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The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won a plurality in the Knesset, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai. The dramatic shift in Israeli politics caused by the outcome led to it becoming known as "the revolution" (Hebrew: המהפך, ''HaMahapakh''), a phrase coined by TV anchor Haim Yavin when he announced the election results live on television with the words "Ladies and gentlemen - a revolution!" (Hebrew: !גבירותי ורבותי - מהפך, ''Gvirotai veRabotai - Mahapakh!''). The election saw the beginning of a period lasting almost two decades where the left- and right-wing blocs held roughly equal numbers of seats in the Knesset. Voter turnout was 79.2%.〔Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p126 ISBN 0-19-924958-X〕 ==Background== The Alignment was re-elected in December 1973, following the Yom Kippur War, but continued in-fighting and investigation into Israel's preparedness led to the resignations of Prime Minister Golda Meir and Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan the following April. This led to a power struggle between former Chief of Staff and Ambassador to the United States Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Rabin was elected by the party by a small margin; it was felt that the Labor Party (the major faction of the Alignment) needed a candidate untouched by the disastrous war. Rabin formed a new government on 3 June 1974, and presided uneasily over a quarrelsome coalition, with Shimon Peres as Defense Minister; their bitter feud dates from this period.〔(Yitzhak Rabin: An Appreciation ) Foreign Policy Research Institute〕 During the mid-1970s, American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger sought to progress a peace deal between Israel and the Arab countries. The Sinai Interim Agreement was signed on 4 September 1975 following a threatened 'reassessment' of the United States' regional policy and its relations with Israel. Rabin notes it was "an innocent-sounding term that heralded one of the worst periods in American-Israeli relations."〔Yitzhak Rabin, The Rabin Memoirs, ISBN 0-520-20766-1, p261〕 Despite progress on the Egyptian front, settlement activity in the West Bank increased with support from Peres and some National Religious Party members. General strikes and protests on 30 March 1976 turned violent. Six unarmed demonstrators were killed by the IDF and police.〔(Israel's Arabs to Mark Land Day ) The Jerusalem Post, 30 March 2006〕 At least 100 Arabs were wounded and many others jailed.〔(Remembering Land Day ) BBC News, 30 March 2001〕 The event is commemorated annually as Land Day. Despite Arab MKs being brought into the government as Deputy Ministers for the first time in the early 1970s, support for the traditional Arab political parties such as Progress and Development and the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers, which were aligned with Mapai and the Alignment, was on the wane, as they were replaced by independent Arab parties, such as the United Arab List formed in 1977 by former members of Alignment-allied parties. Inflation had been an issue for the government since the start of the 1970s, and worsened after the oil crisis that followed the Yom Kippur War. To try and cope with the issue, Rabin's government had devalued the lira by around 50% during its term in office. Several corruption scandals also affected the government. The Yadlin affair of 1976 involved Asher Yadlin, a major fundraiser for the Labor Party (the major faction of the Alignment) and head of the ''Kupat Holim'' health-insurance program, who in September that year was about to be appointed Governor of the Bank of Israel. However, after Yadlin was detained by police, on 24 October the cabinet decided to appoint Arnon Gafni instead. In mid-December Yadlin was charged with taking bribes totalling I£280,000, as well as other offences, and was remanded in custody until his trial.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher=The Knesset )〕 On 14 March 1977, Yadlin pleaded guilty to some of the charges, involving bribes totalling I£124,000, but claimed that he had handed over I£80,000 of the money to Labor Party funds, adding that he had raised "millions" for the party. The judge did not accept his claim and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and a fine of I£250,000. The Yadlin affair also brought Minister of Housing Avraham Ofer to the police's attention, In November 1976, Yigal Laviv, a correspondent of the weekly HaOlam HaZeh who had also been involved in airing the charges against Yadlin, gave the police information on 30 different matters raising suspicions of offences committed by Ofer, including allegations of embezzlement in Shikun Ovdim funds in favour of the party. The police examined Laviv's charges, but came to the conclusion toward the end of the year that they were not substantiated, leading Ofer to expect that an official statement clearing him would soon be made. However, Attorney General Aharon Barak decided to prosecute. On 31 December, however, a witness in the Yadlin affair sent the police a statement which raised more questions for investigation, and various rumours were published about possible charges. On 2 January, Rabin and Justice Minister Haim Yosef Zadok assured Ofer that everything possible would be done to expedite the inquiry. On 3 January 1977 his body was found in his car on a Tel Aviv beach. In a suicide note Ofer said he was innocent, but did not have the strength "to bear any more." He was reported to have been particularly depressed by the lack of support from his political associates.〔 Towards the end of 1976, Rabin's coalition with the National Religious Party suffered a crisis: a motion of no confidence had been brought by Agudat Yisrael over a breach of the Sabbath on an Israeli Air Force base, when four F-15 jets were delivered from the US, and the NRP had abstained from the vote. Rabin dissolved his government on 22 December 1976 and decided on new elections, which were to be held in May 1977. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Israeli legislative election, 1977」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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