311_Herzog with Dominissini.
(photo credit: Avi Ohayun / GPO)
Labor leadership candidates Isaac Herzog and Avishay Braverman will submit rival
proposals at the next Labor Party convention that are intended to harm incumbent
Labor chairman Ehud Barak.
Braverman submitted a proposal last week that
calls for beginning the process of removing Labor from Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu’s coalition if the diplomatic process is not expedited.
His
proposal will demand a settlement freeze and direct talks between Israel and the
Palestinians, two conditions the Americans are no longer
requesting.
Herzog submitted his own proposal on Sunday, which calls to
advance the Labor leadership primary from October 2012 to June 2011.
Both
proposals will be voted on in a Labor convention expected to be held at the end
of January, the first convention for the party since it joined the government
more than a year and a half ago.
Braverman said he would not support
Herzog’s proposal because he believes it is wrong to deal with personal politics
while the party’s fate remains undetermined.
Sources close to Herzog
criticized Braverman for issuing his proposal prematurely, when the United
States is initiating a new diplomatic approach.
“Herzog is making a big
mistake by focusing on personal aspirations that no one cares about rather than
what matters, which is that real peace is properly pursued,” Braverman said. “I
no longer buy indirect peace processes that are virtual and nothing but spin. We
need proof that this process is for real.”
Sources close to Herzog said
there was no reason for Braverman not to support his proposal. They said they
believed that not only would Braverman eventually back it but so would Barak as
well.
No date has been set yet for the long-awaited convention, but it
must be held within 30 days of when the hundreds of signatures submitted by the
candidates requesting the convention are verified as valid.
Barak’s
associates expressed confidence that he could defeat both proposals. They
expressed frustration with Herzog for submitting his proposal while Barak was
conducting important diplomatic meetings in the United States.
Peace Now
began an advertising campaign on Monday pressuring Labor ministers to quit the
government. The campaign includes quotes from Barak, Herzog and Braverman about
leaving the coalition if there is no peace process.
The ad reads: “There
is no freeze! There is no diplomatic process! Leave the rightwing government
now!”