Tehiya תחיה | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Leader | Geula Cohen Yuval Ne'eman |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Dissolved | 1992 |
| Split from | Herut |
| Merged into | Likud |
| Ideology | Ultranationalism[1] Settler interests Revisionist Zionism Greater Israel[2][3] |
| Political position | Right-wing[4] tofar-right[5] |
| Most MKs | 5 (1984) |
| Election symbol | |
| ת | |
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Tehiya (Hebrew:תחיה,lit. 'Revival'), originally known asBanai (בנא״י, anabbreviation forLand of Israel Loyalists' Alliance[a]), thenTehiya-Bnai (תחייה-בנא״י), was anultranationalistpolitical party in Israel. The party existed from 1979 until 1992. In the eyes of many, Tehiya was identified withGeula Cohen, who founded the party and headed it throughout its existence.
The party was formed in 1979 during the term of theninth Knesset, whenGeula Cohen andMoshe Shamir broke away fromHerut in response to theCamp David Treaty betweenEgypt and Israel, particularly the return of theSinai Peninsula to Egypt, and the eviction of its Israeli settlers.[6]
Tehiya was strongly affiliated with the extra-parliamentary movement ofGush Emunim,[6] and included prominent members ofIsraeli settlements in theWest Bank andGaza such asHanan Porat (later to be a member of theKnesset for theNational Religious Party and theNational Union) andElyakim Haetzni. Another founder and prominent member was thephysicistYuval Neeman.[7]
In its first electoral test, the1981 legislative election, Tehiya picked up three seats. Despite their previous difference of opinion, they were included in Menachem Begin's coalition government alongsideLikud, theNational Religious Party,Agudat Israel,Tami andTelem. Although Cohen did not take a ministerial position, Neeman became Minister of Science and Development.[7]
In the1984 elections, Tehiya became the third largest party in theKnesset after theAlignment and Likud, albeit with only five seats. However, they refused to participate in thenational unity government ofShimon Peres andYitzhak Shamir, which included the Alignment, Likud, the National Religious Party, Agudat Israel,Shas,Morasha,Shinui andOmetz.[8] During the Knesset sessionRafael Eitan defected from Tehiya to found a new party,Tzomet.[9]
The party was reduced to three seats in the1988 legislative election, and was again excluded from Shamir's national unity government. However, when the Alignment left the coalition in 1990, Tehiya were invited into a new narrow right-wing government which included Likud, the National Religious Party, Shas, Agudat Israel,Degel HaTorah, theNew Liberal Party.[10] Although Cohen again declined a ministerial position, Neeman was appointed Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Minister of Science and Technology. Despite its late entry to the government, the party pulled out of the coalition on 21 January 1992 in protest over Yitzhak Shamir's participation in theMadrid conference, which forced the government to hold new elections.[11]
In the1992 legislative election, the party failed to cross theelectoral threshold, and subsequently disappeared, with Cohen joining Likud that year. It is likely that most of its electorate went to Eitan'sTzomet, who jumped from two seats in the 1988 elections to eight in the 1992 votes. The two parties had competed on the same secular right-wing electorate.[10]
Tehiya fronted a number of controversial positions in its time, some of which were adopted by the mainstream; most notably, theJerusalem Law, which was proposed by the party and enacted on 30 July 1980 establishingJerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.[12]
The structure of Tehiya was based on a military model due to Gideon Altshuler, former head of an IDF brigade being made Secretary General, and Shmuel Gordan, a former Lieutenant Colonel, being made head of organization.[13] The party only allowed Jewish members.[7]
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| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Yuval Ne'eman | 44,700 | 2.31 (#7) | 3 / 120 |  1 | Coalition |
| 1984 | WithTzomet | 4 / 120 | 1 | Opposition | ||
| 1988 | 45,489 | 1.99 (#10) | 3 / 120 |  1 | Opposition (1988–1990) | |
| Coalition(1990–1992) | ||||||
| 1992 | 31,957 | 1.22 (#11) | 0 / 120 | 3 | Extraparliamentary | |
| Knesset (MKs) | Knesset members |
|---|---|
| 9th (2) | Geula Cohen,Moshe Shamir |
| 10th (3) | Geula Cohen,Yuval Neeman,Hanan Porat (replaced byZvi Shiloah) |
| 11th (5 −1) | Geula Cohen, Yuval Neeman,Gershon Shafat,Eliezer Waldman −Rafael Eitan (toTzomet) |
| 12th (3) | Geula Cohen, Yuval Neeman (replaced byElyakim Haetzni), Eliezer Waldman (replaced by Gershon Shafat) |
The Tehiya platform at the 1988 elections included:[14]
Hanan Porat tehiya.
