The Establishment of the Likud in 1973 and the Struggle for the Identity of the Alternative Party in Israel

The path for the Likud`s establishment in the fall of 1973 was a weighty reference point for right-wing emergence in the State of Israel. Those who were interested in expanding Gahal and creating an alignment of center-right parties were actually the factors outside Herut, while Herut`s more veteran leadership disapproved of these attempts. Moreover, alongside the goal of creating an effective alternative party to the Ma`arach and challenge the hegemony of the Labor Movement, Herut`s new and old partners wished to effect—with the creation of Likud—a change in the identity and character of the alternative party, and, by so doing, mainly erode Begin`s leadership and dominance over Herut in Gahal.

During the eighth Knesset election cycle it was generally assumed that Herut would lose its distinct seniority status earned in Gahal, be absorbed into the new fabric formed by the association with the Liberals, the Free Center and the National List (and Herut`s more moderate circles).

The paper lays out the internal processes from within the Herut movement that kept its dominance on the Likud, in contrast with the intentions of its partners. Turning Herut into a thriving politically-engaging platform made it a dominant force in the newly-created party and played a significant contributory role in drawing up similar definitions for the "Likud" and the "Herut movement" for the next years to come.