Opinion
Labor aims for relevance with leadership election
Associated Press
Published: 01.07.17, 19:22
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9 Talkbacks for this article
1. Omer Bar-Lev seems to be the only sane candidate in Labor
Steve Benassi ,   Silver Bay, MN USA   (07.01.17)
2. THE LABOR PARTY
DAVID ,   JERUSALEM   (07.02.17)
It doesn't matter what name you call it- "Ma'arach","Avoda", Machaneh Hatziyoni"- the "Labor" party is comprised of politically washed up "has beens" like Peretz, Herzog, Livni etc. Newcomers like Gabbai, Bar Lev and Margalit have no luster, no charisma and are all empty, bombastic words. The Israeli "Left" has become way too pro-arab, anti religious, and liberal. The Israeli electorate is smart and they are just not buying the Left's ridiculous line of "2 states for 2 peoples living side by side in peace and security"!!!! A snowball in Hell has a better chance! The arabs don't want peace. They have proven that time and again. They are waiting for Israel to disappear. Ain't gonna happen!!!! Whoever Labor picks as it's leader on July 3rd hasn't got a chance against Bibi.
3. not a leadership list
joe   (07.02.17)
does anyone really belive that herzog is strong enough to be leader? His father maybe, butnot him. rabin tried oslo giving back territory and got 2000 israeliis blown up and decimated, thanks also to beilin, the masturmind of the whole thing. and now we have peretz who was condemned as a no nothing on securtiy in 2006. look at fresh face margalit who endorses arabs being the balance of power in his govt-who the hell is he?? and omar bar lev, the new ehud barak who thinks he knows eveyrthing. he does not and military figures save sharon have been nothing but trouble for israel in political roles. avi gabbay may be the sleeper but his defense of yaalon does him in because yaalon as shapira pointed out was not doing much in the gaza war and was passive.
4. JORDAN VALLEY SHOULD ALWAYS BE ISRAELI,NOT SIMPLY LEASED
MARCEL   (07.02.17)
read this article from gen uzi dayan, whose comments on the jordan valley and Israeli ownership are part of the reason I could never vote for herzog, peretz, gabbay, margalit, and lapid. in the middle east, security is not based on trust but on defensible borders controlled by Israel, not by remote sensors as general Allen suggested with livni's rooting him on, and not with shared jurisdiction which was advocated by olmert as some cure-all.herzog with a brig general brother still shows himself to be a simpleton since he is going on trusting abbas and hamas.

To protect itself, the Jewish state must always retain control of the Jordan Valley, a former Israeli national security adviser explained in a newly-published video.

The concept of “defensible borders,” Maj. Gen. (ret.) Uzi Dayan said in a Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs clip, was based on three key components — “strategic depth, [the] ability to defend yourself from an attack from the outside and…fighting terrorism effectively.”

Against threats Israel faces from the east, “the Jordan Valley is the best line that you can rely upon,” Dayan noted. “There is the Jordan River, there is the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, [and there are] only five strategic passages. And [there are] actually very few Israelis and almost no Palestinians in this strip, so it’s enough to deploy, for example, two divisions in a crisis time if needed.”

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Also, Dayan pointed out, “we know that if you don’t control the envelope of the region, very quickly some terror groups like Hamas will take over, and they invite the Iranians and, all of a sudden, you have an Iranian outpost. There is an outpost in Lebanon, there is a partial one in Gaza, we don’t need another one in…the West Bank and near Jerusalem.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated publicly, as recently as earlier this month, that Israel would not give up military control of the Jordan Valley in any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

To protect itself, the Jewish state must always retain control of the Jordan Valley, a former Israeli national security adviser explained in a newly-published video.

The concept of “defensible borders,” Maj. Gen. (ret.) Uzi Dayan said in a Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs clip, was based on three key components — “strategic depth, [the] ability to defend yourself from an attack from the outside and…fighting terrorism effectively.”

Against threats Israel faces from the east, “the Jordan Valley is the best line that you can rely upon,” Dayan noted. “There is the Jordan River, there is the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, [and there are] only five strategic passages. And [there are] actually very few Israelis and almost no Palestinians in this strip, so it’s enough to deploy, for example, two divisions in a crisis time if needed.”



Also, Dayan pointed out, “we know that if you don’t control the envelope of the region, very quickly some terror groups like Hamas will take over, and they invite the Iranians and, all of a sudden, you have an Iranian outpost. There is an outpost in Lebanon, there is a partial one in Gaza, we don’t need another one in…the West Bank and near Jerusalem.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated publicly, as recently as earlier this month, that Israel would not give up military control of the Jordan Valley in any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
5. Name/Ideology
Yakov Shani ,   Afula   (07.02.17)
The name Labor must be dropped. The term Left must be dropped. Mapai, Ben Gurion, Rabin Meir et al are all things and people of the past. These are the problems, nostalgia and living in the past is not a recipe for success today or in the future. Invoking past heroes and past policies is not conducive to winning election today.
A new leader, with new policies and a new vision is needed, a leader who can stand up and announce that Mapai died and now Labor is dead and is being buried. The new party should be called The Israel Democratic Party and should have an agenda for social advancement and equality, an agenda that promises to rid our society of administrative corruption, advancement of public services coupled with a healthy attitude to investment and free enterprise, high productivity and lower taxes.
Labor is history and should remain in the history books with the respect and honor that it deserves. Time to advance, time to change conceptions and visions. Until all this happens nothing will change, people do not want left wing Socialism, it is stifling, it is against advancement.
6. Lack of leadership 1
Avi L.   (07.03.17)
Let's not forget Peretz's part in 2nd Lebanon war, maybe the most clueless defence minister Israel ever had.

The other two rich guys Margalit and Gaby will be bad for the little people who vote Likud as a way to defend themselves from the elites.
Margalit and Gaby are actually the elites.


They will be big business representing big business interests, more inequality masked by (maybe) more GDP, maybe.

Tycoons running for Labour's chair shows how much Labour strayed from being a worker's party.
7. Lack of leadership 2
Avi L.   (07.03.17)

Until some politician will denounce the social dumping of bringing in tens of thousands of third world workers because Israelis simply cannot afford to work for third world pittances, there won't be any little guy's friend in the Knesset or the government.

Histadrut hasn't been seen as paying a lot of attention to this attack to Israel's working class, they are protecting their own power base, public servants and big companies employees, who are not the little people who fall into the religious parties net and vote for the right or religious parties.

To face cheap demagogic and populist donaldesque politicians or the demagogic and populist irrational power of the religious parties demands another kind of leadership, which is dramatically missing in the Labour today.
8. The "Little Man's" Party was and remains a Big Lie and the
(07.04.17)
masses ("workers") are aware of it, that's why the very core of Labour's raison d'etre is not viable anymore. They're on their way out of History's books. Worry not though: something new and just as fraudulent & useless will raise up from the ashes, because just like religion, many of us crave this soothing feeling in our lives.
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