NOW WE KNOW WHO THE JEWISH TRAITORS ARE, DON'T WE? Not much left of the "Left" it had alreadtYdamaged Israel security more than 100 arab armies could have done, with the "Oslo" debacle......GOOD RIDDANCE.

watch out ehud barak will save the zionist state of israel together with the indispensable us aid.

Some truths sneak out of this article: a. Since when was Labor considered a "left party"--only recently. Rabin was NEVER considered a lefty! b. What Arab/Islamic state would allow a Jew the power to do what Arabs do in this country--hey be honest, half the Arab/Islamic States don't allow all the ARABS to do what they do here. BDS jerks--open your eyes and face reality. The only NON racist state in the Middle east is RIGHT HERE!

is on the rise in Israel. Very bad.

Barak seems to have gotten himself 2 more years in power but getting votes for his new party maybe hard unless he can show some results. So either some kind of peace deal or more likely a quick war is his best hope.

They should be saved in the extinct and endangered section of the zoo.

be the business of anyone outside of Israel, certainly not those who refuse to even accept Israel's RIGHT to be, to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people, despite that Israel is such based on historic, ethical and legal grounds.

So much for democracy in "Israel"..(:

The Arabs make up 20 percent of the population, and if they voted as a block for a single party they'd have 24 seats in the Knesset. Yet they are divided, un-united, and lack the voice they could have. I've wondered about this one for decades. Merging with Meretz would definitely be a kiss of death for the Arab cause - Meretz has made themselves into a marginal fringe party and may well disappear in the next elections. I'd like to see the Arab members of Labor demand that Labor go back to what it's supposed to be: a social democratic party working for the betterment of the country as a whole. Yea, I have issues with some of the more extreme socialist ideals, but Israel simply has no social democratic voice right now. Failing that, the Arabs should sit, make a sulha, and unite around their common cause of civil rights and equality. Leave the "peace process" out of it since nobody believes it's the number one solvable issue today (but sure, keep it high on the agenda).

"BRIAN COHEN' No. 9. "judean Peoples Front" was this a creation of MONTY PYTHON, IN 'THE LIFE OF BRIAN' ? Your comments do sound like one who should be working at the ministry of silly walks.

You seem to assume that there is something wrong with Israel's Arabs just because they don't vote the way you want. Maybe you are falling for the propaganda. Those Israeli Arabs (who call themselves "Palestinians") who post on the Internet do not represent all Israeli Arabs. In fact in Arab society it is often difficult to speak up if one disagrees with Arab nationalism or whatever sect of Islam is dominant. But many Israel Arabs simply do not believe what you think they should believe. Some, a minority, vote for Arab nationalist parties (they are the minority whom you think all Arabs should be like). Others, the majority, vote for Zionist parties, including most prominently Labour and Kadima but also Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu. You see Arabs loyal to the secular democratic state have no reason to see Avigdor Lieberman or Bibi Netanyahu as bad men. And in fact Lieberman is their best chance to remain Israelis in the long run. Turns out most Israeli Arabs do not want to be citizens of a "Palestinian" state. So why would they vote for parties that advocate making Israel into one?

Your words, not mine!

Thanks to Bibi the Israeli taxpayer could absorb such a burden fairly easily because US aid, even when combined with the Diaspora's donations, equals less than 2% of Israel's GDP. Cutting of weapons supplies? That would mean firing the engineers, technicians and blue-collar workers involved in manufacturing what the IDF buys from the U.S. Can you imagine that at this present time? Israel is also the US's only true ally in the region. Sorry, but people who imagine that the US can simply bully Israel into doing things that it doesn't want are simply short on facts. This is not up to date but you'll get the message - http://tinyurl.com/usaidtoisrael The US is almost bankrupt and owes the new master around 2.7 billion dollars. The times they are a changin' as Bob Dylan said. Mike

A coalition between the arab parties & Meretz would be a scary prospect for anybody but I would love to know how they intend to pull it off. The arabs - 7 seats Meretz 3 seats Kadima - 28 seats Labor without Barak & the 3 MK's that went with leaves them with 9 The arabs between then 7 seats Meretz 3 seats Kadima have 28 seats Since they have lost 4 seats as Barak & 4 others have left that leaves them with 9 That leaves the left with a total of 47 seats. So even if every single arab & leftist currently in the Knesset combined their forces they still can't make up the numbers. Bibi's coalition is now made up of Likud - 27 Yisrael Beitanu - 15 Shas - 11 UTJ - 5 National Union - 4 Baraks party 4 That gives him a coalition of 66 Its smaller than what it was but he has taken Labor out the picture and totally sidelined the real left and will probably strenghen Bibi's coalition because Labor was threatening to withdraw if there was no progress on the peace process. Come next election Barak is history because this new party has no grass roots support the way Kadima did but for now it serves Bibi's purpose and will hold his coalition together for the short-medium term. Best of all this is going to upset Obama who was trying to drive a wedge between Labor and the rest of the coalition to try and bring down the government. This means that if he wants to get Bibi talking with the palestinians then he is going to have to start telling Abbas to stop acting like a child and to talk unconditionally as there are no more left wing parties for Bibi to worry about loosing.

Where do you get the idea the I want Israeli Arabs to vote a certain way? I was pointing out that instead of unifying themselves and getting a powerful block in the Knesset, they are divided and split their votes among many parties. The result is that Arab representation in the Knesset is much less than their actual population numbers in the country. I think they should believe in themselves, and realize that democratic unity would give them more power - which is always a double-edged sword, of course. The Labor Party never advocated making Israel into a "Palestinian" state, as you say. Nor does Meretz - which is a moot point since Meretz will probably be gone from the next Knesset. Israeli Arabs not wanting to be part of a Palestinian state is a total non sequitor. I don't see them leaving either, and I'd prefer if they had stronger representation to help alleviate some of the imbalance in our society. I suggested that the Arab in the Labor Party itself work to strengthen the party. You also seem to misunderstand the makeup of Israeli non-Jews, who are comprised of Muslims, Christians and Druze. Arabs in Israel vote the way they want (not what I want). Many are constantly debating the problem of under-representation due to the many splits in their society. You don't seem to think that it's a problem, but many of them do.

After all, millions of Muslims are under great persecution. They have no social services or rights. Arabs must also be a light unto their nations.

90 years of racism against Jews and decades of sedition never would win you any friends except in Tehran. If Arabs want to be relevant as citizens in Israel, they must act like responsible citizens, as every other group does. BTW, there is no "we" which includes you Salma. You're not an Israeli citizen, just an Arab who wants to be.

So the center of gravity of this new party will be based on pre-meditated failure? No one trusts the Arabs and the Left, especially Meretz, has been dropped like a hot potato. Just what do Arabs expect when they band with losers? Well, they been backing losers for years, so why would this be any different?