TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – Last week, the Israeli Labor Party appeared doomed to extinction, with polls indicating it would not win enough votes in the upcoming elections to enter parliament. But after the election of progressive parliamentarian Merav Michaeli as its new leader, the party shows signs of life.
Labor, the home of the country’s founding leaders and its ruling party for decades, has begun to rise in opinion polls, and Michaeli is determined to make it a major force in Israeli politics again.
Michaeli, a very popular feminist, promotes a message that has rarely been heard in Israeli politics in recent years. She seeks social justice, equality for all Israelis and peace with the Palestinians. However, she will also not rule out joining a coalition with right-wing parties, which is likely to hamper her agenda if this achieves the common goal of ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“You may not agree with me ideologically, but what is clear is that I am here and fighting for equality and peace,” Michaeli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I believe that the labor force is not dead, it is essential for the future of Israel.”
Her choice seems to have given Labor a boost. But many traditional voters have left the party, cutting their jobs before the March elections. Israel’s center-left camp is fractured, and right-wing parties, led by Netanyahu’s Likud, remain dominant.
Opinion polls in recent days have projected that the workforce under Michaeli’s leadership will win five seats in the Knesset, with 120 seats in Israel. This could jump in the coming days if, as expected, smaller parties, with little chance of entering parliament, withdraw from the race before Thursday’s deadline. Although the projections are far below the glory days of the workers, even a modest presentation could make Michaeli a kingdom in a coalition of medium-sized parties opposed to Netanyahu.
Labor guided Israel to independence in 1948 and ruled the country for its first three decades, incorporating the most obvious social democratic values today into its universal healthcare, especially in the pandemic. Although he ruled Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and built the first settlements in the occupied West Bank, the labor force later signed the Oslo peace agreements with the Palestinians and today favors a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
However, it has struggled to remain relevant for the past two decades as peace with the Palestinians stops, other center-left options have emerged, and much of the electorate seems to have embraced Netanyahu’s strong ideology.
Michaeli took over after a difficult year, when he entered parliament with little historical support. The party was torn apart after its former leader joined the Netanyahu government, despite promises not to do so, ousting voters for life. Michaeli has chosen to remain in opposition and says he will never stay in a coalition under Netanyahu for several reasons, including his three corruption indictments.
She believes that her decision to stay out of government, combined with her message of social justice, will bring voters back.
“The fact that I managed to lift the workforce is still early, but I think people have more faith that it’s possible,” she said.
Michaeli, 54, has long been a recognized figure in Israel, working for years as a journalist and women’s rights activist before entering politics in 2013 as a labor MP. She is widely known for her alternative views. She avoids marriage, although she is in a long-term relationship with a popular late television host and says she never wanted children in a biblical society to procreate. She is known for her black-looking signature, which she said is meant to minimize her body and sexuality.
When he withdrew from the opposition, he promised: “We will not let the Labor party die.” Now in power, it will be tested whether it can fulfill that commitment and stabilize a party that has six leaders since Netanyahu took power in 2009.
Yossi Beilin, a longtime former Labor minister whose son challenged Michaeli in the leadership race, welcomed the election.
“The praise was premature,” he said. “Merav is smart and ideological and has proven to be in the Knesset and has not been tempted to join the last government,” he said.
While never working as a cabinet minister, Michaeli has been an active parliamentarian and a progressive voice in the Knesset, supporting women’s rights, LGBT causes and workers’ rights, as well as seeking peace with the Palestinians.
Her first step as a leader was to withdraw the party from the current interim government, forcing the two Labor ministers to leave the party. She promised equal representation for women on the party list. And he intends to return the traditional Labor base of voters, who have largely fled to other less established parties.
Michaeli attributed the decline of the center-left to years of “incitement and delegitimization” by Netanyahu and the right. But she said some mistakes were self-inflicted, such as the party repeatedly joining right-wing governments whose values were at odds with its own.
“They have become facilitators of right-wing governments and then it is clear that the party is losing credibility and the ability to be an alternative and needs to be rebuilt,” she said.
Tal Schneider, a political correspondent for the Times of Israel, said Michaeli had shown the political skill needed to push the party in a new direction. But she said Michael’s victory did not change the chaos in Israel’s center-left camp.
“The problem is deeper,” she said. “But there is no doubt that she saved the party from extinction.”