Gahal
|
Herut-Liberals Bloc
גוש חרות-ליברלים |
|
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Menachem Begin |
| Founded | 25 May 1965 |
| Dissolved | 1973 |
| Succeeded by | Likud |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Member parties | Herut, Liberal Party |
| Colours | Blue |
| Most MKs | 27(1961) |
| Fewest MKs | 26 (1965, 1969) |
| Election symbol | |
| חל | |
Gahal (Hebrew: גח"ל, an acronym for Gush Herut-Liberalim (Hebrew: גוש חרות-ליברלים), lit. Herut-Liberals Bloc) was the major right-wing political alliance in Israel led by Menachem Begin from its founding in 1965 until the establishment of Likud in 1973.
Gahal was formed by an alliance of Herut and the Liberal Party towards the end of the fifth Knesset in preparation for the 1965 elections. The alliance brought together the only two right-wing parties in the Knesset, each with 17 seats at the time. The Liberal Party had only been formed in 1961 by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party. The Gahal platform largely incorporated Herut's approach to security and foreign affairs and the Liberal Party's approach to economics and finance.
However, several former Liberal Party members were unhappy with the alliance, identifying Herut and its leader, Menachem Begin as too right-wing. As a result, seven MKs broke away from the Liberal Party to form the Independent Liberals, which later merged into the left-wing Alignment. Nevertheless, the new party went into the elections with 27 seats, just seven less than Mapai, the party that had dominated Israeli politics since independence, although Mapai also had been reduced in size due to a breakaway of 8 MKs led by David Ben-Gurion to found Rafi.
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