Primaries for the Israel Labor Party leadership, originally due to be held on June 28th, have been rescheduled for November 8th.
The primaries will decide who will lead Labor into Israel?s next national elections scheduled for November ?06 (with conventional wisdom suggesting early national elections, probably in the Spring). The primaries had been postponed at the last minute following objections to the new membership lists that resulted from the registration drive of the preceding months. There was an attempt to avoid holding primaries altogether ? largely out of concern of others at the consistently strong showing and momentum behind MK Amir Peretz, head of the Histadrut, Israel?s labor federation.
While labor unions in Europe are a source of support for social-democratic parties, in Israel the Labor Party has become identified more and more with Tel Aviv and the kibbutzim. Amir Peretz’s candidacy seeks to open the party to a new following, with a more civilian oriented agenda, that presents a social and peace alternative for national leadership.
In 1999 Peretz founded the workers? party ?Am Ehad? which, by January 2003, had grown strong enough to win three seats in the 16th Knesset. Following negotiations with the Labor Party in mid-2004, the two parties merged.
The decision of the Labor Party Central Committee to go ahead with primaries in November represented an important achievement for the Peretz campaign. Peretz has become the main challenger to Shimon Peres? continued leadership, and the vector around which hope for change has coalesced. He is currently polling a solid second (to Peres) in a field of four candidates. Should no candidate receive 40% of the votes in the first round second run-off ballot between the two leading candidates will take place on November 22nd. A Peres-Peretz run-off currently seems likely.
So far four candidates are seeking to head the Labor Party. Peretz entered the fray when Shimon Peres promised to retire from the race, but then changed his mind. At the same time party stalwarts Matan Vilnai and Benjamin Ben-Eliezer have been working for months to promote themselves.
Although Shimon Peres is an intellectual and historic figure, he is perceived as an elitist. Peretz is the first grassroots social leader to surface in the struggle for the Labor Party?s soul, and may be the most refreshing development that has happened in the party for years.
Peretz has been described as ?an authentic blue from a deep red state,? an Israeli from the periphery with humble beginnings, who is a committed advocate of the Labor cause. The connection between Israel?s socio-economic and peace agendas never seem more convincing than when Peretz advocates them.
Born in Morocco, he came to Israel with his family when he was four years old and settled in Sderot, a Negev development town. He was badly wounded in the Israeli army and returned to his home town, where he was elected Mayor at the age of 30. He ran?and won?in Labor?s open primaries in 1988, entering the Knesset for the first time.
Unlike the other candidates to head Labor, Peretz was an early supporter of Peace Now, and one of the few political leaders from the Moroccan Jewish community to do so. But his political vision was always more populist than other dovish leaders.
As head of the Histadrut, Peretz brings a special perspective on both the peace process and social issues. For years he has stressed the link between investing in the settlements and the distress of the weaker elements in society.
?I am a peace person, and I fully support the establishment of a Palestinian state, but in Israel if you ask someone if they are left or right, they will tell you about Abu Mazen or Arafat, not about single mothers.?
Peretz has criticized both settlers and past governments that have continued to invest in the territories at the expense of smaller towns within the Green Line. ?The future of the State of Israel doesn?t interest them at all,? he said, referring to Gaza settlers.
Known as a leader in the Israeli peace camp, while head of the local Sderot Council Peretz supported the establishment of a Palestinian state and promoted cooperation between the two peoples. He initiated activities which were contrary to the atmosphere in Israel at that time. For example, in the mid-eighties, he organized a huge rally ?The Negev Singing for Peace,? where he called for the immediate withdrawal from Gaza. As a resident of Sderot he established a joint organization with Palestinian leaders from Gaza, such as Hayder Abdel Shafi, called ?Sun-Neighbors Speak Peace.?
As a supporter of Peace Now, Peretz is committed to the pursuit of a just and lasting peace with Israel?s Palestinian neighbors. He has stated that such a peace agreement would end the occupation that erodes the moral fiber of Israeli society and ?undermines its ability to preserve its Jewish and democratic nature . . . ?
Peretz has stated that he supported the pullout from Gaza not for economic reasons, but rather for the moral price paid by Israel?s presence in Palestinian areas. ?The State of Israel has lost its morals,? he said. ?Violence in society stems from our presence in the territories.?
According to Peretz, peace ?with our Palestinian neighbors? would also free Israel to channel its resources ?into caring for our own citizens . . . closing the widening social gaps, and enhancing social justice? while better guaranteeing security with defensible, recognized borders.
The activist labor union leader has cooperated with Palestinian organizations in the framework of the Histadrut. He signed agreements with the PGFTU (Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions) in 1995 and 1997, believing that the New Histadrut should assist in protecting the rights of the Palestinian workers. These agreements allow for the Histadrut to provide legal consultants to Palestinian workers in Israel. In addition, the Histadrut remits to the PGFTU half of the affiliation fees of Palestinian workers in Israel. This is a unique precedent, which does not exist in any trade union throughout the world.
Peretz supports a free market but one that respects labor laws and ensures the rights of all workers. ?A healthy and prosperous economy is grounded in the following principles: reducing unemployment, promoting fair and equal working conditions and increasing the minimum wage, while ensuring competition.?
The feisty Knesset member has issued ?An Ethical Roadmap for Israel.? It is a Roadmap that promotes social inclusion and a sense of belonging, with a commitment to building a society that respects the basic needs and rights of all individuals ? regardless of race, religion, gender or age, characterized by inclusion, equality and diversity.
Some analysts suggest that Peretz?s campaign is quixotic, given Shimon Peres?s stature and his standing in the polls. This is enhanced by the desire of those Labor Party stalwarts who wish to retain even a modicum of power by cohabiting with a Likud led coalition.
Regardless of the outcome, Peretz has already demonstrated that many party members are frustrated with the status quo, especially the reluctance to demand radical changes in existing social and economic programs by the government. They realize the need to promulgate a program that distinguishes the Labor Party from Likud, or slide into irrelevancy. The Peretz campaign could spark an internal upheaval within the Labor Party, one that is long overdue.
