ABSTRACT
On June 23, 1992, the Likud Party suffered a serious setback as Labor scored a substantial victory in the national elections. One important reason for Likud's defeat was the changing mood of the Israeli public: As a leading Israeli journalist observed, Israel ceased to be an ideological society. Twenty-five lists competed in the 1992 election in Israel. Of the two major parties, Labor won forty-four Knesset seats while Likud won thirty-two seats. By spring 1991 the government had publicly acknowledged that some of the newcomers were immigrating to other countries, while tens of thousands of prospective Soviet immigrants were postponing or cancelling their moves to Israel because of the lack of housing and employment. For these reasons, early on in the election campaign, Labor was able to focus on Likud's failing absorption policies. The issue of US-Israeli relations influenced 62 percent of all voters and 63 percent of those who chose Likud in 1988 but switched to Labor in 1992.
