This election poster was published at the height of the First Intifada by the right-wing party Hatechiya (the Revival). The poster, published about a year after the beginning of the intifada, dealt with the sensitive issue of control over the Temple Mount, one of the major issues in the Arab-Israel conflict since the Six-Day War in 1967.
At the top of the poster is the Dome of the Rock and next to it is a threatening image of an Arab man with a kefiyah covering most of his face. In the centre of the poster is a text detailing the party’s position on the Temple Mount. The banner reads: “Today they say, ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands’.” At the bottom of the banner is the slogan: “Hatechiya – the only ones who speak clearly.”
The poster reflects Hatechiya’s position on the issue of sovereignty over the Temple Mount and its protest over the prayer arrangements that do not allow Jews to pray there. It uses the famous statement by Motta Gur from the Six-Day War, “the Temple Mount is in our hands” but claims that it is the Arabs who really control the Temple Mount today. Hatechiya promises to correct the situation and fight for “our historic right and sovereignty of Israel.”
Would You Like to Know More?
1988 Israeli Election – The elections for the 12th Knesset were held on November 1, 1988. The previous government was a unity government with rotation between Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres as prime minister. The government managed to reduce inflation and decrease the Israeli presence in Southern Lebanon, but there were many disagreements between the different parties regarding foreign and security policies, especially with regards to the Intifada that broke out in 1987. The results of the elections had the Likud with one more seat than the Alignment Party and Shamir therefore formed the new government.
Hatechiya Party – Hatechiya was a right-wing party formed in October 1979 to protest the peace agreements with Egypt. Its leaders, Yuval Ne’eman and Geula Cohen, presented a more right-wing political line than the Likud: for example, the party’s stand against the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Members of the party served in the 12th Knesset, but the party did not pass the electoral threshold in the 1992 elections for the 13th Knesset and dissolved.
The Temple Mount – The Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem is the holiest site in Judaism, the site of the two Jewish temples, and also one of the holiest sites for Muslims, with the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Despite the fact that Israel has sovereignty over Jerusalem, the Temple Mount is actually governed by the Muslim Waqf. The Waqf safeguards the religious interests of the Muslim minority, but Jewish rights are extremely limited on the site. The Israeli government maintains this status quo due to the extreme sensitivity of the issue.
Elections in Israel – Israel is a democratic country, and general elections for the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, take place, according to the law, once every four years. The nationwide elections are based on a multi-party, proportional representation system. The legal voting age in Israel is 18, and all Israeli citizens from sectors may vote and be elected. Using voting slips with the initials of the parties, citizens vote for their preferred party and not for individual candidates. The 120 seats in the Knesset are then assigned proportionally to the parties according to the number of votes received. After the elections, the president of Israel chooses the leader of the largest party or of the party that is most likely to form a viable coalition government. This leader then forms a government, the Knesset gives it a vote of confidence, and the leader then becomes prime minister.
