Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., November 17, 2008 Cheshvan 19, 5769 | | Israel Time: 17:39 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Amos Oz (Maya Levin)
Last update - 09:17 16/11/2008
Feted author Amos Oz says new leftist party will replace Labor
By Roni Singer-Heruti and Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Meretz, Labor, Amos Oz 

"I hope the expanded leftist movement will become a replacement for the Labor Party," author Amos Oz told Haaretz on Saturday. "The Labor Party has finished its historic role, it isn't putting forward a national agenda and it joins any coalition," Oz said. He was among 30 intellectuals and public figures who attended the Tel Aviv press conference Friday at which the official launch of a new left-wing party modeled after Meretz was announced.

Referring to the refusal by Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak to commit to not joining a coalition headed by Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, Oz said "For many years there has been a large gap between what the Labor Party says and what it does." He added that he hoped the new bloc's potential can be translated into a Knesset list consisting of Meretz members, ex-Laborites, environmentalists, supporters of Dov Khenin in the just-finished Tel Aviv mayoral elections, Reform Jews and Arabs.

The new party has apparently not yet carried out a poll to judge the degree of public support it can expect. "I always think in double-digit numbers," Meretz chairman Haim Oron said Friday. The new party doesn't yet have a new name. In light of the desire of new members for "rebranding," alternatives, the "Meretz" name will be evaluated in the coming days.
Advertisement
"The name must be changed because we aren't joining Meretz, we are creating a center-left bloc," Kucik said. "Our positions are close to those of Meretz but in order to break the glass ceiling we first need to change the name."

Among those who attended Friday's gathering were former Labor Cabinet minister Uzi Baram; Gilad Sher, who was the PMO legal adviser under Barak; Hebrew University law professor Mordechai Kremnitzer; Peace Now founder and former Labor MK Tzali Reshef, and former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg.

Absent from the meeting were Labor Mks who have been talking with Oron for some weeks about the possibility of forming a new party. Despite his anticipated resignation from Labor, MK Ami Ayalon has not reach an agreement with Oron on joining. Oron has rejected Ayalon's demands for a guaranteed spot in the party leadership or number-two ranking on the list and for the holding of a poll to choose the party's head.

No decisions were made at Friday's meeting. According to the organizers, some of the attendees will run for the Knesset on the new list but it's not yet clear which plan to leave their current pursuits for the campaign.

The attendees resolved on Friday that the goal of the new alignment was to establish "a new political movement that will gather under its wings the peace-supporting, social-democrat camp in Israel." There was talk of the party's list of Knesset candidates comprising the Meretz leadership and new members, but the mechanism by which this would occur was not discussed. One possibility calls for alternating between Meretz members and new members on the list.

The party's founding meeting is scheduled for December 5. Hundreds of people are expected to attend. However, most are expected to express support for the new body, but not to take an active party.

"Friday is a day for shopping, not for ideology," Labor MK Matan Vilnai said on Friday. "The Labor Party isn't a place for the highest bidder, but rather a place with a vision and with values, and I suggest that people stop following trends."

Related articles:
  • Labor figureheads to support Meretz in upcoming elections
  • Meretz chief looks to galvanize left wing with new political party
  • Haaretz Editorial / Meretz's big chance
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Taped launch
    IDF releases video of Gaza gunners firing rockets at Israel.
    GA, Jerusalem
    UJC General Assembly opens, organizers expect 'success.'
      1.   Amos - Why Not Move The New Party to Berlin ? 03:41  |  Tod Zuckerman 16/11/08
      2.   THIS IS EXCITING NEWS 04:23  |  shalom 16/11/08
      3.   Centrist /Leftist/ Rights - But All Without Lunatics 04:43  |  This Time Reasonable 16/11/08
      4.   Waste of time 07:34  |  Natallie Durson 16/11/08
      5.   The left dreams the right plans 07:35  |  Daniel 16/11/08
      6.   New leftish 08:06  |  English Resident 16/11/08
      7.   "...new leftist party will replace Labor ..." 08:16  |  Esther 16/11/08
      8.   Not just Labor, but the left is disintigrating .. 08:20  |  redmike 16/11/08
      9.   A needed step to counter right-wing fanaticism in Israel 08:40  |  Ivar 16/11/08
      10.   go left 08:56  |  sanchez 16/11/08
      11.   more good news on the left 09:29  |  Mark 16/11/08
      12.   And still no mention of Zionism 09:49  |  Slibovitz 16/11/08
      13.   Any Israeli with a "working (political) brain" will have...... 09:55  |  Swiss (Dino) 16/11/08
      14.   Labor was completely neglected during Barak`s reign... 10:06  |  Esther 16/11/08
      15.   9ivar reappears with messages for the loony left ! 10:07  |  victor hardman 16/11/08
      16.   Tod Zuckerman 10:48  |  DB 16/11/08
      17.   Wakeup 10:55  |  A former leftist 16/11/08
      18.   Ivar, I think the same is true of where you live 11:00  |  Ivaresque 16/11/08
      19.   Oz is an artist, lives in his perfect imagination 11:06  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 16/11/08
      20.   new leftist party 11:31  |  Ralph 16/11/08
      21.   How many times is it possible to refound ` Meretz?` 11:54  |  Shalom Freedman 16/11/08
      22.   Hey hey hey - I agree with Durson again! 12:00  |  Joe Sittizen 16/11/08
      23.   Margie#19, you have either not read Oz, or not understood him 14:10  |  Esther 16/11/08
      24.   They get my vote 14:55  |  SJ 16/11/08
      25.   Esther you make extreme pronouncements 15:06  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 16/11/08
      26.   OK, Margie #25... we`re quits... 15:59  |  Esther 16/11/08
      27.   DB--you are right about Tod Z 15:59  |  Isaiah 16/11/08
      28.   Repackaged and anachronistic 17:57  |  Michael N 16/11/08
      29.   Like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 17:59  |  Chaim 16/11/08
      30.   Tod,EU won`t let him to settle in Berlin,it needs Troyan Horses 18:29  |  Absolute Sweden 16/11/08
      31.   Reply to DB (16) 18:58  |  Tod Zuckerman 16/11/08
      32.   Tod Zuckerman 31 20:50  |  DB 16/11/08
      33.   Tod Z.........also not immune from criticism. 20:55  |  Isaiah 16/11/08
      34.   Feted, MY FOOT! 21:03  |  A VOICE 16/11/08
      35.   JUST WHAT WE NEED, ANOTHER PARTY 21:53  |  Steve 16/11/08
      36.   More parties, less voters: welcome to the land of "Oz" 22:12  |  Realist 16/11/08
      37.   Hoarse Voice #34... 23:10  |  Esther 16/11/08
      38.   Isaiah,Petain had also expressed "understanding 00:08  |  Absolute Sweden 17/11/08
      39.   story tellers wake up 06:37  |  Ram David 17/11/08
      40.   army service and the left 16:57  |  soggy liberal 17/11/08
     Read & React
    Livni to Miliband: U.K. plan to label W. Bank goods is 'exaggerated'
    Responses: 159
    Poll: Only 6% of Americans think U.S. should back Palestinians in peace talks
    Responses: 172
    IDF officers slam top ministers for Gaza 'war-mongering'
    Responses: 33
    Settlers threaten 'Amona'-style riots over Hebron eviction
    Responses: 57
    Amira Hass: Is Israel deliberately strengthening Hamas?
    Responses: 31


    More Headlines
    17:03 Crime boss killed in underworld Tel Aviv car blast
    16:38 GA special report / Ex-IDF chief: Military option against Iran still exists
    16:42 GA special report / Peres to Obama: To help Israel, be a great president for the U.S.
    15:50 Israel to free 250 Palestinian prisoners in goodwill gesture to Abbas
    13:22 IDF lets limited aid into Gaza, despite Qassam fire on Negev
    15:20 Barak: Israel will not accept indiscriminate attacks on its citizens
    15:21 JEWISH WORLD / Obama must get involved in peace talks before they atrophy
    16:07 Top Obama aide denies report president-elect will back Arab peace plan
    08:11 Poll: Only 6% of Americans think U.S. should back Palestinians in peace talks
    15:18 IDF officers slam top ministers for Gaza 'war-mongering'
    16:03 Israeli man moderately injured in criminally linked West Bank shooting
    10:52 Is Israel deliberately strengthening Hamas?
    06:03 Chief IDF rabbi: Army rabbinate needs to inculcate Jewish values
    13:12 Palestinian Authority asks EU to limit import of settlement goods
    04:27 How did IDF gain control over half of the country?
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Living in Israel Studying in English
    Click & Meet our students from all around the world
    Dan Boutique Jerusalem
    New Dan Hotel in Jerusalem Young, Fun & Distinctively Dan Book Now Online!
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Dial 013 for your long-distance calls
    and get all your money back
    US CITIZENS
    Vote for real change. Request your ballot today!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
    www. israel-property.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved