Labor party announces final list of candidates ahead of leadership primary
A former senior IDF commander, an internet billionaire, an anti-corruption crusader and a longtime party activist are set to run to replace outgoing leader Merav Michaeli on May 28
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 announced the final list of candidates for its upcoming party primary on Monday, less than a month before members of the left-wing faction are set to vote on a replacement for outgoing chair Merav Michaeli in May 28.
Running for the chairmanship are former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan, longtime Labor activist Azi Nagar, billionaire socialist and online gambling magnate Avi Shaked, and attorney and anti-corruption activist Itai Leshem.
“The elections for the leadership of the Labor Party this year are being held at a fateful time for the country,” Michaeli said in a statement.
“Everything we warned about has come true: the Netanyahu government and the messianic right are leading Israel to existential danger and the opposition is weaker than ever. This is a time for leaders, this is an opportunity for leadership. I undertake to assist whoever is elected and to stand by any party member who needs my advice or help. I wish the candidates success.”
In February, Labor announced that it would hold an election to replace Michaeli in May, with the party struggling to revitalize the once dominant but now marginal left-wing movement.
After taking over the party from Amir Peretz in 2021, Michaeli managed to increase Labor’s representation in the Knesset to seven seats in the 120-seat Knesset, but the improvement in its standing was short-lived and, under her leadership, Labor shrank to the Knesset minimum of four seats in the November 2022 election.
Her decision not to join forces with the left-wing Meretz party was seen as leading to Meretz’s failure to enter the Knesset, to the detriment of the bloc of parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since then, Labor itself has consistently failed to cross the election threshold in periodic, though unreliable, polling.
Internal discontent with Michaeli continued to mount last year when Labor’s other three lawmakers decided to take steps against her, with the goal of eventually pushing her out of the party.
Labor MKs Gilad Kariv and Naama Lazimi have since endorsed Golan, who previously served as an MK for the hard-left Meretz party, and who has pledged to merge Labor with Meretz and create a united left-wing front.
A former IDF Northern Front and Home Front commander, Golan, 61, now a general in the reserves, was passed over for the position of IDF chief of staff in 2018 after delivering a speech in which he likened processes being seen in Israel to what he said were similar “disturbing processes” that took place in Europe in the run-up to the Holocaust.
He served as deputy economy minister during the short-lived multi-party coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, then made a failed bid for the leadership of Meretz ahead of the last elections.
On October 7, the retired general headed to the front line of the Hamas onslaught on his own initiative and rescued many partygoers fleeing the attack on the Supernova music festival, with his bravery garnering him praise from across the political spectrum.
Avi Shaked, a billionaire and online gambling magnate, is the co-founder and part owner of online gambling giant 888 Holdings. He has come out as staunchly opposed to Golan’s plans for Labor, describing his rival as “a Trojan horse… who suddenly comes out of nowhere and tries to steal our party.”
Azi Nagar, 70, is a longtime Labor activist who works in real estate and fought in the Yom Kippur War, while Itai Leshem is an attorney, high-tech entrepreneur and anti-corruption activist.
Carrie-Keller Lynn contributed to this report.
