In response to polls predicting that Labor might win only 8 or 10 votes, Labor Chairman Ehud Barak has appointed senior Labor personality MK Ofer Pines-Paz to head a task force to improve Labor's public image.

Barak had already planned such a post, but had intended to fill it only after Labor's primary elections. Labor members have known their situation was poor, but the polls released Thursday hit even the most optimistic of the party hard.