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Nov. 27, 2005 0:18 | Updated Nov. 27, 2005 20:15 Peres to decide party affiliation soon By GIL HOFFMAN AND JPOST STAFFVice Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Photo: Ariel JerozolimskiLabor Chairman Amir Peretz talking to the press Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski Sources in the Labor Party told the Jerusalem Post that they believed Vice Premier Shimon Peres plans to join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Kadima party in the coming days. "My impression was that Peres will decide to leave Labor," a senior Labor official who spoke to Peres on Sunday said. "It was clear from what he told me that he's...

Nov. 24, 2005 0:49 | Updated Nov. 24, 2005 14:33 Braverman joins Labor, not Kadima By GIL HOFFMAN AND SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL Ben Gurion University President, Professor Avishay Braverman Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski Ben Gurion University President Avishay Braverman announced Thursday his enlistment in the Labor Party, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who sought to enlist him to his new party. The move was announced at a joint press conference conducted together with Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz. While Prof. Braverman officially joined the party, no prospective position was mentioned. Braverman and Peretz publicly exchanged kind words. The...

A new political map Separate existence of Labor and Likud does not represent new consensus Ehud Barak Photo: AP Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Alex Kolomoisky Institutions last long after they have stopped being relevant. Some come crashing down suddenly, while others die a slow death. The Labor Party is an example of an institution dying a slow death. It is true some political parties replace their old platform with a newer one, draw younger supporters and offer updated leadership, but there is no sign of this occurring in Labor, which is led by an 81-year-old man, while his apparent successors are...

Last Update: 20/12/2004 21:46 MKs okay preliminary reading of bill to make Peres deputy PM By Gideon Alon and Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondents Shimon Peres speaking in the Knesset on Monday, ahead of a vote on a bill that would allow him to become deputy prime minister. (AP) The Knesset on Monday passed the preliminary reading of a bill aimed at allowing Shimon Peres to become a second deputy prime minister, thereby meeting Labor's demands for joining a coalition government under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The draft was approved by a vote of 56 to 34. A senior government official...

Dec. 15, 2004 8:29 | Updated Dec. 16, 2004 21:26 Sharon suspends coalition talks By GIL HOFFMANPrime Minister Ariel Sharon and opposition leader Shimon Peres. Photo: AP (File) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to suspend coalition talks with Labor on Thursday night to protest comments by Labor negotiating team chair Dalia Itzik that insulted him. In a speech to the Labor convention Itzik accused Sharon of running towards Labor and hinted that the reason why the prime minister does not want to give up the Justice Ministry in negotiations is connect to the ongoing criminal investigation against him. Likud officials...

Dec. 15, 2004 8:29 | Updated Dec. 15, 2004 19:01 PM, Peres try to end coalition crisis By GIL HOFFMAN Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke to Labor chairman Shimon Peres on Wednesday evening in an attempt to solve the crisis in coalition talks between Likud and Labor. Senior members of the Likud party fumed over Sharon's offer Tuesday night of the Interior and Communications Ministries portfolios to the Labor party as part of coalition negotiations. In a bid to solve the stalled coalitions talks, Sharon called Peres and offered Labor the Interior Ministry and the Communication portfolio, making it clear...

Peres, Barak compromise on June 29 election By GIL HOFFMAN Labor chairman Shimon Peres and former prime minister Ehud Barak tentatively compromised on a June 29 date for the next Labor leadership race on Thursday, following shuttle diplomacy by Labor faction chair Dalia Itzik. The compromise ended a bitter, week-long confrontation between Peres and Barak that culminated with the intervention of Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz and Police Insp. Gen. Moshe Karadi. But Peres said the compromise was contingent on the agreement of the rest of Labor's top brass ahead of Sunday's key Labor central committee meeting. "I will accept any compromise...

Jun. 28, 2004 0:19 | Updated Jun. 28, 2004 0:49Peres: Prepare for elections By TOVAH LAZAROFF Labor Party leader Shimon Peres called for new elections Sunday, on the night before his party was set to bring its first no-confidence motion against the government since the cabinet passed its disengagement plan last month. Labor last week voted against the government in a no-confidence motion on Sharon's economic platform filed by Shas, after abstaining on such motions this month. Today, in a move that returns Labor to an opposition party, it plans to put forward one of its own, also on budgetary...

Oct. 9, 2003 Barak deplores leftists' 'Swiss Agreement' By TOVAH LAZAROFF AND GIL HOFFMAN Former Labor prime minister Ehud Barak has harshly criticized the "Swiss Agreement", an alternate peace agreement with the Palestinians penned by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo. He called it "irresponsible and damaging to the State of Israel," Y-Net reported. He said that if the Labor Party wants to be taken seriously, it cannot be a party to such initiatives that "confuse both the public and our friends alike." A group of left-wing and Labor politicians left for Jordan on Thursday evening to sign the agreement....

Oct. 9, 2003 Peres: Israel has 'Schwarzenegger government' By GIL HOFFMAN Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres vowed Thursday to keep his party in the opposition, despite the void opening by the apparent National Religious Party defection from the coalition. Peres denied reports that close associates of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had contacted him. He said that on the contrary, he intends to unify the opposition in an attempt to strengthen the fight against Sharon's government. "The NRP can relax," Peres said. "We would never join a government that closes the door to any dialogue, whether outside [with the Palestinians] or...

Last Update: 08/10/2003 23:10 Sharon: Left-wing is collaborating with the Palestinians By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent Prime Minister Ariel Sharon harshly criticized the Labor Party and the Israeli left wing on Wednesday evening and charged them with collaborating with the Palestinians in an effort to topple the government. Sharon made his remarks in Bat Yam during a Likud event supporting the party's candidate for in the coastal city. In response to recent critical remarks emanating from the left, Sharon said that "there are recent cynical political attempts on the part of the Labor Party and the left to topple the...

Mar. 14, 2003 Dramatic night at Labor Party central committee meet By TOVAH LAZAROFF AND HILARY LEILA KRIEGER Advertisement An evening that began with victory for Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna ended with calls for his resignation after many of his supporters Thursday had left the central committee meeting in Tel Aviv. Labor whip Dalia Itzik called for early party leadership elections within three to four month instead of waiting for next year. The problems started following a show of support, 78 to 46, for a proposal by MK Ephraim Sneh to change the party's political platform to follow the...

Feb. 27, 2003 Mitzna: We will be a responsible, firmly committed opposition By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF Labor Chairman and opposition leader Amram Mitzna on Thursday criticized the projected political and economic policies to guide Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new government, as they were reflected in the latter's earlier inauguration speech, saying the opposition under his leadership would be a "responsible, firmly committed" one. In a speech before the Knesset, Mitzna said a coalition comprising the three large parties the Likud, Shinui and Labor was within Sharon's grasp, but he decided not to pursue it. He criticized Shinui's chairman,...

85 candidates to vie for Labor seats in Knesset By GIL HOFFMAN Eight-five candidates registered on Monday to run for a spot on the Labor party list to the next Knesset, including all of the party's 25 MKs, except for Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff, who is quitting politics. The newcomers who signed up included former cabinet secretary Yitzhak Herzog, former foreign-ministry director-general Alon Liel, former absorption minister Yael (Yuli) Tamir, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, Labor activist Orna Angel, and author Eli Amir. Several public figures rejected invitations to run, including former Shin-Bet chief Ami Ayalon, businessmen Dov Lautman and Benny Gaon,...