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In-Depth Information
the former as naive and condemned Peretz for his poor performance in the 2006 war with
Hizballah. Ehud Barak (1996 -2001; since 2007) had to deal with the failed peace process. No
one denied his high intelligence, but nobody claimed that he had any charisma either. Equally,
his arrogance and lack of political skills created much confl ict within the party.
Finally, the party drifted too far to the left in 2002 -2007, which was especially damaging
since voters were headed in the opposite direction. Barak brought it back toward the center,
but it remains unclear whether he or anyone else can rebuild Labor into a ruling party.
Meretz
Meretz, a left-wing secular party, was formed from the small Ratz, Mapam, and Shinui parties
prior to the 1992 election. Its name is an acronym standing for Mapam and Ratz and means
“energy.” The party's platform called for ending the Israeli presence in the West Bank; equality
for Israeli Arabs, women, and homosexuals; and separation of religion and state.
In the 1992 election, at the peak of hopes for a breakthrough to peace, Meretz won twelve
seats, an all-time high for a left-wing party. It became the third-largest party in the Knesset
and joined the center-left coalition. Its number of seats fell somewhat in 1996 and 1999 but,
after the failure of the peace process, declined sharply to only six seats in 2003, when the
widely respected Yossi Sarid resigned as party leader. Meretz disbanded and reformed as Ya-
had (Together).
Yahad sought to resuscitate the Israeli left-wing peace camp, which had been decimated by
events, with very limited results. In 2005 the party added Meretz back into its name to attract
voters, eventually dropping “Yahad” altogether. The reformulation and name changes did not
bring electoral triumph, and the party won just fi ve seats in 2006. In 2009 the party tried merg-
ing with the New Movement (HaTnua HaHadasha), but even together, under the leadership
of Peace Now founder Haim Oron, the two parties won only three seats. The party's response
to the electorate's shift toward the center has been to move further left, which has not proven
a successful strategy.
Meimad
Meimad is a left-of-center religious party of Datim that takes positions similar to those of the
Labor Party. It is the only religious party that does not support the religious status quo but ar-
gues that coercion alienates mainstream Israelis from the Jewish religious tradition. Thus, for
example, it argues that places of entertainment should be legally open on Shabbat even though
this is contrary to religious law. Meimad has a complex history of allying with Labor and other
parties. With a limited constituency and a position contrasting with the views of most Datim,
it has never won a seat on its own.
Arab Parties
In classifi cations of Arab politics, Israel's Arab parties are often said to be left-wing. This des-
ignation is misleading. They are fi rst and foremost interest-group parties that are also opposed
to Israel's existence as a Jewish state. Their emphasis on the latter issue minimizes their ability
