Labor chief Avi Gabbay is claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discriminates against Jews of Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) origin. But the “Once a racist, always a racist’’ campaign slogan he’s been using recently is offensive to Gabbay’s own Mizrahi community that he hopes to represent. It is a major political error.
Labor under Gabbay’s leadership is not doing well in pre-election polls. Gabbay has already led the party to the lowest point in its history, with just nine seats on a good day. Yet on March 20, he pulled out the ethnic card, assuming it would help him win over Likud voters offended by Netanyahu. He was acting like a bull in a china shop, causing even more damage to his party. Historically, Labor has been seen as having discriminated against the Mizrahi community during the days when its Mapai faction was in power. In contrast, the Likud offered Mizrahim social mobility.