Labor and Meretz merge into united ‘liberal-democratic Zionist party’: The Democrats

Union ‘a necessary condition for a change of government,’ says Labor chief; Meretz secretary general promises party will be ‘bigger and more influential than the Kahanists’

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Labor chairman Yair Golan (fifth from left) stands with members of his new united left-wing party 'The Democrats.' (via X, formerly Twitter)
Labor chairman Yair Golan (fifth from left) stands with members of his new united left-wing party 'The Democrats.' (via X, formerly Twitter)

Newly elected Labor chairman Yair Golan largely fulfilled his pledge to unify Israel’s liberal camp on Sunday, announcing a merger with the left-wing Meretz to form a new party that is calling itself, “The Democrats.”

In a joint statement, the new left-wing party said that the merger was “not a ‘technical bloc,’ but rather a historic process that produced, finally, one large and united party, a liberal-democratic Zionist party that will be a political home for a large part of the Israeli population.”

While running for Labor chairman earlier this year, Golan, a former Meretz MK and onetime Israel Defense Forces deputy chief, pledged “to unify all leftist parties in Israel, all members of the protest movement who are willing to fight for the destiny of Israel, for Israel as a democratic liberal state.”

That promise was welcomed by Meretz secretary general Tomer Reznik.

“The Zionist left is alive and well! We did not unite to return to the Knesset; we united to return to power. The Zionist left is here to grow and get stronger,” he tweeted, promising to become “bigger and more influential than the Kahanists.”

Celebrating the union on Sunday, Golan tweeted that it was “a necessary step on the way to the establishment of the broad home for the liberal democratic public in Israel and is a necessary condition for a change of government.”

Labor chief Yair Golan speaks at the Labor party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 17, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Both Labor and Meretz have been suffering in the polls for some time and it is widely believed that the merger may be the only way to revive their ailing fortunes.

After taking over the party from Amir Peretz in 2021, former Labor chief Merav Michaeli increased Labor’s representation in the Knesset to seven seats, but the improvement was short-lived and, under her leadership, the party shrank to the Knesset minimum of four seats in the November 2022 election.

Her decision not to join forces with Meretz was seen as contributing to the latter party’s failure to enter the Knesset, to the detriment of the bloc of parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Repeated polls have shown Labor failing to make it into the Knesset in the next elections.

Then-Labor party leader MK Merav Michaeli leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on March 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

However, none of the polls ran the scenario of a combined Labor-Meretz slate, which could potentially win more seats than Meretz’s projected four if the party were to run alone.

“More than a year ago, I started working to unify the forces of the Labor Party and Meretz, a union that will lead the democratic camp. What seemed to many at the time to be a far-fetched move — today has become a reality,” tweeted Labor MK Gilad Kariv — calling the agreement “a defining moment in returning Israeli politics to a moral and sane path.”

“I have no doubt that many other forces, including the democratic protest, will join the movement,” he said, calling the new party “a real alternative to the path of the failed and dangerous government.”

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