Zionist Union

The Zionist Union (Hebrew המחנה הציוני HaMaḥane HaẒioni) was a party alliance in Israel formed in December 2014 and dissolved in January 2019. For the Knesset election in March 2015, the Awoda Labor Party under Yitzchak Herzog and Ha-Tnu'a, founded by Tzipi Livni, joined together in it to form a center-left alliance, running with a joint list to replace the previous government under the conservative Likud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The alliance was concluded on December 11, 2014, and also integrated the Israeli Greens in 25th place. Herzog topped the list at No. 1, followed by Livni. Should the alliance form the government, the post of prime minister would rotate between the two after two years (Israeli model). The New York Times commented that this arrangement seemed "skewed" because the Labor Party, with 15 mandates so far, was significantly stronger than Ha-Tnu'a, with six so far.

At the beginning of December, Netanyahu had dismissed Tzipi Livni as justice minister from his government because she had publicly criticized it. As a result, the Knesset decided to dissolve her and call early elections, after the last elections were held in January 2013. Livni said Netanyahu was relying more and more on far-right positions and was increasingly isolating the country, which she wanted to change with an inclusive policy. The alliance seeks new peace negotiations with the Palestinians and criticizes what it sees as unresolved security policy issues, especially in the Gaza Strip.

In the polls, the two camps were neck and neck, which led Uri Avnery to the assessment that the "clinically dead" Awoda Labour Party would be revived by this alliance. Marxist historian Moshe Zuckermann saw this as rooted in Netanyahu's failures; neither had the 2014 Gaza war brought about an improvement in the security situation, nor had the "rabid" form of economic policy combated the growing and particularly extreme poverty in the country. While various left-wing forces succeeded in uniting in this election, the right-wing camp is fragmenting.

However, in the March 17, 2015 election, Prime Minister Netanyahu succeeded by a surprisingly large margin, winning 30 seats for his Likud party, ahead of the Zionist Union with 24 seats; the government was formed without them (Netanyahu IV cabinet).

Three months before the early parliamentary elections, Avi Gabbay, the Labor Party leader, quit the alliance on January 1, 2019.

See also

• List of political parties in Israel