Israeli Labor needs to say what it stands for – not against

If the party is to have any relevance, it must articulate its raison d’etre, starting with a Labor critique of the judicial overhaul for the workers it is supposed to represent.

The argument most widely heard among anti-overhaul protesters is that Israel is abandoning its democratic roots.

Given the Labor Party’s paramount role in Israel’s democratic foundation, it could be expected to be a natural leader in this movement – taking centre stage to re-assert itself, and all that it represents, at a time when its decades of leadership is looking, to liberals, like a golden age when compared to the present.

In May, Labor Leader Merav Michaeli was booed off stage at an anti-overhaul protest after speaking for less than two minutes. In almost every public opinion poll conducted since the judicial crisis begun, Labor is sinking into the depths of oblivion. It is no longer a matter of “crossing the electoral threshold” and keeping the four seats it has. Today, the party is lucky to score even 2.0%.

In March 2021, Michaeli led the Labor Party to an unexpected win of seven-seats – outpacing expectations and appearing to confirm a growing buzz around her as the next great saviour of the Israeli left. Two years, and one major strategic error later, her reputation on the left could not be more different. Michaeli’s decision not to merge with Meretz in the previous election has embedded a deep and intense acrimony towards her – the aborted merger saw the opposition bloc lose four vital seats.

Michaeli protests that she did not make the decision alone, that “the whole party was opposed to joining with Meretz.” She maintains optimism about Labor’s prospects,  comparing Israel’s surge of progressive energy to the backlash against Donald Trump after November 2016.  She maintains that the anti-overhaul movement and the high stakes with which it is dealing present “a huge opportunity” for Labor and the progressive Left.