Tel-Chai Nation

Surprising news about the Labor party, and where will it be in the future? Well, let's begin with the announcement that Ehud Barak has quit it, along with at least 4 other members:

Ehud Barak and four supporters are splitting the Labor party, forming a new faction and leaving Labor in shambles. He will remain Defense Minister.

Knesset Members Matan Vilnai, Shalom Simchon, Einat Wilf and Orit Noked are joining Barak in the move to a new party, which may be called ”Independence.”

It will be called that, according to this. And they tell us:

Speaking at a press conference at the Knesset after he and four other Labor MKs submitted the request, Barak said that the new faction that would be "centralist, Zionist and democratic."

Barak said that the faction's agenda will be "first of all the state, then the party, then the media, and only then ourselves." He vowed that he and Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, Simhon, Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Orit Noked, and Wilf would "do what's best and what's right for Israel."

"We are creating a new faction and we will call on everyone who believes in our path to join."

"We are leaving for a new path. We are leaving a home and people we love," Barak continued.

"It wasn't always healthy and good for Labor. We noticed a shift towards the Left and post-Zionism," Barak said.

Einat Wilf explained that the two parties ideologically cannot sit together anymore. "One party wants to be close to Meretz and one, that in the tradition of Mapai, sees itself as pragmatic.This party believes that threats to leave the coalition harm the diplomatic process," she said.

"We believe the best way to advance the process is with the current government. It's important that there be a leftist social party in Israel but it wasn't right for us," Wilf continued.

Vilani also explained his reasons for joining the initiative to leave the party.

"Honestly, we were left with no choice. It was intolerable. We couldn't work that way anymore," he said.

Vilani said, "There are many party members who are angry and said how can you do this to us?"

"I am sure we can do something different. We will act with full force for peace, first with the Palestinians then with the entire Arab world," he continued.

Just don't take their statements at face value: if they're going to remain leftist, it might not turn out to be what some might hope for. Also, in this article, we're told that:

It appears that the final straw for Barak was the intention to hold a convention of all party members in March to determine the timetable for the party's future in the government. Labor MK Shelly Yechimovitch, one of those noted for her outspoken demands to quit the government, responded to Barak's announcement with wrath: "This was a corrupt and opportunistic move, designed to save Barak's seat in the government. He has brought a catastrophe upon Labor."

But they've been asking for it for a long time now, and it's been long in coming. They went way downhill in 1993 when they signed the Oslo accords, and now, payback may be upon them.

Following this move, 3 ministers who remain in Labor have quit the government. I don't know what the coalition will look like following their resignation, but I do know this: the Labor party's future does not look very bright.

Labels: Israel, Moonbattery