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The 2019 Israeli Labor Party leadership election was held following the announcement of the resignation of Avi Gabbay as leader of the Labor Party on 7 June 2019, after almost two years as leader, which he led into its worst election result in its history during the April 2019 Israeli legislative election. The candidates were Amir Peretz,
Itzik Shmuli Yitzhak (Itzik) Shmuli (; born 8 February 1980) is an Israeli politician who served as the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services and as a Member of the Knesset on behalf of the Israeli Labor Party; formerly chairman of National Union of ...
, and
Stav Shaffir Stav Shaffir (; born 17 May 1985) is an Israeli politician. She is the leader of the Green Party and was a member of the Knesset for the Democratic Union alliance. She came to national prominence as one of the leaders of the 2011 Israeli social ...
. The vote of party members was held on 2 July 2019. Amir Peretz won the leadership election with 47% of the vote.


Background

Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay, who faced pressure to resign since he led the party in the April elections to its worst-ever showing, announced on 19 May 2019 that he would not run for re-election as leader of Labor, and that the party would hold primaries to select a new leader for the upcoming September elections. The leadership election was officially called on 7 June 2019.


Election rules

Leadership elections in the Israeli Labor Party happen in a two-round vote, with the two leading candidates from the first round advancing into a run-off. If a candidate wins over 40% of the vote in the first round, he wins automatically, and the second round is cancelled.


Candidates

Three major candidates ran in the Labor leadership election (and one minor candidate, David Landsman). All three major candidates were current Knesset members of the Labor Party. Due to the Labor Party's low standing in the polls, the campaign mainly focused on what parties the Labor Party should unite with to increase its power and remain above the Electoral threshold.


Amir Peretz

Amir Peretz was a Member of the Knesset for the Labor Party and served as its leader between 2006 and 2007; as leader of the Labor Party he brought the party to 19 seats in the Knesset and it became the second largest party in the Knesset. Notably, he received a large number of votes in Likud strongholds. After the elections, he joined
Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...
's government as the
Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
and served in that role from 2006-2007. After losing the leadership of the Labor Party to
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
, he left the party to join Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah. As part of Hatnuah, he served as Minister of the Environment from 2013-2014. During the Labor-Hatnuah joint list known as the Zionist Union, he returned to the Labor Party. In the primaries leading up to the April 2019 elections, Peretz fell behind some of the younger members of his party, and was placed sixth on the party's list. After the party's failure in the April elections, Peretz became his party's most veteran MK. Peretz declared his candidacy for leader of the Labor Party on 2 June 2019. Peretz's campaign was focused on showcasing his many endorsements by former Labor Knesset Members and other leftist figures, and made use of his iconic mustache as its logo and the slogan "Now Amir". Peretz declared his intention to remain independent of Ehud Barak's party, and to refrain from uniting with
Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...
; instead, he declared that he wishes to invite
Orly Levy Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the com ...
's Gesher, Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah, Yuval Diskin, and Gadi Eizenkot to enter a joint list with the Labor Party. Peretz was criticized by the other leadership candidates of putting his personal interests in front of the interests of the leftist bloc due to his refusal to give up leadership of the leftist bloc to Ehud Barak.


Itzik Shmuli

Itzik Shmuli Yitzhak (Itzik) Shmuli (; born 8 February 1980) is an Israeli politician who served as the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services and as a Member of the Knesset on behalf of the Israeli Labor Party; formerly chairman of National Union of ...
was a Member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. Shmuli was elected chairman of the National Union of Israeli Students in October 2010. As the leader of the Students Union, Shmuli was one of leaders of the
2011 Israeli social justice protests The 2011 Israeli social justice protests ( he, מְחָאַת צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי), which are also referred to by various other names in the media, were a series of demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds o ...
, along with fellow leadership candidate Stav Shaffir and the social activist
Daphni Leef Daphni Leef ( he, דפני ליף; born 7 January 1986) is an Israeli social activist, video artist, and editor. In July 2011 she initiated the 2011 Israeli Social Justice Protest that took place in Tel Aviv and were the largest social protests i ...
. Shmuli and Shaffir joined the Labor Party in 2012, and became the young faces of one of Israel's oldest parties. During his time in the Knesset, Shmuli was focused on matters of social justice (such as increasing funds for the elderly). Shmuli is a member of the LGBT community, and is an activist for LGBT rights. In the primaries leading up to the April 2019 elections, Shmuli won the first place, with 90% of the vote, and was placed third on the party's list. Shmuli declared his candidacy for leader of the Labor Party on 12 June 2019. Shmuli's campaign used the slogan "Believing in Labor" and was focused on restoring the belief lost in Labor after its failure in the April elections. Shmuli declared his intention to unite with Ehud Baraks new party "on his first day in office" even if Barak received the leading position in such an alliance. Like Barak, Shmuli supported a wide coalition including all the parties in Israel's left-centre bloc.


Stav Shaffir

Stav Shaffir Stav Shaffir (; born 17 May 1985) is an Israeli politician. She is the leader of the Green Party and was a member of the Knesset for the Democratic Union alliance. She came to national prominence as one of the leaders of the 2011 Israeli social ...
was a Member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. Shaffir came into the public eye as one of leaders of the
2011 Israeli social justice protests The 2011 Israeli social justice protests ( he, מְחָאַת צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי), which are also referred to by various other names in the media, were a series of demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds o ...
, which she led together with fellow leadership candidate Shmuli and social activist Daphni Leef. Shaffir joined the Labor Party in May 2012, and in the
2013 Israeli legislative election Early elections for the nineteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 22 January 2013. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. Th ...
, she was elected to the Knesset at age 27, becoming the youngest MK in Israeli history. During her tenure in the Knesset, Shaffir focused on matters of social justice (such as rent regulation), financial transparency, and feminism. In the primaries leading up to the April 2019 elections, Shaffir fell just short of her partner and rival Shmuli, winning the second place. Shaffir was placed fourth on the party's list for the April elections. Shaffir declared her candidacy for leader of the Labor Party on 7 June 2019. Shaffir's campaign focused on her social record as MK and her youth, using the slogan "Starting again" and using Orange as its campaign color due to Shaffir's iconic
Ginger hair Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and l ...
. Shaffir has declared her intention to create a leftist bloc with Ehud Barak's new party, Meretz, and other leftist forces, but has criticized Shmuli for "selling the party" to Barak, and has said that she will take a harder stance on keeping Labor a major part of this bloc. Shaffir has suggested she may leave Labor if she doesn't win the leadership primary; she left Labor on 25 July 2019, and joined the Democratic Union, an alliance of
Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...
and the Israel Democratic Party.


Results


References

{{Reflist Israeli Labor Party leadership elections 2019 elections in Israel Israeli Labor Party leadership election June 2019 events in Asia July 2019 events in Asia