The Labor Party leadership will convene on Sunday night to discuss the party’s difficult situation and the ‘rebel’ faction which remains adamant in its refusal to accept the leadership of Ehud Barak. The rebels are indicating they do not plan to attend Sunday’s meeting in yet another act of defiance.

Barak will ask the forum to appoint a temporary party secretary after Eitan Cabel in a surprise move announced his resignation last week, preempting efforts by Barak to oust him.

Cabel and his allies insist the Sunday night forum is another step in “Barak’s dictatorial leadership policies” and they thereby refuse to lend a hand towards legitimizing the forum. They insist the decisions have all been made already and the meeting is nothing more than a show to legitimize Barak’s hard-hand rule.

During a meeting between the rebels and Barak last week, they asked to be recognized as a separate faction within the party, seeking a compromise. They wanted authorization to present their own bills in Knesset, apart from the party in exchange for a commitment they would not oppose the coalition and topple the government in a no-confidence motion. Barak refused. Rebel faction MKs include Ofir Pines, Shelly Yacimovitz, and Amir Peretz.

Another option was to split the party by agreement, to permit the rebels to leave and launch their own party.

If Barak gets his way and pushes off party leadership elections for another three years, a split in the party is all but a sure thing. If Barak fails in pushing off party primaries and they are held this year, the rebels are likely to remain in the hope of ousting Barak in the election.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)