Barak - who served as PM from 1999 to 2001 - officially informed Labor Party Secretary-General Eitan Cabel on Sunday that he intends to run for both the leadership of the party and the position of defense minister. The two posts are currently held by Amir Peretz, who has had a low popularity rating since he came to office in last March's Knesset election, and especially since last summer's war in Lebanon.
"The State of Israel, the IDF and the security establishment are experiencing a shakeup of magnanimous proportions," Barak wrote in a letter to Cabel. "I believe that I possess the capabilities and talents necessary to serve as Israel's next defense minister."
Other candidates in the race include MKs Ophir Pines-Paz, Ami Ayalon, Danny Yatom and Peretz.
Endorsements and Other Reactions
Pines-Paz urged Barak to reconsider his decision. "I say to Barak again not to run, but rather to join me in my campaign," Pines-Paz said. "Together, we'll spread the message - 'Barak for defense minister and Pines-Paz for Labor Party head.' This is the formula that will answer fully and truly to the needs of the State of Israel and the Labor Party."
Tourism Minister Yitzchak Herzog, who served as Cabinet Secretary under Barak, endorsed Barak. "It was not an easy decision," Herzog told Army Radio today, "and it was accompanied by many hesitations, but - unambiguously, the others are good choices, but Barak is first among equals and he is the man who must lead the State of Israel."
Barak and Herzog were both involved in the Labor Party campaign funding scandal that was uncovered some seven years ago - which led to no criminal indictments. This, despite the fact that then-State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg wrote that Herzog headed a fundraising framework that "arrogantly tramples the law," and that Barak and his party had "struck a great blow at the rule of law and at an important fundamental in our lives."
Likud MK Michael Eitan, who led the unsuccessful struggle to have Barak and Herzog indicted, said today, "I hope this time he won't set up corrupt campaign funding associations...
Labor's Ministers Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Shalom Simchon are also backing Barak, and other MKs are expected to join the bandwagon as well.
MK Effie Eitam (National Union) had words of praise for Barak, but said that he must abandon his policies of "withdrawals and restraint in the face of terrorism." Eitam said that Barak was the "father of the unilateral withdrawals," referring to his retreat from Lebanon in 2000.
Eitam did not mention, in his criticism of the new candidate, Barak's offer to quit 95-98% of Yesha at the Camp David summit in 2000.
"I call upon Barak to stand before the public," Eitam said, "and announce whether he admits not only his mistakes in not consulting with others and the like, but his strategic mistakes such as the withdrawal from Lebanon, the abandonment of the Southern Lebanese Army, the lack of reaction to the kidnapping of the three soldiers by Hizbullah in 200, and his support for the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza."
Polls
A Dahaf Institute poll among Labor members eligible to vote in the primary published in Friday's Yediot Aharonot daily showed Ayalon leading the pack, followed by Barak. Until now, polls had shown Peretz's support in the single digits, but the Dahaf poll found that the race was closer than thought.
Ami Ayalon led with 29 percent, Barak with 24%, MK Ophir Paz-Pines 22%, Peretz 18% and Danny Yatom 3%. Ayalon would beat Barak in a head to head race 52 to 41%, but a plurality (45%) said Barak was the most fitting candidate to be defense minister, compared to Ayalon (43%) and Peretz (8%).
MK Avishai Braverman pulled out of the Labor race over the weekend and is now supporting Ayalon - a noted peace activist who served as head of the General Security Services from 1995 to 2000.
Barak's brief term as prime minister had several notable events, many of them controversial:
* The IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon after 18 years in a buffer zone, allowing Hizbullah terrorists to deploy along Israel's northern border, leading to last summer's Katyusha shelling war.
* The extreme left-wing Meretz party quit the coalition after it failed to agree on the powers to be given to a Shas deputy minister in the Ministry of Education.
* Perhaps most controversial was the abortive Camp David 2000 Summit which meant to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Barak offered to pull out of 98 percent of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, including turning over the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, to Arab control. Arafat turned down the offer, and Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed that Arafat was to blame for the failure to reach an agreement. This enabled Barak to later claim that he had "exposed Arafat's true intentions."
After losing the 2001 elections to Ariel Sharon's Likud party by a landslide, Barak left Israel to work as a senior advisor with U.S.-based Electronic Data Systems. He also partnered with a private equity company focusing on "security-related" work.
In 2005, Barak announced his return to Israeli politics, and ran for leadership of the Labor party in November. However, in light of his weak poll showings, Barak dropped out of the race early and declared his support for veteran statesman Shimon Peres.
After Peres lost the race to Amir Peretz and left the Labor party, Barak announced he would stay in the party, despite his shaky relationship with its newly elected leader.
Today, Barak is a partner in the investment company SCP Private Investment Partners, Pennsylvania.
Last month the Labor Party's Central Committee voted to hold its leadership primaries on May 28.
"The State of Israel, the IDF and the security establishment are experiencing a shakeup of magnanimous proportions," Barak wrote in a letter to Cabel. "I believe that I possess the capabilities and talents necessary to serve as Israel's next defense minister."
Other candidates in the race include MKs Ophir Pines-Paz, Ami Ayalon, Danny Yatom and Peretz.
Endorsements and Other Reactions
Pines-Paz urged Barak to reconsider his decision. "I say to Barak again not to run, but rather to join me in my campaign," Pines-Paz said. "Together, we'll spread the message - 'Barak for defense minister and Pines-Paz for Labor Party head.' This is the formula that will answer fully and truly to the needs of the State of Israel and the Labor Party."
Tourism Minister Yitzchak Herzog, who served as Cabinet Secretary under Barak, endorsed Barak. "It was not an easy decision," Herzog told Army Radio today, "and it was accompanied by many hesitations, but - unambiguously, the others are good choices, but Barak is first among equals and he is the man who must lead the State of Israel."
Barak and Herzog were both involved in the Labor Party campaign funding scandal that was uncovered some seven years ago - which led to no criminal indictments. This, despite the fact that then-State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg wrote that Herzog headed a fundraising framework that "arrogantly tramples the law," and that Barak and his party had "struck a great blow at the rule of law and at an important fundamental in our lives."
Likud MK Michael Eitan, who led the unsuccessful struggle to have Barak and Herzog indicted, said today, "I hope this time he won't set up corrupt campaign funding associations...
Labor's Ministers Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Shalom Simchon are also backing Barak, and other MKs are expected to join the bandwagon as well.
MK Effie Eitam (National Union) had words of praise for Barak, but said that he must abandon his policies of "withdrawals and restraint in the face of terrorism." Eitam said that Barak was the "father of the unilateral withdrawals," referring to his retreat from Lebanon in 2000.
Eitam did not mention, in his criticism of the new candidate, Barak's offer to quit 95-98% of Yesha at the Camp David summit in 2000.
"I call upon Barak to stand before the public," Eitam said, "and announce whether he admits not only his mistakes in not consulting with others and the like, but his strategic mistakes such as the withdrawal from Lebanon, the abandonment of the Southern Lebanese Army, the lack of reaction to the kidnapping of the three soldiers by Hizbullah in 200, and his support for the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza."
Polls
A Dahaf Institute poll among Labor members eligible to vote in the primary published in Friday's Yediot Aharonot daily showed Ayalon leading the pack, followed by Barak. Until now, polls had shown Peretz's support in the single digits, but the Dahaf poll found that the race was closer than thought.
Ami Ayalon led with 29 percent, Barak with 24%, MK Ophir Paz-Pines 22%, Peretz 18% and Danny Yatom 3%. Ayalon would beat Barak in a head to head race 52 to 41%, but a plurality (45%) said Barak was the most fitting candidate to be defense minister, compared to Ayalon (43%) and Peretz (8%).
MK Avishai Braverman pulled out of the Labor race over the weekend and is now supporting Ayalon - a noted peace activist who served as head of the General Security Services from 1995 to 2000.
Barak's brief term as prime minister had several notable events, many of them controversial:
* The IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon after 18 years in a buffer zone, allowing Hizbullah terrorists to deploy along Israel's northern border, leading to last summer's Katyusha shelling war.
* The extreme left-wing Meretz party quit the coalition after it failed to agree on the powers to be given to a Shas deputy minister in the Ministry of Education.
* Perhaps most controversial was the abortive Camp David 2000 Summit which meant to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Barak offered to pull out of 98 percent of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, including turning over the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, to Arab control. Arafat turned down the offer, and Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed that Arafat was to blame for the failure to reach an agreement. This enabled Barak to later claim that he had "exposed Arafat's true intentions."
After losing the 2001 elections to Ariel Sharon's Likud party by a landslide, Barak left Israel to work as a senior advisor with U.S.-based Electronic Data Systems. He also partnered with a private equity company focusing on "security-related" work.
In 2005, Barak announced his return to Israeli politics, and ran for leadership of the Labor party in November. However, in light of his weak poll showings, Barak dropped out of the race early and declared his support for veteran statesman Shimon Peres.
After Peres lost the race to Amir Peretz and left the Labor party, Barak announced he would stay in the party, despite his shaky relationship with its newly elected leader.
Today, Barak is a partner in the investment company SCP Private Investment Partners, Pennsylvania.
Last month the Labor Party's Central Committee voted to hold its leadership primaries on May 28.