What is the Difference Between Mapai and Mapam?

Mapai and Mapam were two prominent political parties in Israel during the mid-20th century. Mapai, which stood for "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel," was a democratic socialist political party and a dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Israeli Labor Party. On the other hand, Mapam, an acronym for "United Workers Party," was a left-wing political party in Israel and one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. Some key differences between the two parties include:

Ideology: Mapai believed in labor Zionism, while Mapam was a Leftist group. Mapai was more closely associated with the labor movement and socialist Zionism, while Mapam was a Marxist-Zionist party representing the left-wing Kibbutz Artzi movement.
Coalition Preferences: Although Mapam was a workers' party and a natural partner for Mapai, in 1949, Ben-Gurion preferred to establish a coalition with religious parties, keeping Mapam in opposition. Mapam eventually joined the government in 1955 and 1959 under coalitions headed by Mapai.
Merger and Legacy: Mapai was dissolved in 1968, while Mapam broke away from the Alignment (a coalition with Mapai and others) during the eighth Knesset, but later returned. Eventually, Mapam would become one of the predecessors of the modern-day Meretz party.

In summary, Mapai and Mapam were both influential political parties in Israeli history, but they differed in their ideologies, coalition preferences, and eventual mergers or successor parties.