ABSTRACT
In evaluating the performance of the Labor Party in the opposition, it is essential to understand how it came to be there. But first it must be understood how Labor came to dominate Israeli politics for almost fifty years. The formative period during which the most important institutions of the political system were created determined to a significant extent the character and relations of power within the system for decades thereafter. The period from the creation of the Histadrut in 1920, through the creation of Mapai in 1930, to Mapai’s capturing of the dominant position in the Executive Committee of the Jewish Agency a few years later witnessed the creation by the Labor Movement of the system’s major institutions. Labor came to dominate most of these institutions in the remaining years prior to Independence. Yosef Gorni (1973) attributes the high degree of legitimacy of the Labor Movement’s leadership during this period to their successful articulation and implementation of the ideology to which their followers adhered. Yonathan Shapiro (1976) balances the picture by showing the pragmatism of the leaders in building strong and centralized political organizations.
