This is an election poster for Mapam (the United Worker’s Party) in the 1959 Israeli elections. The red and black poster includes a caricature of Menachem Begin with the words, “Begin to Power? Folly and Disaster!” The drawing of Begin shows him brandishing a weapon and looking overexcited, with his hair sticking up and his cheeks flushed. Begin’s tie, which resembles the map of Israel, is positioned to make him look like he is rushing forward. There is a military belt hanging diagonally over Begin’s black shirt. His overall appearance is of an alarming and militaristic warmonger, possibly bearing some resemblance to a Nazi thug or even Hitler himself. In the bottom right-hand corner of the poster is the letter mem, which is the ballot symbol of the Mapam party.
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1959 Israeli General Elections – The general elections for the 4th Knesset were held on November 3, 1959. After a period of political instability following the Lavon Affair, David Ben-Gurion was once again the strong leader of Mapai, the ruling party. One of the main issues that was featured in the election campaign was the question of religion and state. In the previous year, Israeli society had been preoccupied with the question of who was considered Jewish according to the law of the State of Israel. This caused a rift between the liberal secular Mapai, which believed in self-definition, and the religious parties, which demanded an answer based on religious criteria. Another issue that affected the elections were the Wadi Salib riots that occurred a few months before the elections. These violent demonstrations, starting in the Wadi Salib neighbourhood, protested ethnic discrimination against North African Jews. These riots demonstrated the disappointment of the North African immigrants from the Mapai government and also heightened public awareness of social injustice in Israel. Mapai nonetheless succeed in these elections and formed a government once again, holding the largest number of seats of a single party in the Knesset to this day. The second largest party in the 4th Knesset was Herut, led by Ben-Gurion’s rival, Menachem Begin.
Mapam – Mapam was an Israeli socialist-Zionist political party founded in January 1948 following the unification of the workers’ party of Hashomer Hatzair and the Ahdut Ha’avoda Poalei Zion movement. Mapam originally advocated a pro-Soviet policy, but this changed after Stalin’s death in 1954. In 1955 Mapam, joined the Knesset coalition for the first time under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion and gradually became a more moderate and pragmatic party. In the early 1990s Mapam joined the Meretz party.
Menachem Begin – Menachem Begin, born in Poland, was a member of Betar, a Zionist youth movement based upon the ideas of Vladimir Jabotinsky and Josef Trumpeldor. After serving in the Polish Army, Begin immigrated to Israel in 1942. He joined the Irgun (Irgun Zvai Leumi or Etzel, the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel), an underground Zionist paramilitary that split from the main Jewish military organisation, the Haganah. In 1944, Begin became the commander of the Irgun and was determined to force the British to leave Israel, using even violent measures. Begin was on the British wanted list and was thus compelled to live in hiding. Not only were the British searching for him but also opposing Jewish political organisations that claimed his actions were harming the Yishuv’s struggle for independence. Upon the establishment of the state, Begin signed an agreement with David Ben-Gurion agreeing to formally disband the Irgun. In August 1948, Begin founded the Herut political party, which was the forerunner to the Likud party. Over the years, Begin fought many ideological and political battles with David Ben-Gurion and his socialist Mapai party, one of the most bitter being about the reparation agreement between Israel and West Germany. In 1977, after many years of Mapai rule, there was a political upheaval and Begin became the sixth prime minister of the State of Israel. Menachem Begin served as prime minister for more than six years, until his resignation in 1983 due to ill health and depression after the death of his wife, Aliza. Major events during his term in office were the peace treaty with Egypt (1979), the subsequent withdrawal from Sinai (1982), the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear plant (1981), and the invasion of Lebanon (1982).
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.
