Israeli Left - More of The Same Won't Work - A Vision for Much Needed Change

Last Friday I attended a conference hosted  by Peace Now at the ZOA building in Tel Aviv.  I like the idea of a left-wing conference held in a Zionist venue and to be honest I went to learn.

Here I should declare my interest and state for the record that the day Ehud Barak left the Labour party is the day I decided it was time to join, and did so.  I am now a member of the Labour party.  So there you have it.

Anyway, back to the conference.  They had split the morning into workshops and I attended the workshop on the “The Political Map in 2011.  Well to be honest. I was intrigued.  There was an impressive and comprehensive panel of politicos.  Perhaps we were going to hear something fresh, something new, maybe even inspiring?

Alas it was not to be.  We were promised a debate involving a great deal of audience participation.  To much frustration, that is not what we got.  Sadly, what we got was more of the same from our esteemed panel.  A simple question was asked and short answers were also requested from the panel in order to allow for the conference attendees to have their say.  Sounds simple enough.  But…here we are talking about politics in Israel, how foolish of me.

Dov Khenin (Hadash) set the tone with a political speech.  Amir Peretz (Labour) did much the same after turning up late.  Sorry guys, but it was neither the time or the place, not to mention not relevant to the question asked.  The there was Eldad Yaniv, one of the founders of the National Left organisation and soon to be political party.  His main point was that we need three new frameworks for the left-wing camp, a centrist left-wing party, a Zionist left-wing party and a radical left-wing party.  We should let go of the past and start anew. 

Running through my head at the time was the question “why exactly”?  He said all this after admitting that he was nostalgic for the good old days of 1992.  I was somewhat confused.  A lot had been said about the need to put our egos away and join together for the good of the country and so as we can stop Lieberman in his tracks.  Not for Eldad Yaniv however.  Much as I admire the initiative Yaniv and his associates have taken in forming the National left, it seems to me that if not reinventing the wheel, Eldad is attempting to rebrand the wheel and it just doesn’t make sense. 

Three left-wing frameworks already exist, as flawed as they might be.  The Labour party is a centrist party which can appeal to those moderates who fled to Kadima in the last election, with little to show for it.  (Here again, I must put my hand up and say I did exactly that.) 

Meretz is a party which is left-wing and appeals to left wingers (more so than labourites) who are still Zionist.  For that matter to the best of my knowledge both Labour and Meretz are Zionist parties. 

And then there is Hadash and other radical left-wing and non Zionist groups who I believe play an important role in a healthy Israeli democracy.  So Eldad we have no need for three new frameworks.  They already exist. 

The National left should join one of the Zionist parties and work to rekindle the fire and passion within the existing framework.  Do not discount the platforms and infrastructure which exist and that can be re-energised and fully exploited.  Ehud Barak has had a major hand in decimating the Labour party (albeit with much help from others in the party who shared his obsession with power), but he has also given us the opportunity to rebuild and return the Labour party to its roots. 

Then there is the incredibly rich history of the Labour party.  Eldad, it does not matter if you believe that the Labour party built the state or not.  What is important is that many people believe that it did and this has great appeal and considerable “pulling power”.  So please Eldad, put your ego aside and use your considerable talents where they can do most good, back in the Labour party. 

 Haim Oron (Meretz) did actually speak to the point, even if I do disagree with his strategy.  he wants to see a joint list for the next election, however, I believe that one left-wing list which contains a radical element will push moderates away from the left-wing camp and into the arms of Kadima.   Eitan Cabel rambled on in his own amiable manner also ignoring  the question.  Yuli Tamir shocked us all by stating that if the left could not get its act together, she would vote for Kadima.  Sorry Yuli, but many of us tried that last time and look where it got us.  Think again! 

And then there was  Isaac “Bougie” Herzog.  He wants to see a united leftwing camp with the Labour party at its heart (and him at the head, I suppose).  I have to agree with him that this is the strategy which makes the most sense, but which will demand a great deal of effort and cooperation by and between the different parts.  The only difference here is that heart will be very much on the right side of the body.

And different is a good thing, in fact it is imperative if the left is to regroup and rebuild a credible alternative to right-wing freight train running away and leading us to the inevitable and disastrous wreck.  

More of the same is no longer viable.  The wheel already exists and is in desperate need of attention.  The left needs to dare to think new, think different and think big.  This is the time to take the best of the history of which there is a great deal and fuse it with a modern and daring approach to the considerable challenges facing the country.

It is time to cease the obsession with being in power and time to build a strong, dynamic and credible alternative which can be sustained over the long-term.  In doing so the left will attract Israelis in their droves, who hunger for such an alternative along with true leadership out from the jaws of impending disaster.  

A genuine left-wing Zionist camp based upon the values set out in the declaration of independence re-engineered for the 21st century is what is needed and what will win the hearts and minds of the people.  That’s how you get into power.