Zionist Union

Zionist Union המחנה הציוני
Leader	Isaac Herzog, Tzipi Livni
Chairman	Isaac Herzog
Founded	10 December 2014
Headquarters	Tel Aviv, Israel
Ideology	Social liberalism Social democracy Zionism Two State solution
Political position	Centre-left[1]
Alliance of	Labor Party Hatnuah Green Movement
Colours	Blue, white, red
Knesset	24 / 120
Election symbol
אמת
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

Ballot for the Zionist Union

The Zionist Union (Hebrew: המחנה הציוני‎‎, translit. HaMaḥaneh HaTziyoni, lit. the Zionist Camp) is a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party, Hatnuah and Green Movement to create a joint electoral list to contest the 20th Knesset elections with the hope of unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

History

The Labor Party and Hatnuah agreed on 10 December 2014 to form a joint ticket.^[2] The list was established to create a large electoral list for the centre-left bloc, in the hope that it will lead the 34th government. Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni has said that other parties will also be part of the alliance.^[3] Livni and Labor leader Isaac Herzog initially said that if the alliance were to win enough seats to lead the next government, they would rotate in the post of Prime Minister, with Herzog serving for the first half of the Knesset's four-year term and Livni for the second half,^[4] though Livni announced on 16 March 2015 that only Herzog would serve as prime minister.^[5]

Manuel Trajtenberg, number 11 on the list, was the list's candidate for finance minister. Amos Yadlin was the list's candidate for defense minister, though he was not a candidate for the Knesset.^[6] The Green Movement was also represented on the list through the addition of Yael Cohen Paran on a spot (No. 25) for Hatnuah members.^[7]

Ideology and platform

Main issues

Key issues for the Zionist Union included the following:^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

• Solving economic woes and reducing the cost of living
  • Tackling the housing crisis by providing land for free in the public domain for housing developments and increasing overall government expenditure^[13]
  • Reducing the costs of health care, education, and basic goods
  • Closing the gap between rich and poor
• Reigniting negotiations with the Palestinians
  • Initiating negotiations as part of a collective effort with regional allies Egypt and Jordan, before presenting a peace initiative to the Arab League
  • Shifting Israeli–Palestinian conflict resolution away from unilateral action (including that by the Palestinian Authority at UN agencies and the ICC) and back to a bilateral process supported by the international community
  • Halting construction in isolated settlements
• Repairing ties with the United States and European Union

Other positions

In addition, the Zionist Union is in favor of the following:

• The enactment of green legislation^[14]
  • Dismantlement of "the gas monopoly"
  • Implementation of Clean Air Law measures
  • Removal of environmental hazards from the Haifa Bay by preventing the expansion of Oil Refineries Ltd. and evacuating the ammonia facility
  • Stronger protection for animal welfare
• Greater progress and pluralism on religion-and-state issues^[15]
  • Civil marriage in Israel, including for same-sex couples^[16]
  • Legal standing to non-Orthodox streams of Judaism
  • Partial operation of public transportation on Saturdays
• The legalization of medical marijuana^[17]

2015 election

List of Knesset members

The following are the candidates elected to the 20th Knesset from the Zionist Union's party list.^[18]

1. Isaac Herzog
2. Tzipi Livni
3. Shelly Yachimovich
4. Stav Shafir
5. Itzik Shmuli
6. Omer Bar-Lev
7. Yehiel Bar
8. Amir Peretz
9. Merav Michaeli
10. Eitan Cabel
11. Manuel Trajtenberg
12. Erel Margalit
13. Mickey Rosenthal
14. Revital Swid
15. Danny Atar
16. Yoel Hasson
17. Zouheir Bahloul
18. Eitan Broshi
19. Michal Biran
20. Nachman Shai
21. Ksenia Svetlova
22. Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin
23. Yossi Yona
24. Eyal Ben-Reuven
25. Yael Cohen-Paran

Results

After the election, the Zionist Union emerged as the second-largest party in the Knesset, with 24 seats. It triumphed in Tel Aviv and its prosperous suburbs, as well as other liberal areas.^[19][20] Its success was mostly in affluent areas; it won the highest number of votes in 28 of Israel's 33 wealthiest communities.^[21]

References

1. Aron Heller (2015-01-29). "Israeli center-left alliance looks to unseat Netanyahu". Associated Press. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
2. "Labor, Livni agree to join forces ahead of elections". Haaretz. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
3. "Two Israeli parties unite against Netanyahu". Al Jazeera English. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
4. Isabel Kershner (11 December 2014). "Alliance Adds Twist to Israeli Elections". The New York Times. p. A8. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
5. Marissa Newman (16 March 2015). "Livni forgoes rotating premiership with Herzog". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
6. Jonathan Lis (19 January 2015). "Former IDF intel chief joins Zionist Camp; Mofaz doesn't". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
7. Moran Azulay (25 January 2015). "Center-left Zionist Camp presents party list: We are the true Zionists". Ynetnews. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
8. "Key facts about Israel and its election system". Associated Press. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
9. Jodi Rudoren (March 18, 2015). "Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
10. Moran Azulay, Zionist Union unveils party platform: Mending ties with US, reducing cost of living, Ynetnews (March 8, 2015)
11. William Booth; Ruth Eglash (February 21, 2015). "Could Isaac Herzog become Israel's next prime minister?". The Washington Post.
12. Hoffman, Gil. "Israel politics: Platforms for the politically perplexed". The Jerusalem Post.
13. Niv Elis (3 February 2015). "In Zionist Union platform, Trajtenberg calls for giving land for free". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
14. Sharon Udasin (March 6, 2015). "It's tough to be green: Parties outline their platforms". The Jerusalem Post.
15. Jeremy Sharon (March 9, 2015). "UTJ dismisses Zionist Union manifesto on religion and state as irrelevant". The Jerusalem Post.
16. "Gay Marriage Takes Center Stage in Israeli Election Campaign". Israel Today. January 9, 2015.
17. Ido Efrati (11 March 2015). "Grass roots support: Most Israeli parties favor use of medical marijuana". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
18. "Candidates for Knesset Lists in English". Jeremy's Knesset Insider. January 31, 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
19. Isabel Kershner (March 20, 2015). "Abiding Rifts Within Israel Threaten to Widen With Netanyahu Win". The New York Times.
20. "Likud wins big across Israel, while Zionist Union makes massive gains on Gaza border". Ynetnews. 18 March 2015.
21. Or Kashti (March 19, 2015). "Netanyahu and Likud won by taking poorer Jewish towns, West Bank settlements". Haaretz.

External links

• Official website (Hebrew)
• Zionist Union on Facebook (Hebrew)
• Zionist Union on Twitter
  
  (English)