pinchas Rosen

| seats9 = 5

| last_election9 = 4

| votes9 = 37,661

| percentage9 = 4.4

| party10 = Democratic List for Israeli Arabs

| leader10 = Seif el-Din el-Zoubi

| seats10 = 2

| last_election10 = 3

| votes10 = 15,475

| percentage10 = 1.8

| party11 = Progress and Work

| leader11 = {{nowrap|Salah-Hassan Hanifes}}

| seats11 = 2

| last_election11 = 1

| votes11 = 12,511

| percentage11 = 1.5

| party12 = Agriculture and Development

| leader12 = Faras Hamdan

| seats12 = 1

| last_election12 = 1

| votes12 = 9,791

| percentage12 = 1.1

| before_election = Moshe Sharett

| before_party = Mapai

| after_election = David Ben-Gurion

| after_party = Mapai

| title = Prime Minister

}}

File:Sharett Voting.jpg votes]]

Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p124 {{ISBN|0-19-924958-X}}

Parliament factions

{{main list|List of political parties in Israel}}

The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 2nd Knesset.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! rowspan="2" colspan=2| Name

! rowspan="2"| Ideology

! rowspan="2"| Symbol

! rowspan="2"| Leader

! colspan="2"| 1951 result

! rowspan="2" |Seats at 1954
dissolution

|-

! Votes (%)

! Seats

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Mapai}};"|

| Mapai

| Social democracy
Labor Zionism

| {{Script/Hebrew|א}}

| David Ben-Gurion

| style="text-align:center;"|37.3%

| {{Composition bar|45|120|{{party color|Mapai}}}}

|{{Composition bar|47|120|{{party color|Mapai}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|General Zionists}};"|

| General Zionists

| Liberalism

| {{Script/Hebrew|צ}}

| Israel Rokach

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|16.2%

| {{Composition bar|20|120|{{party color|General Zionists}}}}

| {{Composition bar|22|120|{{party color|General Zionists}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Mapam}};"|

| Mapam

| Labor Zionism
Socialism

| {{Script/Hebrew|מ}}

| Meir Ya'ari

| style="text-align:center;"|12.5%

| {{Composition bar|15|120|{{party color|Mapam}}}}

|{{Composition bar|7|120|{{party color|Mapam}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Hapoel HaMizrachi}};"|

| Hapoel HaMizrachi

| Religious Zionism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ו}}

| Haim-Moshe Shapira

| style="text-align:center;"|6.8%

| {{Composition bar|8|120|{{party color|Hapoel HaMizrachi}}}}

|{{Composition bar|8|120|{{party color|Hapoel HaMizrachi}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Herut}};"|

| Herut

| Revisionist Zionism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ח}}

| Menachem Begin

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|6.6%

| {{Composition bar|8|120|{{party color|Herut}}}}

| {{Composition bar|8|120|{{party color|Herut}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Maki (historical political party)}};"|

| Maki

| Communism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ק}}

| Shmuel Mikunis

| style="text-align:center;"|4.0%

| {{Composition bar|5|120|{{party color|Maki (historical political party)}}}}

|{{Composition bar|7|120|{{party color|Maki (historical political party)}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Ahdut HaAvoda}};"|

| Ahdut HaAvoda

| Labor Zionism

| {{Script/Hebrew|תו}}

| Yitzhak-Meir Levin

| style="text-align:center;"|-

| {{Composition bar|0|120|{{party color|Ahdut HaAvoda}}}}

|{{Composition bar|4|120|{{party color|Ahdut HaAvoda}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Progressive Party (Israel)}};"|

| Progressive Party

| Liberalism
Progressivism

| {{Script/Hebrew|פ}}

| Pinchas Rosen

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|3.2%

| {{Composition bar|4|120|{{party color|Progressive Party (Israel)}}}}

| {{Composition bar|4|120|{{party color|Progressive Party (Israel)}}}}

|-

| style="background:#C61318;"|

| Democratic List for Israeli Arabs

| Arab satellite list

| {{Script/Hebrew|יד}}

| Seif el-Din el-Zoubi

| style="text-align:center;"|2.0%

| {{Composition bar|3|120|#C61318}}

|{{Composition bar|3|120|#C61318}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Agudat Yisrael}};"|

| Agudat Yisrael

| Religious conservatism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ג}}

| Yitzhak-Meir Levin

| style="text-align:center;"|2.0%

| {{Composition bar|3|120|{{party color|Agudat Yisrael}}}}

|{{Composition bar|3|120|{{party color|Agudat Yisrael}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Sephardim and Oriental Communities}};"|

| Sephardim and Oriental Communities

| Sephardic and Mizrahi interests

| {{Script/Hebrew|סצ}}

| Eliyahu Elyashar

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1.8%

| {{Composition bar|2|120|{{party color|Sephardim and Oriental Communities}}}}

| {{Composition bar|0|120|{{party color|Sephardim and Oriental Communities}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Poalei Agudat Yisrael}};"|

| Poalei Agudat Yisrael

| Religious conservatism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ד}}

| Binyamin Mintz

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1|1.6%

| {{Composition bar|2|120|{{party color|Poalei Agudat Yisrael}}}}

|{{Composition bar|2|120|{{party color|Poalei Agudat Yisrael}}}}

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Mizrachi (political party)}};"|

| Mizrachi

| Religious Zionism

| {{Script/Hebrew|ב}}

| David-Zvi Pinkas

| style="text-align:center;"|1.5%

| {{Composition bar|2|120|{{party color|Mizrachi (political party)}}}}

|{{Composition bar|2|120|{{party color|Mizrachi (political party)}}}}

|-

| style="background:#C61318;"|

| Progress and Work

| Arab satellite list

| {{Script/Hebrew|נ}}

| Salah-Hassan Hanifes

| style="text-align:center;"|1.2%

| {{Composition bar|1|120|#C61318}}

|{{Composition bar|1|120|#C61318}}

|-

|-

| style="background:{{party color|Yemenite Association}};"|

| Yemenite Association

| Yemenite Jewish interest

| {{Script/Hebrew|ל}}

| Shimon Garidi

| style="text-align:center;"|1.2%

| {{Composition bar|1|120|{{party color|Yemenite Association}}}}

|{{Composition bar|1|120|{{party color|Yemenite Association}}}}

|-

| style="background:#C61318;"|

| Agriculture and Development

| Arab satellite list

| {{Script/Hebrew|ע}}

| Faras Hamdan

| style="text-align:center;"|1.1%

| {{Composition bar|1|120|#C61318}}

|{{Composition bar|1|120|#C61318}}

|-

|}

Results

Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 (at the end of the Second Knesset) to 40. Meanwhile, Herut overtook the General Zionists, Mapam, and Hapoel HaMizrachi to become the second-largest party, with its share of seats nearly doubling (from 8 in the Second Knesset to 15 in the Third).

The Third Knesset is notable for being the only Knesset thus far in which none of the represented parties merged or split (although two parties did change their names) and no MKs switched parties, making it the most stable Knesset in Israel's history.

{{Election results

|image=File:1955 Knesset.svg

|party1=Mapai|votes1=274735|seats1=40|sc1=−5

|party2=Herut|votes2=107190|seats2=15|sc2=+7

|party3=General Zionists|votes3=87099|seats3=13|sc3=−7

|party4=National Religious Front|votes4=77936|seats4=11|sc4=+1

|party5=Ahdut HaAvoda|votes5=69475|seats5=10|sc5=New

|party6=Mapam|votes6=62401|seats6=9|sc6=−6

|party7=Religious Torah Front|votes7=39836|seats7=6|sc7=+1

|party8=Maki|votes8=38492|seats8=6|sc8=+1

|party9=Progressive Party|votes9=37661|seats9=5|sc9=+1

|party10=Democratic List for Israeli Arabs|votes10=15475|seats10=2|sc10=−1

|party11=Progress and Work|votes11=12511|seats11=2|sc11=+1

|party12=Agriculture and Development|votes12=9791|seats12=1|sc12=0

|party14=Sephardim and Oriental Communities|votes14=6994|seats14=0|sc14=−2

|party15=Arab List – The Centre|votes15=4484|seats15=0|sc15=New

|party16=Likud – Popular Economic Movement|votes16=3044|seats16=0|sc16=New

|party17=Yemenite Association|votes17=2459|seats17=0|sc17=−1

|party18=Original Religious List|votes18=2448|seats18=0|sc18=New

|party19=New Immigrants' List|votes19=1188|seats19=0|sc19=New

|invalid=22969

|total_sc=0

|electorate=1057795

|source=[https://bechirot21.bechirot.gov.il/election/about/Documents/yalkut_432.pdf CEC], Nohlen et al.

}}

Aftermath

File:The first meeting of the Israeli 3rd government.jpg at first session of the Third Knesset (1951)]]

{{see also|List of members of the third Knesset}}

Unlike the second Knesset, the third Knesset was one of the most stable in Israel's history. There were only two governments, and it was the only Knesset to date during which none of the parties split or merged. As with the first and second Knesset, the speaker was Yosef Sprinzak until his death on 28 January 1959. He was replaced by Ahdut HaAvoda's Nahum Nir.

=Seventh government=

{{main|Seventh government of Israel}}

The third Knesset started with David Ben-Gurion forming the seventh government of Israel (the previous two Knessets had six governments; two in the first and four in the second) on 3 November 1955. His Mapai party formed a coalition with the National Religious Front (which later changed its name to the National Religious Party), Mapam, the Progressive Party, Ahdut HaAvoda, and the three Israeli Arab parties, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work, Agriculture and Development. The government had 16 ministers. It collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned on 31 December 1957 over the leaking of information from ministerial meetings.

=Eighth government=

{{main|Eighth government of Israel}}

Ben-Gurion formed the eighth government a week later on 7 January 1958 with the same coalition partners. The number of ministers remained the same. The eighth government collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned again on 5 July 1959 after Labour Unity and Mapam had voted against the government on the issue of selling arms to West Germany and refused to leave the coalition. Elections for the fourth Knesset were called for 3 November 1959.

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.knesset.gov.il/review/ReviewPage.aspx?kns=3&lng=3 Historical overview of the Third Knesset] Knesset website
  • [https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_res3.htm Election results] Knesset website

{{Israeli elections}}

Category:1955 elections in Israel

Legislative election

Category:Legislative elections in Israel

Category:July 1955 in Asia

Israel

Category:David Ben-Gurion

Category:Menachem Begin