passage of the 1953 State Education Law) and a written constitution to enshrine democratic freedom and civil rights. It was secularist, though not as vocally so as the Progressive Party. In 1936 the General Zionists established a daily newspaper, HaBoker, which was edited for the first ten years of its existence by Peretz Bernstein. It ceased publication in 1965. Political activity in Israel The General Zionists entered the 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 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 Ultra-orthodox parties, Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael, over the dispute over religious education that had brought down the previous government. It was also included in Moshe Sharett's fifth government, but not the sixth. In the 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 elections and exclusion from the coalition made the party rethink its strategy. Eventually the party decided to merge with the 6-seat Progressive Party to form the Liberal Party. Nevertheless, the party helped bring down the government in 1961 when it and Herut tabled a motion of no confidence in the government over the Lavon Affair. In the 1961 elections the new 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 Herut to form Gahal while the other seven (most from the Progressive Party) set up the Independent Liberals. Gahal later became Likud. Leaders Knesset election results See also Liberalism in Israel Liberal Zionism Likud References External links General Zionists Knesset website General Zionism Defunct political parties in Israel Political parties in Mandatory Palestine Types of Zionism Liberal parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Political parties established in