In win for rebel MK Michaeli, court forces Labor to hold primaries

3 January 2021, 2:13 pm

Edit

In a victory for rebel Labor MK Merav Michaeli, the Tel Aviv District Court rules that party primaries must be held despite a decision by its outgoing leader Amir Peretz to cancel them.

Labor party head MK Amir Peretz and party member MK Merav Michaeli at a press conference with party members at Rabin square in Tel Aviv, following the announcement of the Trump peace plan, on January 29, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Labor, Israel’s ruling left-wing party during its first 30 years and a dominant force in the country’s politics until several years ago, has lost virtually all of its support and no recent opinion poll has predicted it will enter the next Knesset.

Michaeli, who refused Peretz’s decision to enter the unity government alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu, welcomes the ruling and says it “defends the right of Labor Party members to elect those who represent them.”