On the eve of a dramatic Labor Party conference set for Tuesday evening, party chairman Ehud Barak is refusing to promise that he will not try to bring the party into Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition - even if party members vote against such a proposal.
Labor MKs who oppose the idea have assailed Barak for his unwillingness to make such a commitment.
"This is unacceptable and bizarre behavior by the party chairman, who refuses to abide by democratic decisions," Barak's opponents said Saturday.
MK Eitan Cabel, Labor's secretary general and one of the leaders of Barak's opposition, said, "Barak, as chairman of the party, should have said that he would accept any decision [by party members]. But we have already come to learn that Barak's promises have no value. He will promise one thing now, and do something else later. It is sad, but this is the reality."
At a meeting with other opponents Friday, Cabel said, "If Barak wants to be defense minister, let him be a professional defense minister with Netanyahu."
Sources close to Barak said that the chairman intends to rally party members to his cause on Tuesday, and that he will not deal with media spin, which they blamed on his opponents.
MK Isaac Herzog is considered crucial to what the party decides.
Herzog has asked Barak for his reasons for wanting to join the coalition, and the party chairman is planning to respond in detail.
MK Ophir Pines-Paz, who is opposed to joining a Netanyahu coalition, said, "Even after my meeting with Barak, I still do not understand what offer [from Netanyahu] he intends to bring to the party. He did not present me with a thing."
