Skip to main content

Israel's Labor Party wants power

Isaac Herzog won the battle for Labor Party chairman because he represents the opposite image and a more flexible agenda than that of outgoing Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich.
Issac Herzog, the new leader of Israel's Labour party, speaks during a news conference in Tel Aviv November 22, 2013. Israel's struggling opposition Labour party has elected Herzog seen as a potential moderate ally for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist cabinet, results of a party poll showed on Friday. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15OGA
Read in 

The Labor Party established the state of Israel. Its leaders were the ''founding fathers'' of the young state, the central pillars of the Zionist movement. The Israeli right at that time was remote, negligible, marginal in the annals of Israel’s early years.

The Labor Party held the reins of power in the young state for the first 29 years of its existence, until the historic 1977 upset by late Prime Minister Menachem Begin. For three decades it had seemed that Israel belonged to the Labor Party, was registered as its property, was completely identified with it. Late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, our George Washington, was its first leader. He was followed by prime ministers Moshe Sharet, Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. That was a generation of giants. A proud testament, alive and kicking, can still be found in the president’s residence in Jerusalem in the indefatigable figure of 90-year-old Shimon Peres.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.