In 2001, special elections for the position of prime minister took place after the resignation of Ehud Barak. Barak, then the leader of the Labor party, lost to Ariel Sharon.[3] The Labor Party joined Sharon's new party, with Barak subsequently retiring from political life.[4] Following his resignation, Barak was replaced as party leader by Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who defeated Speaker of the KnessetAvraham Burg in a leadership election in December 2001.[5] Due to tensions regarding the leadership election, it was decided that a second leadership election would be held in 2002.[6] In May 2002, Eitan Cabel stated that Member of the Knesset Haim Ramon would run for the party's leadership, with Cabel serving as Ramon's campaign manager.[7] In July, Ben-Eliezer and Ramon agreed to hold the election on 19 November.[8]
On 5 November 2002, following Labor's withdrawal from the government, the Knesset was dissolved,[14] and new elections were called for January 2003.[15] On 12 November, Mitzna, Ben-Eliezer and Ramon participated in a televised debate on Channel 2.[16]
Campaign
Mitzna campaigned on a solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He stated that Israel should negotiate a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, which would include the evacuation of Israeli outposts.[13]
Ramon criticized Mitzna for advocating negotiations with Palestinian authorities, arguing that Israel should unilaterally withdraw from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He also criticized Ben-Eliezer's plan to construct a Separation barrier in the West Bank, believing that Israel should withdraw before a barrier is built.[17] Ramon also criticized Ben-Eliezer for participating in Sharon's Government.[18]
Both Ben-Eliezer and Ramon coneded defeat after initial results showed a Mitzna victory.[23] Ben-Eliezer was assigned the second spot on the party's list for the 2003 election,[24] where the party won 19 seats, then an all-time low.[25] After the election, Mitzna announced his resignation from the party leadership in May 2005,[26] and was replaced by Shimon Peres, who became the interim leader until the next leadership election took place.[27]
References
^Shmueli, Smadar; Somfalvi, Attila (2002-11-20). "מצנע נבחר ליו"ר העבודה עם 53.9% מהקולות" [Mitzna elected leader of Labor with 53.9% of the vote]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-26.
^Karni, Yuval (2012-11-26). "אהוד ברק הודיע: פורש מהחיים הפוליטיים" [Ehud Barak announced his retirement from political life]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
^Bar Gefen, Linoi (2001-12-27). "בן אליעזר ניצח; הרב עובדיה התקשר לברך" [Ben-Eliezer Won; Rabbi Ovadia called to congratulate]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-28.
^Shmueli, Smadar (2022-08-01). "עמרם מצנע שוקל להתמודד על ראשות העבודה" [Amram Mitzna is considering running for leadership of Labor]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-01.
^ abShmueli, Smadar (2002-08-13). "מצנע: אפעל להסדר קבע עם הפלסטינים" [Mitzna: I will work towards permanent settlement with Palestinians]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-01.
^Shmueli, Smadar (2002-11-11). "סופית: הבחירות יתקיימו ב-28 בינואר" [Officially: Elections will take place on 28 January]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^Shmueli, Smadar; Somfalvi, Attila (2002-11-13). "העימות: פואד ורמון הזיעו, מצנע שתה מים" [The Debate: Fuad and Ramon sweated, Mitzna drank water]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^Bahur, Diana (2002-09-02). "רמון: "מצנע דחק עצמו לשמאל הקיצוני"" [Ramon: Mitzna has pushed himself towards the Radical Left]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-02.
^Lanski, Na'ama (2012-03-15). ""השריפות בכרמל הן עניין ידוע ולא עשו דבר"" ["Fires in the Caramel are a known issue and nothing has been done"]. Israel Hayom. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^Somfalvi, Attila (2003-10-30). "האם חיים רמון פורש מהחיים הפוליטיים?" [Is Haim Ramon retiring from political life?]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-25.