Yisrael BaAliyah ישראל בעליה | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Natan Sharansky Yuli Edelstein |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Merged into | Likud |
| Ideology | Zionism Liberal conservatism Russian speakers' interests |
| Political position | Center-right toright-wing |
| Most MKs | 7 (1996) |
| Fewest MKs | 2 (2003) |
| Election symbol | |
| כן | |
| Website | |
| aliya.org.il | |
Yisrael BaAliyah (Hebrew:ישראל בעלייה,lit. 'Israel on the Up') was apolitical party inIsrael between its formation in 1996 and its merger intoLikud in 2003. It was formed to represent the interests ofRussian immigrants by formerrefuseniksNatan Sharansky andYuli-Yoel Edelstein. Initially a centrist party, it drifted to the right towards the end of its existence.
The party was formed in 1996 by Sharansky, whose personal image as a dedicated and long-suffering idealist was intended to be the catalyst for an immigrant revolution in Israeli politics. "Yisrael BaAliyah" was chosen as the name for the party, both denoting its identification with immigration (aliyah being the Hebrew word for immigration to Israel), as well as the literal meaning of "Israel on the up".[1]
With another ex-Soviet dissidentYuli-Yoel Edelstein as a co-founder, they chose a slogan stating that their political party is different: its leaders first go to prison and only then go into politics.
In its first electoral test, theMay 1996 Knesset elections, the party won 5.7% of the vote and 7 seats, making it the sixth largest party in theKnesset. It joinedBinyamin Netanyahu'sLikud-led government, and was given two ministerial posts; Sharansky was appointedMinister of Industry and Trade, whilst Edelstein becameMinister of Immigrant Absorption.[2]
On 23 February 1999, Shortly before the1999 Knesset elections,Michael Nudelman andYuri Stern left the party to formAliyah,[3] which later entered into an alliance with another Russian-immigrant party,Yisrael Beiteinu.
In the elections, the party was reduced to six seats, but was now the fifth-largest in the Knesset, having campaigned on the popular motto "Ministry of Internal Affairs in our control" (МВД под наш контроль).[4] It joinedEhud Barak'sOne Israel-led government, and was given one ministerial portfolio (Sharansky asMinister of Internal Affairs) and one deputy ministerial post (Marina Solodkin as Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption).[5] On 20 July 1999, shortly after the elections, left-wingersRoman Bronfman andAlexander Tzinker left the party and formed theDemocratic Choice faction.[3] Yisrael BaAliyah left the government on 11 July 2000, in response to suggestions that Barak's negiotations with the Palestinians would result in a division ofJerusalem.
AfterAriel Sharon won aspecial election for Prime Minister in 2001, the party joined his new government, and was again given one ministerial post (Sharansky asMinister of Housing and Construction) and one deputy position (Edelstein as Deputy Immigrant Absorption Minister). In addition, Sharansky was appointedDeputy Prime Minister.[6]
In theJanuary 2003 elections, the party was reduced to just two seats. Sharansky resigned from the Knesset, and was replaced by Edelstein. However, he remained party chairman, and decided to merge it into Likud (which had won the election with a haul of 38 seats). The merger went through on 10 March 2003,[3] and Sharansky was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, whilst Solodkin was re-appointed Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption.
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Natan Sharansky | 174,994 | 5.73 (#6) | 7 / 120 | New | Coalition |
| 1999 | 171,705 | 5.19 (#5) | 6 / 120 |  1 | Coalition | |
| 2003 | 67,719 | 2.15 (#12) | 2 / 120 | 4 | Opposition |
| Knesset | Seats | MKs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14th | 7 | Roman Bronfman,Yuli-Yoel Edelstein,Michael Nudelman,Natan Sharansky,Yuri Stern,Marina Solodkin,Zvi Weinberg | Nudelman and Stern left the party to formAliyah |
| 15th | 6 | Roman Bronfman, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein,Gennady Riger, Natan Sharansky, Marina Solodkin,Alexander Tzinker | Bronfman and Tzinker left the party to form theDemocratic Choice |
| 16th | 2 | Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Natan Sharansky (replaced by Marina Solodkin) | Party merged intoLikud shortly after the elections. |
Refusenik movement and1990s post-Soviet aliyah | |||||||||||||||||
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