Editing General Zionists (section)

==Political activity in Israel==
[[File:General Zionists.png|thumb|Another logo of the party]]
[[File:Tel Aviv-Yafo (997008136330405171).jpg|thumb|General Zionists party convention in 1949]]
The General Zionists entered the [[1949 Israeli legislative election|elections for the first Knesset]] in 1949. They won 5.2% of the vote and seven seats, and were not included in either of [[David Ben-Gurion]]'s coalition governments.

The [[1951 Israeli legislative election|1951 elections]] were a huge success, with the party winning 20 seats, making it the second largest in the [[Knesset]]. The party was enlarged soon after the elections when the [[Sephardim and Oriental Communities]] party and the [[Yemenite Association]] merged into it (though the one Yemenite Association MK left the party again before the end of the session). Although it was not included in the coalition for the third government, it was brought into the fourth government after Ben-Gurion had sacked the [[Haredi Judaism|Ultra-orthodox]] parties, [[Agudat Yisrael]] and [[Poalei Agudat Yisrael]], over the [[religious education]] dispute that had brought down the previous government. It was also included in [[Moshe Sharett]]'s fifth government, but not the sixth.

In the [[1955 Israeli legislative election|1955 elections]] the party slumped to 13 seats, and were not included in either of the third Knesset's coalition governments.

A further slump to eight seats in the [[1959 Israeli legislative election|1959 elections]] and exclusion from the coalition made the party rethink its strategy. Eventually the party decided to merge with the 6-seat [[Progressive Party (Israel)|Progressive Party]] to form the [[Liberal Party (Israel)|Liberal Party]]. Nevertheless, the party helped bring down the government in 1961 when it and [[Herut]] tabled a [[Motion of no-confidence|motion of no confidence]] in the government over the [[Lavon Affair]].

In the [[1961 Israeli legislative election|1961 elections]] the new [[Liberal Party (Israel)|Israel Liberal Party]] won 17 seats, making it the third largest in the Knesset. During the session, ten MKs (mostly former General Zionists) merged with the [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[Herut]] to form [[Gahal]] while the other seven (most from the Progressive Party) set up the [[Independent Liberals (Israel)|Independent Liberals]]. Gahal later became [[Likud]].