Yachimovich cancels meeting with Peretz

Labor chairwoman postpones meeting with main party rival after he publicly criticizes her

Moran Azulay|Published: 12.02.12 , 14:15

Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich began meeting with members of the party's newly elected Knesset list on Sunday, but her associates say she will not meet with the third place on the list, her political rival Amir Peretz.

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On Friday, several minutes after the Labor roster was presented, Knesset Member Peretz demanded a public commitment from Yachimovich that she would not sit in the same government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman.

Yachimovich refused to issue such an unequivocal statement, and Peretz responded by saying that joining such a government would be red line as far as he was concerned.

בימים אחרים. יחימוביץ' ופרץ (ארכיון) (צילום: גיל יוחנן)

Peretz (R) and Yachimovich (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Peretz, a former defense minister, further criticized Yachimovich for wooing rightist votes and avoiding defining Labor as a leftist party. He said that the party's ideological line and the fact that Labor was the leader of the peace camp had to be stressed.

MK Isaac Herzog, No. 2 on the Labor list, rushed to defend Yachimovich, saying that Peretz's stand did not represent the faction's stand.

Over the weekend, Peretz announced that he planned to meet with Yachimovich and present his demands, but following his criticism Yachimovich decided to postpone the meeting.

Moran Azulay is a Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth correspondent