Israeli Labor Party

The Israeli Labor Party (Hebrew: מפלגת העבודה הישראלית, romanized: Mifleget HaAvoda HaYisraelit^ⓘ), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (Hebrew: העבודה, lit. 'The Labor'), was a Labor Zionist and social democratic political party in Israel. It was established in 1968 through the merger of three Labor Zionist political parties: Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi. Until 1977, all Israeli prime ministers were affiliated with the Labor Party or its predecessors.

The party supported the welfare state and maintained close links with Israeli trade unions. It was associated with advocating for an Israeli–Palestinian peace process based on a two-state solution, pragmatic foreign policy positions, and social-democratic economic policies. The party was also characterized as secular and progressive. The party was a member of Socialist International until July 2018, after which it joined the Progressive Alliance. The party was also an observer member of the Party of European Socialists.

On 30 June 2024, under the leadership of Yair Golan, who had been elected party leader on 28 May 2024, the party agreed to merge with Meretz to form a new political party, The Democrats. The merger agreement provided for one Meretz representative in every four positions on the new party’s electoral list and party bodies, with additional representation for Meretz’s municipal factions. The merger was ratified by delegates of both Labor and Meretz on 12 July 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, Labor and Meretz continue to function as separate corporate and budgetary entities, and their factions in the Histadrut, municipal councils, and other bodies outside the Knesset remain distinct while cooperating.