Amos Oz
Photo: AFP
Meretz chair Haim Oron
Photo: Ofer Amram
Barak concerned over new left-wing movement
Establishment of new movement aimed at expanding Meretz's electoral base ahead of elections to be announced Friday; Amos Oz, Uzi Baram among prominent members
The founding conference of a new left-wing political movement aimed at emboldening the Meretz-Yahad party is scheduled to take place on Friday.
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The movement, which has yet to be named, will consist of several prominent leftist figures such as novelist Amos Oz, former minister Uzi Baram and Law Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer.
On Monday, upon receiving word of the plans to establish the new movement, Defense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak contacted Baram to inquire whether he was deserting the party.
The new movement was initiated Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron, who has met with numerous left-wing figures over the past few months. It has yet to be determined how many members of the new movement will join Meretz as part of the effort to expand the party's electoral based ahead of the February 10 general elections.
"Ideologically, the movement is in line with our platform, and its establishment will help form a bloc that will pave the way for Meretz's inclusion in a leftist-centrist coalition," a Meretz official said.
Meretz has recently lost two of its key members in Yossi Beilin and Ran Cohen, both of whom resigned from political life.
