Israel's internal Labor Party leadership battle is sign of its return to relevance
Zionist Camp Knesset member Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin claims that the party has been repeatedly defeated since the era of Prime Minister Ehud Barak because it lost Yitzhak Rabin's legacy of security, something she would like to bring back through diplomatic security as well as social security efforts.
“[Zionist Camp leader Isaac] Herzog should set a date for the primary for party leadership, he has no reason to fear it. Indecision is not a good situation,” Knesset member Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin told Al-Monitor in an interview, in response to Tel-Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai’s Sept. 7 call to move up the primary to elect the party’s head. Huldai, who has deliberated for a while whether to vie for the leadership of the Labor Party (the major partner within the Zionist Camp), switched gears and infused some interest into the sleepy political scene. For Herzog, this is a challenge to his leadership. It means internal unrest is growing within the Labor Party.
In a Sept. 8 interview on Channel 2, Huldai, a member of the Labor Party and the invincible mayor of Tel Aviv, continued with the same confrontational line against Herzog. “I’m a concerned citizen,” said Huldai. He noted that he’s considering running, warned against joining the government and argued that Labor is on the decline in internal polls. As opposed to Herzog, Huldai has a national security background as an acclaimed fighter pilot with the rank of brigadier general.
