Labor Party chairman and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak announced this morning that he would split from the party along with four other Labor members of Knesset: Shalom Simhon, Matan Vilnai, Orit Noked, and Einat Wilf. They will form a new party called "Atzmaut" ("Independence").
"The order of priorities of the new party will be country, party, the media, and only at the end, ourselves," Barak said at a press conference that he convened this morning. "Our motto will be 'what is good and right for the State of Israel.' Sharon also did it, as did Ben Gurion and Peres. I never thought it would come to this, but today, the time has come to take action."
In a letter published by the five breakaway Labor MKs today, they state, "For a long time, a substantial proportion of the members of the Labor Party in the Knesset have behaved as though they did not see themselves as members of the party. They refuse to accept the authority of the elected party chairman, and work against the decision that the party should be a member of the coalition.
"Given the anarchic and fissiparous atmosphere in the party, our insistence on conducting party affairs according to the rules made us outsiders. We accepted the authority of the elected chairman and the principle of party discipline, and we acted and spoke in accordance with the party's decision to be a member of the coalition. We behaved with restraint in the face of wild statements, personal attacks, and contempt for the party. Repeated attempts to make the party act in unison and behave with a minimum of collegiality broke down, confronted by extreme factionalism and anarchic behavior."
Barak said his opponents in Labor wanted "a militant socialistic party," and said the new party would act to set permanent borders for the State of Israel, to renew the Zionist ideal of labor and of solidarity between those who contribute to building the state, and strengthening agricultural settlement.
Labor MK Eitan Cabel, who has been a prominent critic of Barak's leadership, told Galei Tzahal, "They have decided to finish off the Labor Party. They should ask forgiveness of me and my colleagues for everything they have done to this movement. The Labor Party has come to the end of the road."
Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog welcomed the split. "This is a day of positive change for the Labor Party," he said. "That Barak is leaving enables the party to renew itself and return to a track of social action and true political vision. I am staying in the Labor Party in order to lead it. I will co-opt new, fresh forces, and I will turn it into a real political alternative. I will take steps to convene the party leadership today to make the necessary decisions."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 17, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011