1988 Israeli legislative election

← 1984 1 November 1988 1992 →
All 120 seats in theKnesset 61 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	79.66% ( 0.88pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Likud Yitzhak Shamir 31.07 40 −1 Alignment Shimon Peres 30.02 39 −5 Shas Yitzhak Haim Peretz 4.72 6 +2 Agudat Yisrael Moshe Ze'ev Feldman 4.50 5 +3 Ratz Shulamit Aloni 4.27 5 +2 Mafdal Avner Hai Shaki 3.93 5 +1 Hadash Meir Vilner 3.68 4 0 Tehiya Yuval Ne'eman 3.10 3 −1 Mapam Yair Tzaban 2.47 3 −3 Tzomet Rafael Eitan 1.99 2 +1 Moledet Rehavam Ze'evi 1.93 2 New Centre-Shinui Amnon Rubinstein 1.73 2 −1 Degel HaTorah Avraham Ravitz 1.50 2 New PLFP Mohammed Miari 1.48 1 −1 Mada Abdulwahab Darawshe 1.18 1 New This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Yitzhak Shamir Likud Yitzhak Shamir Likud

Legislative elections were held inIsrael on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 80%.^[1]

The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the11th Knesset.

During the campaign, left-wing parties were in a state of conflict. Mapam and Ratz rejected the possibility of running on a joint list.^[2] When Ratz signed a surplus vote agreement with the Alignment, Mapam accused Ratz of wanting to "remove Mapam from the political scene", to which Ratz leaderShulamit Aloni responded by saying that "Mapam's panic is understandable. It is a spoiled party, rich in assets and jobs, which fears any young, fresh organization without vested economic interests that comes to fight with clean hands." She also highlighted the inevitability of the two parties becoming allies, comparing Mapam to the biblical characterSaul throwing his spear atDavid.^[3]

Further to the left, there was outright hostility between the Progressive List for Peace and Hadash, resulting in physical altercations between their activists.^[4]

Two parties could make an agreementso that they were considered to be running on a joint list when leftover seats were distributed. TheBader–Ofer method favors larger lists, meaning that a joint list is more likely to receive leftover seats than each list would individually. If such a joint list were to receive a leftover seat, the Bader–Ofer method would be applied a second time to determine which of the parties that make up the joint list would receive it.^[9] The following agreements were signed by parties prior to the election:^[10]

• Alignment-Ratz
• Shas-Degel HaTorah
• Mapam-Shinui
• Likud-Tehiya
• The Movement for a Just Society - Yemenite Association in Israel

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Likud	709,305	31.07	40	−1
	Alignment	685,363	30.02	39	−5
	Shas	107,709	4.72	6	+2
	Agudat Yisrael	102,714	4.50	5	+3
	Ratz	97,513	4.27	5	+2
	National Religious Party	89,720	3.93	5	+1
	Hadash	84,032	3.68	4	0
	Tehiya	70,730	3.10	3	−2
	Mapam	56,345	2.47	3	New
	Tzomet	45,489	1.99	2	New
	Moledet	44,174	1.93	2	New
	Shinui	39,538	1.73	2	−1
	Degel HaTorah	34,279	1.50	2	New
	Progressive List for Peace	33,695	1.48	1	−1
	Arab Democratic Party	27,012	1.18	1	New
	Pensioners	16,674	0.73	0	New
	Meimad	15,783	0.69	0	New
	Derekh Aretz	4,253	0.19	0	New
	Or Movement	4,182	0.18	0	New
	Movement for Social Justice	3,222	0.14	0	New
	Yishai – Tribal Israel Together	2,947	0.13	0	New
	Movement for Moshavim	2,838	0.12	0	New
	Tarshish	1,654	0.07	0	New
	Silent Power	1,579	0.07	0	New
	Movement for Demobilised Soldiers	1,018	0.04	0	New
	Yemenite Association	909	0.04	0	New
	Unity	446	0.02	0	0
Total		2,283,123	100.00	120	0
Valid votes		2,283,123	99.03
Invalid/blank votes		22,444	0.97
Total votes		2,305,567	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,894,267	79.66
Source:IDI, Nohlenet al.

Political observers noted that if Hadash and the Progressive List for Peace had made a surplus vote agreement, the latter would have won a surplus seat, which was ultimately won by the Shas-Degel surplus agreement.^[4]

Likud'sYitzhak Shamir formed thetwenty-third government on 22 December 1988, including the Alignment, the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah in his coalition, with 25 ministers.

In 1990Shimon Peres tried to form an Alignment-led coalition in a move that became known as "the dirty trick", but failed to win sufficient support. Eventually Shamir formed thetwenty-fourth government on 11 June 1990, with a coalition encompassing Likud, the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Yisrael, Degel HaTorah, the New Liberal Party, Tehiya, Tzomet, Moledet, Unity for Peace and Immigration and Geulat Yisrael. Tehiya, Tzomet and Moledet all left the coalition in late 1991/early 1992 in protest at Shamir's participation in theMadrid Conference.

Several defections occurred during the Knesset term; five members of Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea. After two of them returned, the party was renamed theNew Liberal Party.Yitzhak Peretz left Shas and establishedMoria.Eliezer Mizrahi left Agudat Yisrael and establishedGeulat Yisrael.Efraim Gur left the Alignment to establishUnity for Peace and Immigration, which later merged into Likud.

The Twelfth Knesset saw the rise of the ultra-orthodox religious parties as a significant force in Israeli politics, and as a crucial "swing" element which could determine which of the large two secular parties (Likud, Alignment) would get to form the coalition government. Ratz, Mapam, and Shinui merged intoMeretz, whileBlack Panthers broke away from Hadash.

• Historical overview of the Twelfth Knesset Knesset website(in English)
• Election results Knesset website

• 1988 elections in Israel
• 1988 in Israeli politics
• Legislative elections in Israel
• November 1988 in Asia
• 1988 elections in Asia
• Shimon Peres
• Yitzhak Shamir

• CS1 Hebrew-language sources (he)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata