Barak slams Labor leaders seeking chairmanship in letter

Current party chairman attacks "party members who seek to put 'I' before country," asks steering c'tee to reject request to move primaries forward.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
barak kill 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
barak kill 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Defense Minister and Labor party chairman Ehud Barak slammed Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog and others for his attempts to enlist the Labor party steering committee to move internal elections for the party leadership forward from their original date in 2011.
In a letter addressed to member of the committee, Barak said, "I am confident that the relentless subversion and intriguing will receive a cold shoulder." He continued," There are members of the party who seek to put the 'I' before country, all for the purpose of completely exposing themselves to the public. There are those who chose to engage [in this political campaign] precisely during this most sensitive period for the peace process within petty party politics, and involvement [in this feuding] at this time would harm the ongoing negotiations."
RELATED:Ben-Eliezer denies coordinating campaign to oust BarakHerzog asks Ben-Eliezer to help push forward Labor primaryBarak added for good measure, "It would be a tragic mistake to abandon the campaign for peace at this time and to lead Israeli into a state of international isolation."
The defense minister's choice of words wouldn't mark the first time he has sought to use the stalled peace process as a tool to maintain his leadership of the dovish Labor Party.
On Thursday, one-time allies Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Barak traded blows as the battle for the leadership of the foundering Labor Party intensified on the day the party marked the assassination of its former leader Yitzhak Rabin.
“It is a pity that in the peace camp, we don’t know how to join together and avoid undermining each other, Barak complained during a party function Thursday evening in Holon, held to mark the Rabin anniversary.
“We have not lost the way, even after the loss of Yitzhak [Rabin, 15 years ago]. Peace and security are vital interests for the country, and the chance of achieving them is the main reason that we are part of the government,” he told Labor Party steering committee members during the event.