ABSTRACT
The most striking display of the Histadrut's authority occurred on May 1, 1980, when masses followed its call against the Likud government's economic liberalization and participated in one of the largest demonstration in Israel's history. This chapter analyzes the economic, political, organizational, and trade union-related transformations which led to the crisis of the Histadrut. The Histadrut was constructed from its inception as a proto-state institution of member "citizens" entitled to various services, such as health, education, housing, pension and employment. The degree of the Histadrut's autonomy and capacity to preserve its influence was the mirror image of limited state autonomy and the inability to attend to interests it deemed vital for its institutional functioning. The Labor Party's victory in 1992, in spite of its narrowness, was of a far-r.
