ABSTRACT
The inadequate response of the Mapai-led government to Egypt’s threatening military and political moves in May 1967 engendered a political crisis in Israel. The prolonged economic stagnation Israel has suffered has damaged both the material and psychological well-being of Israeli society. Israel has traditionally looked to immigration as a vital component of national strength. Israel’s protracted economic crisis has accentuated both the reality and the perception of dependence upon outside aid. There has been a growing tendency within Israel to view the continuation of traditional policies as a recipe for calamity. The Cabinet’s settlement policy created a substantial vested interest in permanent Israeli retention of the West Bank. Labor’s foreign policy approach was essentially pragmatic with careful heed for the external constraints on Israel. The Land of Israel Movement and the Movement for Peace and Security emerged as conspicuous pressure groups outside the established party framework after the June War.
