Published: 6 September 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
LABOR MK ITZIK SHMULI had something of a rude awakening in July when, despite polls projecting his surefire win in the party’s rush primaries, he placed third – just behind fellow 2011 social protest alum MK Stav Shaffir, and far behind Amir Peretz, who was elected to lead the ailing party for a second time.
The result of the primaries — Peretz received 47 percent of the vote, compared to Shaffir’s 26.9% and Shmuli’s 26.3% — can, at least partially, be attributed to a new electoral power: the vegan vote.
Israel has the world’s highest per capita vegan population, and that trend is both accelerating and becoming more political.
About 1,000 vegans and animal rights activists have recently joined the Labor Party with the aim of backing lawmakers affiliated with their cause. The July 2 primaries saw them vote mainly for Peretz, who didn’t really need their support, and for Shaffir, who placed second but has since left the party to join the Democratic Camp, a faction comprising former prime minister Ehud Barak’s Israel Democratic Party and Meretz.
FULL STORY Vegan animal lovers uncage political aspirations ahead of Israeli elections (Times of Israel)
Photo: Labor leader Amir Peretz, centre, with Vegan Friendly founder and CEO Omri Paz, right, and lobbyist Anna Nemkov, left. (Courtesy/Zman Yisrael)
