Former MK Zehava Galon, who announced on Tuesday that she will run again for the leadership of the Meretz Party, gave an interview to Amnon Abramovich of Channel 12 News following her announcement.
"[Initially] there was no chance [of me running], it did not occur to me. [But then] Minister Esawi Frej resigned and said I must go back and things started moving and the political circumstances changed. I was under insane pressure, and I must admit I was flattered in a way," Galon said.
"My dilemma suddenly was that if I do not run, and if I do not take Meretz back as everyone has been pressuring me to do, then what would I do if Meretz were to collapse?" she continued. "I see that our life enterprise, that of Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sarid, is about to collapse, and when I understand that, I see the energies when people turn to me that I can bring the voter base of Meretz, the leftists, Jews and Arabs who left Meretz," she added.
On cooperating with the chairwoman of the Labor Party, Merav Michaeli, Galon said, "Merav is my friend, and it could be that under different circumstances I would be thinking like her, [in the past] I thought like she does that there should be Labor and Meretz to its left. I think we can talk to each other if I head Meretz and, since we have a good relationship, I believe we can both maximize and increase the power of both parties."
"If it were up to me, if I am elected Meretz leader, I think we will sit together and talk about a joint alliance of Labor-Meretz for one purpose at the moment - to save the bloc. I think that two women leaders who unite, which has never happened, by the way, in the State of Israel, they can increase their power, bring some energy, some momentum."
Abramovich said that "when Meretz voters go to the polls, to me they are like people who are going to donate blood, like people who are going to help save lives."
Galon replied, "I can't stand it, Amnon. I'm going back to Meretz, I do not want them to come and vote for Meretz out of distress. I do not want them to vote out of pity, I want them to vote because they are committed to Meretz, because believe in Meretz."