Barak, Shaffir, Horowitz form left-wing bloc overnight

Horowitz will lead the list, followed by Shaffir. Barak will be tenth on the list. 

“The founders of the new union believe that the Democratic Camp is the necessary first step in the mission of returning Israel to the proper path,” Shaffir, Horowitz and Barak said in a joint statement. 

They called a press conference for 5pm on Thursday.

Shaffir became the fourth of the six Labor MKs elected in the April election to leave. Then-party leader Avi Gabbay, his number two, Tal Rousso, and veteran Labor MK Shelly Yacimovich quit politics. Following Shaffir’s departure, only new leader Amir Peretz and MK Itzik Shmuli remain.

Peretz defeated Shaffir and Shmuli in the July 2 leadership race. 

Former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Goland will be third on the list. Meretz’s current MKs will follow him. Representatives of Barak’s party will also be seventh, ninth, 14th and 15th on the list.  

Labor responded by saying: “We are happy that Ehud Barak is joining the Meretz list, which will prevent votes in the camp being lost to a party that would not have crossed the electoral threshold.” The party added that the split made it clear that Labor presents a socioecomic alternative  to the Right and can attract votes from the Right to help replace the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Former Meretz chair MK Tamar Zandberg welcomed the move calling it “a dramatic step to strengthen the left,” and that it would broaden the appeal of the Israeli left and bolster “positions of justice and equality as an alternative to the corrupt and messianic right wing.”

Meretz MK Esawi Frej told The Jerusalem Post that he not only supported the unity deal but was “the architect,” and also indicated that Barak would apologize directly to the families of 13 Arab citizens killed in protests in 2000 when Barak was prime minister.

Frej had previously been openly hostile to a merger between Meretz and Barak’s Israel Democratic Party because of widespread resentment among the Arab community to the former prime minister, under whose tenure 13 Israeli Arabs were killed in protests in 2000 during clashes with the police.

Barak apologised for the killings earlier this week and said he was responsible for everything that happened on his watch, in a move that ultimately paved the way for the new political union to happen. 

“Everyone made compromises, including me, I acknowledge that not everyone on the list agrees with each other, but we made these compromises to create hope that has been so lacking in our camp, to create something greater than its parts,” said Frej.

Asked if the union with Barak would negatively impact the electoral attraction of Meretz to Arab citizens, Frej said he believed it would but that the party could overcome this problem.

“Meretz as Meretz managed to gain legitimacy on the Arab street and get great support, we had very positive momentum,” he said in reference to the large number of votes the party received in the April elections from the Arab sector.

“Adding Barak to this will create difficulties in preserving this support which will require greater efforts from us and more work,” he said.

Frej said that although Barak did apologize there were more actions “he is obliged to do” and said that there was no reason that Barak should not apologize directly to the families of the 13 people killed in the 2000 riots.

Asked if he had insisted on Barak getting the rather lowly tenth spot on the joint list, Frej said “I didn’t insist on anything,” apart from Horowitz leading the joint list.

“We are now looking to the future and to replacing the government, I welcomed this move, the Left today now is stronger and more united and we are putting all the arguments to one side and going forward.”