Dozens of supporters of Amir Peretz, the former chairman of the Labor party, gathered around their leader for a fiery meeting Friday morning in Tel Aviv. One of the activists said Labor had removed Peretz from power because it is a racist party. "There are people [in Labor] who could have easily been accepted to a Third Reich honor guard," the activist said.
The activist, Yehuda Alush of Beersheva, apologized for having hurt people with the statement, but did not retract it, despite the entreaties from the event's organizers.
Peretz himself attacked Party chief Ehud Barak for remaining silent on major issues for too long. "I know that the Plan for Keeping Quiet is a lot of fun," Peretz said. But the Vipassana [meditation] is over."