The 1980

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a social democratic and Zionist political party in Israel. The p ...

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

was held on 18 December 1980. It saw Shimon Peres reelected as the party's leader. Peres defeated

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

. This was the third of four leadership contests in which Rabin and Peres faced each other (following the 1974 and February 1977 and preceding by the 1992 leadership elections).

Background

The vote took place in advance of the 1981 Knesset election. At the time of the leadership election, Labor was broadly anticipated, per

opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

, to have a strong performance over rival

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sha ...

in that election.

Candidates

* Shimon Peres, incumbent leader since 1977, member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

since 1959, former minister of defense (1974–1977), former

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

(1974), former

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

(1970–1974), and former Minister of Immigration and Absorption (1969–1970) *

, former leader (1974–1977), former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

(1974–1977), member of the

since 1973, former

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

(1974), former

ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

(1968–1973), and former

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

(1964–1968)

Campaign

Peres was expected to secure a comfortable reelection as party leader. Rabin attempted to persuade the delegates comprising the electorate that he was more popular than Peres, and therefore presented the party with a greater chance at leading in the 1981 Knesset election.

Voting procedure

The election's electorate was the 3,101 delegates to the party's convention.

Results

References

{{Reflist Israeli Labor Party leadership elections Labor Party leadership Israeli Labor Party leadership election Yitzhak Rabin Shimon Peres Israeli Labor Party leadership election