Mapam

Mapam was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in the State of Israel. Established shortly before Israeli independence in January 1948 as a merger between the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party , the Socialist Leaqgue, and the Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion movement, it initially represented a Marxist form of Labor Zionism, and was distinctive because of its critical support for the Soviet Union. It was once the second largest political force in Israel, drawing support from both the kibbutz and the urban working class movements, and initially benefited from popularity among the military elite. Due to growing geopolitical tensions with the USSR in the 1950s and 1960s, the party suffered multiple splits and distanced itself from the Eastern Bloc, joining the Labor Party's Alignment in 1969, abandoning its Marxist positions and moving towards democratic socialism. Mapam left the Alignment in 1984, when the Labor Party joined a national unity government with the right-wing Likud. It moved to a more peaceful stance on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, supporting a two-state solution with the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Following a poor showing in the 1988 elections, and the perceived need for a united left-wing Zionist party, it merged with the Ratz and Shinui parties to form the social-democratic Meretz in 1992, with Mapam dissolving altogether in 1997.