MK Ben-Simon urges Labor 'rebels' not to split
Former Labor faction chairman arrives at conference held by MKs Peretz, Pines-Paz, Tamir and Cabel, says he seeks to find solution to internal strife. Cabel declares party no longer alternative for leadership; Pines-Paz says meeting 'an attempt to save what's left of Labor's honor'
After months of sitting on the proverbial sideline, Knesset Member Daniel Ben-Simon attended a conference organized by Labor Party 'rebels'.
The group is currently comprised of Knesset members Amir Peretz, Ophir Pines-Paz, Yuli Tamir and Eitan Cabel, and Ben-Simon is rumored to be on the verge of joining them – a move which will enable them to split from Labor and from a new faction.
The political situation within the Labor Party has been tense ever since party Chairman Ehud Barak decided to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.
MKs Peretz, Pines-Paz, Tamir and Cabel refused to support the decision and were subsequently dubbed the "rebels." The internal strife took a turn for the worst when Barak decided to have Cabel, who served as the party's secretary-general, impeached. Cabel eventually resigned of his own accord.
Titled "The 11th Commandment – thou shalt not keep silent," the conference attracted some 300 people, some New Movement-Meretz activists.
Ben-Simon was welcomed with roaring applause, but said he came to the conference to try and find a solution to the internal strife, adding he was not considering splitting form Labor.
Ben-Simon did say, however, that the foursome should strive to form a new faction "if we find there is no one to talk to in two-months-time – by the next convention. I'm here as a last-ditch effort to stop such a split. After all – even a condemned man deserve a last meal."
He went on to lament what he called "Labor's loss of values," saying that "over the past few weeks the party's political and social vision have gone down the drain… this government has no intention of amending society, only to perpetuate gaps."
L-R: Ben-Simon, Peretz, Tamir, Cable, Pines-Paz (Photo: Yaron Brener)
First to take the podium at the conference was Amir Peretz: "This group of four has been trying to carve a new path for quite some time now. When a group believes in a certain ideology it's not the setting that matters, it's the path… This meeting is about regaining the voters' trust."
Peretz added that he supported Netanyahu's fight against the Goldstone Report probing the Gaza war, his attempt to free kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and to create an international front against Iran, but added that "his attempts to stall on the peace process is problematic."
Tamir spoke next and accused Barak of turning Labor into "Netanyahu's fig leaf... Barak can keep calling for unity, but no one is buying it."
Tamir said she was "encouraged by the support and the fact that we have partners. Today's Labor is the enabler of a right-wing government which is an embarrassment."
Cabel, third to address the attendees, said: "I feel as if this is rebirth, I'm here to tell you in no uncertain terms that Labor is no longer the alternative for leadership. I hope we can form a new platform… The message is that we are fighting for Israel's future."
Pines-Paz told the conference that he saw it "as an attempt to save what is left of Labor's honor. This democratic platform will prove itself by creating an alternative, and first and foremost and ideological one.
"Labor has to stop being the Right's fifth wheel… Labor has yet again failed to serve the public from the Opposition and it has failed to do the proper soul-searching."
