The first of the remaining Labor ministers quit the government Monday, following Defense Minister Ehud Barak's move to take four MKs with him and start a new faction on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference, Isaac Herzog said that he is glad Barak left the party as it presented a chance to save the Labor party. Herzog said that he notified Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a short while earlier that he was quitting the government. He added that he hoped Labor Ministers Avishay Braverman and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer would join him shortly. Herzog said he spoke to party officials about preserving party unity and to decide on a date for new primary elections.
Herzog said that today, "Labor returns to being the political home of even those who felt betrayed by it."
Speaking in English, he said: "We will serve the people from the opposition. The Netanyahu government has come to a standstill in the peace process and in dealing with Lieberman's racist undertones. I will work with my colleagues to save the party."
