Democratic Movement for Change

The Democratic Movement for Change (, Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash, was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known non-politicians, following a breakup it ceased to exist in less than two years. Background Dash was formed on 2 November 1976 by the merger of several liberal movements (including Shinui), together with numerous public figures, including Yigael Yadin, Amnon Rubinstein, Shmuel Tamir, Meir Amit, Meir Zorea and several other business leaders and academics, as well as some Israeli Arabs. The party's formation was the result of a growing dissatisfaction with the mainstream parties, particularly the ruling Alignment, which, including its predecessors, had ruled Israel since independence in 1948. Starting with the Yom Kippur War, the Alignment had been hit with numerous scandals during the mid-1970s, including: The suicide of Housing Minister, Avraham Ofer, after a police investigation began into allegations he used party funds illegally. Asher Yadlin, the governor-designate of the Bank of Israel was found guilty of accepting bribes and sentenced to five years in prison (the Yadlin affair). Leah Rabin, wife of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was found to have an overseas bank account, illegal in Israel at the time (the Dollar Account affair). Initially the party was called Democrats–Shinui (, Democratim–Shinui), but was soon changed to the Democratic Movement for Change and, as with many parties in Israel, became popularly known by its acronym, Dash. The new party caught the public's imagination, with over 37,000 people signing up as members within a few weeks of its foundation. It also pioneered the use of primaries to choose its electoral list, something that was intended to show its democratic credentials and prevent cronyism. Previously in Israel, party lists had been decided upon by the parties' committees, but since the late 1970s, almost every party in Israel (with the exception of the Haredi ones, Shas and United Torah Judaism) has followed Dash's lead and adopted the primaries system.