Labor Party Memo - Grade: A PDF

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Professor Nadav Shelef...

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Emi l yToml i n PS665 Pa r t yMe mo 4/ 29/ 19

Labor Party Memo Background Characterized by a social democratic platform and center-left leaning policy, the modern Labor Party was established in 1968 and was the successor of Mapai, the party representing labor Zionists until 1968. After the fall of the Mapai, a unification with Rafi and Aḥdut ha ʿAv oda occurred to form the party we see today. Labor has socialist roots, and at is formation valued strong social benefits and economic planning, which they later moderated to focus on “greater economic stabilization and deregulation” (Britannica). The Labor Party used to be the hegemonic character in Israeli politics up until Likud took over in 1977, they have not been able to assert the dominance they once had. The current leader of the labor party is Ehud Barak. Some past influential leaders over the past decades are David Ben Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres. The decline of the Israeli left can be explained by their stance on key issues. Party Position on Key Issues The Labor party supports “the policy of social pluralism and equality, and since the 1990s, a free market “with a soul” economic policy” (Lis). With thisc, where does this put them on the key issues we have discussed in class? In the issue of territory, the Labor party has supported greater concessions to the Palestinians in the peace process. They support the land for peace idea of the territorial dispute. As of 2019, the labor party agrees that a two-state solution would be the best way to deal with the conflict. This is not super popular among the right and a lot of Israelis which helps explain their fall from power. The Labor Party is secular, and does not support the religious push for regulation of transportation and public areas. They push for formal support of all religious organizations and believe that Heradi men and women should be drafted into the Israeli Defense Force. Economically, Labor strives for more equality amongst the entirety of the Israeli community. They want to provide comprehensive social services for everyone with strong state intervention. The mixed market economy is still important to the party, but with the country becoming richer, there has been a fall in state support for the poorer communities, which the labor party wants to change. On the intersectionality of the many different groups, the Labor party wants all people to feel welcomed and to be a part of the community. They want there to be a less polarized society and help smooth the lines of ethnic differences (Labor Party 2019). Policies to Enact The Labor party has many different policies that they want to enact in 2019, that cross a wide expanse of issues. Below are several policy solutions they have released on the campaign trail that would apply to stances listed above. 1. Separate major settlement blocs from the other settlements and outposts, work to develop the agreed settlement blocs and to stop the investing and funding for isolated settlements and outposts.

2. Eliminate the phenomenon of contact workers, with an emphasis on the public sector, canceling the status of the contractor’s teachers, and the improper employment model called shoulder to shoulder. 3. Strengthen agriculture and farmers, and to strengthen agriculture as a national and Zionist value. 4. Fully implement our plan to combat corruption, which includes setting term limits for Prime Minister at two terms and the enact of the Basic Law on Public Service. 5. Enable communities to influence their way of life, including through the use of public transportation and the opening of trade on the Sabbath. 6. Build 300,000 housing units under government construction to enable every young family to start buying apartments at a reasonable price. 7. Cancel the phenomenon of political appointments and to commit to appointing the best people to the senior positions in the civil service. 8. Implement the state nursing law. 9. Ensure free education from the age of zero in order to minimize inequality within the system 10. Implement a national plan for socio-economic treatment in Arab society, which focuses on housing solutions, personal security, and education (Labor Party 2019). Ministerial Positions Because the Labor party only received 6 seats this election, a historic low for Labor, they will not have any foreseeable chance of receiving powerful and coveted ministerial positions such as Ministry of the Interior or Ministry of Defense. But, I do think it is reasonable to ask for any of the following: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of the Development of the Periphery, Negev, and Galilee, Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, and Ministry of Justice. The labor party wants the ministry of agriculture and rural development because we want to work to better the settlements and to slow the push of illegal settlements within the West Bank. We want the ministry of Construction to plan public works projects such as housing for communities that are in desperate need, and also providing more public spaces for Israelis. The ministry of development in the periphery, Negev and Galilee would be useful because these are areas with Arab and Druze populations, we are working to better the relationships with them and also provide economic support. The ministry of transport and road safety also could be an effective way to make transportation more secular by allowing buses to run on the Sabbath, this could then translate into policy for more open trade on the Sabbath. The Ministry of justice would give us the ability to bust corruption within the Knesset and help to take steps towards enacting a written constitution in Israel. Prime Minister Nomination The Blue-White Party is the party in which I nominate for Prime Minister, as they received 35 seats, the same amount as the Likud, and their stances and values align closest with ours. Although they are more centrist, if they were to give us any of the ministries listed above we would be willing to enter a coalition with them. I would assume that other coalition partners would be Ra’am Balad, Hadal Taal, Meretz and one extremely unlikely party such as United

Torah Judaism. The Labor Party in my opinion did not receive enough seats to have legitimacy as the prime minister of the country, Blue-White is would still likely give the labor party some of their desired ministries during the Knesset negotiations if, and when, the two parties work to form a coalition together.

Works Cited Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Israel Labour Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Apr. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Israel-Labour-Party. “Labor Party: Party Platform.” Party Platform of the Labor Party, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/party-platform-of-the-labor-party. Lis, Jonathan, et al. “Israel Labor Party.” Haaretz.com, 31 Dec. 1969, www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/TAG-israel-labor-party-1.5598893.)...