This is an election poster for the 1984 Israeli elections. The anti-Likud poster was produced by the Ma’arach (Labour Alignment) party. The poster is mostly in black and white with the words “It is the only hope” written in red. The text asks why Likud always fails and gives as an example the evacuation and destruction of the city Yamit in the Sinai peninsula. The illustration on the poster is of bulldozers destroying the buildings in Yamit. The design of the word “failure” resembles the style for the word Likud used by the Likud party.
The reference to Yamit reminds the viewers of the cost of entering into a peace agreement with Egypt, a controversial issue at the time. As a result of the 1979 Camp David Accords, Israel agreed to return the Sinai peninsula, including the city of Yamit, to Egypt in exchange for peace. Before the return in 1982, the residents of Yamit were evacuated, some forcibly, and the buildings were bulldozed. The message can be viewed as ironical, since Likud has always advocated settling all parts of Israel, such as the Sinai peninsula at the time, and Ma’arach, which traditionally supported returning land in exchange for peace, seems to be criticising the result of the peace treaty with Egypt.
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Yamit – Yamit was an Israeli city located in the Sinai peninsula. After the Six-Day War, Israel controlled Sinai and built Yamit, a city of about 2,500 people. As a result of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt that was signed in 1979 by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, the Sinai peninsula, including Yamit, was scheduled to be turned over to Egypt. In the final stage of Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai, the residents of Yamit were to move and the buildings were to be bulldozed. Many residents of Yamit and opponents of the peace treaty tried to prevent the withdrawal. There were strong opinions on both sides among the Israeli public. On April 23, 1982, residents of Yamit were evacuated, some forcibly, and the city was bulldozed. Yamit became a symbol of the land for peace approach.
1984 Israeli General Elections – The elections for the 12th Knesset were held on November 1, 1984. The issues that occupied Israeli society during this election campaign included the difficult economic situation with soaring inflation, Operation Moses bringing thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, the withdrawal from Sinai, the IDF occupation of Southern Lebanon, and terrorism. The opposition, headed by Shimon Peres, the leader of the Labour Party, saw these issues as an opportunity to regain power and indeed, Labour won by a small margin and formed the new government. However, the Knesset was in a deadlock with the two opposing political blocs having practically the same number of seats, causing difficulties in governing the country and social rifts. These elections were the first for the new Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party dealing with issues of social inequality of Sephardim in Israel.
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.
