Peres has been synonymous with the Labor Party for decades. He turned 82 this past summer, on the first day that Jews were officially banned from living in Gaza. Peres has been an MK in every Knesset since the 4th Knesset, in 1959, on behalf of various formats of the Labor Party. He started out as a member of Mapai, the Land of Israel Workers Party.
Peres served as Chairman of the Labor Party three times - from 1977 until 1997, except for the three Rabin years, and again from 2003 until this month.
People close to Peres have sharply attacked him for the move. MK Ophir Pines-Paz, a leading Labor member who held a Cabinet post in the national unity government for the past ten months, said, "Peres will bear this stain for the rest of his life... People destroyed their political careers, paid heavy prices and were beaten in order to advance him, and in the end he does this. I did not believe that he would act this way."
Peres' close aide since 1990, Yoram Marciano, said this morning, "He spent years calling upon the youth to join politics and contribute, and then he goes and does this?"
On the other hand, Peres' long-time personal secretary, Efrat Duvdevani, said that she believes that Peres' decision was made with the best interests of the country in mind. Duvdevani is the Director-General of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, which Peres headed until earlier this month.
In a press conference in Tel Aviv last night, Peres said, "My activity in the [Labor] Party has come to an end. Without minimizing my emotional bonds with the party's historic path, and to thousands of its members, I must give priority to the greater consideration. I learned from my 'teacher and rabbi' David Ben-Gurion to prefer the State over the party."
About Ariel Sharon, Peres said, "I do not believe that it is possible to advance the peace process in the current political situation, other than with a coalition. The only one who can lead this is Ariel Sharon."
Former Labor Party Cabinet Minister Moshe Shachal is another one who regrets and is critical of Peres' move. "As a very long-time friend of his," Shachal said this morning, "I'm personally sorry that he is finishing his career in such a way. His support and activities on behalf of peace and the like do not need anyone's approval. But on the political front, I believe that he should not have done this. It's just not done. For him to leave because he lost [the race for Labor Chairman], this is not done; if he would have won, we would never have said that only Sharon can make peace. For him to say now that only a right-wing man can do so - he himself used to get angry when that would be said." Shachal also had criticism of Amir Peretz for not making greater efforts to keep Peres in the party.
Peres lost narrowly to Amir Peretz three weeks ago in the race for Chairman of the Labor Party. Though Peres has lost almost all of the elections in which he has run during his political career, this one appeared to be particularly shocking for him, for two reasons: He had been favored to win by a large margin, and Peretz's approach on many issues is strikingly different than that of Peres.
Another former Peres ally, Yossi Beilin of the extreme left-wing Meretz party, said that Peres "made a great mistake that is liable to strike a mortal blow at the chances for a peace." Former Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid is reportedly planning to retire from politics tomorrow.
Likud front-running candidate Binyamin Netanyahu said, "It is now clearer than ever - Kadima [lit., Forward] means Leftward... Peres' joining Kadima is the final proof that it is simply a 'Labor-B' party. The Likud voters will now return en masse to the right way and to their warm home." The Likud plans to promote "A Vote for Sharon is a Vote for Peres" as one of its campaign slogans - and for this reason, Kadima is planning not to highlight Peres in its own campaign.
Army Radio reported that a poll released this morning shows an increase in support for Kadima in light of Peres' decision. Repeatedly throughout his career, Peres did well in polls and surveys that ultimately turned out to be wrong.
Labor MK Yitzchak Herzog said, "One does not leave an ideological home for a virtual camp that has stars but no real content."
MK Chaim Ramon, like Herzog and Pines, resigned his Labor Cabinet post earlier this month - but unlike them, he promptly joined Sharon's Kadima. As expected, Ramon warmly approved Peres' move: "For a year and a half I have tried to tell Shimon that this is the way the political map should look... I wanted him to make this move. The costume party is over, and the moment of truth has arrived for the politicians, and I hope for the voters as well."
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