The Labor Party today officially told Chairman Hanan Melcer of the Central Elections Committee that retired general Tal Russo was on reserve duty the last time he served and should therefore be eligible to run in the April 9th Knesset elections.
The claim was accompanied by legal opinions sent by attorneys especially hired for the case and a constitutional judge. Justice Melcer had found that Russo's service was too recent to allow him to run under legislation requiring a cooling-off period after active duty. Labor claims Russo made it clear when he was asked to serve by former chief-of-staff Gadi Eisenkot that he would do so on a reserves basis, allowing for outside pursuits not allowed active-duty soldiers.