Several Israeli Labor party veterans, including former ministers Ophir Pines and Avraham Shochat, convened March 20 at the party’s Tel Aviv headquarters at the request of party Chairman Avi Gabbay. For the past few weeks, Gabbay has been in a dizzying tailspin, which began with his crash in the polls and continued with a crisis of trust between him and the members of his Knesset faction over the issue of advancing the election. Now he wanted to consult with some of the party’s stalwart former ministers.
None of the attendees blamed Gabbay for the depressing situation. On the contrary, they sympathized with his position and gave him their support. All of these people were experienced enough to realize that when faced with such difficult circumstances and such low morale, there is no reason to continue hurting Gabbay.
