Eighth government of Israel

Sixth Ben-Gurion Cabinet

8th Cabinet of Israel
Date formed7 January 1958 (1958-01-07)
Date dissolved17 December 1959 (1959-12-17)
People and organisations
Head of stateYitzhak Ben-Zvi
Head of governmentDavid Ben-Gurion
Member partiesMapai
Mapam
Ahdut HaAvoda
Progressive Party
National Religious Party
Democratic List for Israeli Arabs
Progress and Work
Agriculture and Development
Status in legislatureCoalition
Opposition leaderMenachem Begin
History
Legislature term3rd Knesset
Predecessor7th cabinet of Israel
Successor9th cabinet of Israel
January 8, 1958:Ministers of the Eighth Government with the President. Sitting from left to right: Levi Eshkol, Yisrael Bar-Yehuda, Golda Meir, President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, David Ben-Gurion, Pinchas Rosen, Peretz Naftali. Standing from left to right: Mordechai Namir, Zalman Aran, Pinchas Sapir, Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit, Kadish Luz, Yisrael Barzilai, Yosef Burg, Mordechai Bentov and Moshe Carmel

The eighth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion on 7 January 1958, and was the second government of the third Knesset. Ben-Gurion kept the same coalition partners as during the previous government, i.e. Mapai, the National Religious Party, Mapam, Ahdut HaAvoda, the Progressive Party, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work and Agriculture and Development. The only change to the cabinet was the addition of Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir as a Deputy Minister.

All ministers and deputy ministers from the National Religious Party left the cabinet on 1 July 1958.

The government collapsed following Ben-Gurion's resignation on 5 July 1959 after Ahdut HaAvoda and Mapam voted against the government during a vote on selling arms to West Germany and then refused to resign from the government. New elections were called in November that year after Ben-Gurion told President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi that he was unable to form a new government.[1]

  1. ^ 1959 timeline Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Jewish Agency for Israel