Majadele supports Ayalon for Labor chief; Yatom backs Barak

Labor Party leadership hopeful Ami Ayalon met with Culture and Sport Minister Raleb Majadele on Monday to discuss their future cooperation in the race for leadership of the party. The two discussed their joint campaign within the Arab sector in which Majadele, a Muslim Arab, has some sway.

The former Shin Bet security service chief and naval commander came second in the March 28 first round vote, after former prime minister Ehud Barak.

Neither of the two candidates was able to garner the 40 percent of the vote required to declare an outright winner, necessitating a second round set to take place on June 12.

Meanwhile, MK Danny Yatom, who came last in the five-man first round announced Monday that he would back Barak in the June 12 vote, Israel Radio reported.

The radio quoted Yatom as saying that Barak has "the richest political and defense experience."

Outgoing party chairman and Defense Minister Amir Peretz came in third in the primaries and did not qualify for the second round. Majadele is one of Peretz' leading supporters.

Some 15,000 Arabs are active members of the Labor Party, but less than 12 percent of them voted for Ayalon in the primary. Peretz, however, received 34 percent of the Arab vote, mainly due to Majadele's activism and open support of his candidacy.

Barak gained 33 percent of the Arab vote due to the efforts of his close associate Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, and despite the fact that he was the prime minister when 12 Israeli Arabs were killed in the October 2000 riots.

Ayalon is hoping to steer most of the Arab support Peretz received in the first round over to his camp in the second round.

Following an agreement struck between Ayalon and Peretz, ensuring that Peretz back Ayalon in his bid for leadership, Majadele began campaigning for Ayalon within the Arab sector. Majadele confessed in private that he would not be able to instruct all those who initially voted for Peretz to vote for Ayalon in the second round, but added that he was fairly certain that most of them will in fact back Ayalon.

Barak's camp also sought the Majadele's support, but the minister responded that he owes Peretz since he appointed him minister. Majadele added, however, that he believes that even if Barak should win the second round, the former prime minister will not strip him of his ministerial position in order to retain good relations with his Arab constituents who still resent him for his role as leader during the October 2000 riots.

On Sunday, Peretz announced his support for Ayalon in the second round of the party's leadership primaries.

Peretz and Ayalon met Saturday night for a third time, in an attempt to cement a final agreement between them.

Speaking to Channel 2 Television, Peretz said Sunday that he had decided to back Ayalon due to their "shared social agenda."

Barak, meanwhile, is planning to launch a campaign against Ayalon, in reaction to his deal with Peretz, under the banner: "Vote Ami and you'll get Amir."

Stickers carrying the slogans are intended to be distributed in the kibbutzim, presumably in an attempt to aim for Ayalon's base of support. Polls reveal that Peretz enjoys very limited support among Labor members in the kibbutzim.

Another tactic used by Barak's campaign managers is to allude to the possibility that Peretz and Ayalon had decided on an alliance even before the first round of the primaries. Barak's campaign will issue another sticker to address this issue, this time with the slogan: "The Peretz-Ayalon-Ramon fix."

Meanwhile, Barak and his men are trying to secure support from the Arab sector. Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer is especially active in this drive.

Barak on Sunday called the union between Ayalon and Peretz was an "unholy alliance," adding that he feels a strong current of support for his campaign.

	Raleb Majadele attending outgoing Amir Peretz's formal announcement of his support for Ami Ayalon on Sunday. (Alon Ron)