The first ever election for Prime Minister was held in Israel on 29 May 1996 alongside simultaneous Knesset elections. There were only two candidates, Shimon Peres of the Labour Party and Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud. The result was a surprise win for Netanyahu by just 29,000 votes, less than 1% of the total number of votes cast. This came after the initial exit polls had predicted a Peres win,^[1] spawning the phrase "went to sleep with Peres, woke up with Netanyahu." ^[2] The election was Peres' fourth and, to date, last election defeat. The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israels uncodified constitution. The State of Israel has no formal constitution. ... The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Israeli Knesset on July 30, 1980 (17th Av, 5740). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 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Benjamin Netanyahu (also Binyamin, and in Israel commonly Bibi) (Hebrew: בנימין נתניהו) (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ...

The election was a result of a change in the law during the thirteenth Knesset which was intended to strengthen the position Prime Minister given the Knesset's fragmentary nature. Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ... The modern Knesset building, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem Though similar-sounding, Beit Knesset (בית כנסת) literally means House of Assembly, and refers to a synagogue. ...

Election campaign

After taking over from Yitzhak Rabin following his assassination, Peres decided to call early elections in order to give the government a mandate to advance the peace process. ^[3] For other people named Rabin, see Rabin (disambiguation). ... Site of the rally before the assassination: Rabin Square and Tel Aviv City Hall during the day. ...

Netanyahu's camaign was helped by Australian mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, who donated over $1 million to Likud. ^[4] Joseph Gutnick (sometimes referred to as Diamond Joe) is an Australian businessman. ...

Nevertheless, Labour and Peres were comfortably ahead in the polls early in 1996, holding a lead of 20%. However, the country was hit by a spate of suicide attacks by Hamas including the Jerusalem bus 18 massacres and other attacks in Ashkelon and the Dizengoff Centre, which killed 59 people and severely damaged Peres' chances; ^[5] polls taken in mid-May showed Peres ahead by just 4-6%, ^[6] whilst two days before the election his lead was down to 2%. ^[7] Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the Arabic acronym means zeal) is a Palestinian Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Jerusalem bus 18 massacres refer to two consecutive suicide attacks made by Hamas suicide bombers in Jerusalem in 1996. ...

Several leading ultra-orthodox Rabbis, including Elazar Shach, called on their followers to vote for Netanyahu, ^[8] whilst Leah Rabin, Yitzhak's widow, called on Israelis to vote for Peres so that her husband's death "would not be in vain." ^[9] Haredi or Charedi Judaism (alternatively Hareidi or Chareidi - this spelling being usually preferred by Haredim themselves) is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ... Elazar Menachem Man Shach (אלעזר מנחם מן שך) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was a leading Haredi rabbi in modern Israel. ... Lea Rabin (April 8, 1928 in Königsberg, East Prussia, — November 12, 2000 in Petach Tikvah, Israel) was the wife of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. ...

Result

In addition to the 2,972,589 valid votes, there were 148,681 invalid votes. Benjamin Netanyahu (also Binyamin, and in Israel commonly Bibi) (Hebrew: בנימין נתניהו) (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ...   (Hebrew: ), born Szymon Perske on August 2, 1923 in Poland is an Israeli politician who has been active in Israeli politics for over 50 years. ... The Israel Labor Party (Hebrew: העבודה, Ha‘Avoda (Labor), officially מפלגת העבודה הישראלית, Mifleget Ha‘Avoda HaIsra’elit) is a center-left political party in Israel. ...

Voting patterns

Netanyahu's win was bolstered by large support from the ultra-orthodox community, 91.2% of whom voted for him. Peres on the other hand, gained overwhelming support from the country's Arab community, 97.5% of which backed him. ^[10] Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs of Israel or Arab population of Israel are terms used by Israeli authorities and Israeli Hebrew-speaking media to refer to non-Jewish Arabs who are citizens of the State of Israel. ...

Aftermath

Despite winning the election for Prime Minister, Netanyahu's Likud (in an alliance with Gesher and Tzomet) lost the Knesset elections to Labour, winning only 32 seats compared to Labour's 34. Gesher (Hebrew: גשר, Bridge) was a political party in Israel. ... Tzomet or Tsomet (Hebrew: צומת, meaning crossroads) is a secular, right-wing Israeli political party. ...

The objective of strengthening the position of Prime Minister by having separate elections was also a failure, as the election saw both major parties lose around ten seats compared to the 1992 election (Likud held only 24 of the 32 seats it won in its alliance) as many gave their Knesset votes to smaller parties; Labour received 818,570 votes to Peres' 1.47 million, (56%), whilst the Likud-Gesher-Tzomet troika managed even less - 767,178 compared to 1.50 million for Netanyahu (51%). Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. ...

With only 32 seats, Likud was by far the smallest governing party in Israeli political history (the previous lowest had been Mapai's 40 seats in the 1955 election). This meant Netanyahu had to form a coalition with several smaller parties, including the ultra-orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism whose financial policies (generous child benefits and state funding for religious activities) were in direct opposition to his capitalistic outlook. Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... The Elections for the third Knesset were held on 26 July, 1955. ... Shas (Hebrew: ) is an political party in Israel, primarily representing Ultra-orthodox Sephardi and Mizrahi Judaism. ... United Torah Judaism (In Hebrew: יהדות התורה which translates as Judaism [of the] Torah) (UTJ) is a small Haredi political party in the Israeli Knesset. ...

After several defections from his party, Netanyahu was forced to call early elections in 1999.

References

1. ^ At the Crossroads PBS, 30 May 1996
2. ^ Prime Minister Netanyahu. Remember? Maariv, 30 August 2005 (in Hebrew)
3. ^ Israeli elections will test support for peace CNN, 11 February 1996
4. ^ A Bigger Scandal: Illegal U.S. Funding of Sharon's Likud Executive Intelligence Review, 24 January 2003
5. ^ Suicide bombings scar Peres' political ambitions CNN, May 28 1996
6. ^ Pivotal Elections: Candidates CNN, 1996
7. ^ Israeli election is a dead heat CNN, 28 May 1996
8. ^ Israeli race for prime minister narrows CNN, 27 May 1996
9. ^ Rabin's widow tells Israelis: Vote for Peres CNN, 30 May 1996
10. ^ Razor-close race awaits absentee count CNN, 31 May 1996

External links

• Results on the official Knesset website (in English)