“The Labor Party has lost its passion and its vision. It no longer fills its role as the leading advocate of compromise in the diplomatic process.”

This diagnosis was provided by none other than Moshe Shahal, who spent decades at the highest echelons of the Labor Party and was considered to be one of the cleverest politicians in Israel. Even today, over a decade after he retired from politics and returned to work as one of the country’s top lawyers, he continues to be involved in political and party affairs.

This week, Shahal appeared before the Labor Party’s Knesset delegation to provide an overview of the advantages in the Arab Peace Initiative. The reason for his visit was the surprising statement by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani at a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry that the Arab League is prepared to support an exchange of territories as part of a diplomatic arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians, based on the Arab Peace Initiative.

Together with old colleagues such as Science Minister and former Shin Bet head Yaakov Peri, Shahal has been at the forefront of an “Israeli Peace Initiative” that arose out of a sense of urgency and concern. In his opinion, changes in the region have made the Arab Peace Initiative more relevant than ever, but time is running out. He's an enthusiastic supporter of the Arab League’s proposals, a position that has not waned since the initiative was first conceived in 2002. In the ensuing years, he watched with frustration as one Israeli prime minister after another responded to the plan with apathy. This time, however, when Shahal left the Labor Party meeting to which he was invited by Chairman Isaac (Buji) Herzog, he walked away feeling bitterly disappointed. He has the sense that the party in which he was active for 27 years has lost its identity.