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The Labor PartyThe Labor Party (Mifleget ha-Avodah ha-Yisraelit/Maarach) was established in 1968 with the joining of Mapai, Ahdut Ha’avodah and Labor Rafi. Labor is the dominant left-of-center party in Israel. Until Menachem Begin’s victory in 1977, every Israeli Prime Minister came from Labor. Since 1977, Labor leaders Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak have served as Prime Ministers. The Israel Labor Party is a social-democratic political party. It's ideological vision for Israel is based upon the values of the Jewish labor movement, which are in turn, products of the social experience and cultural heritage of the Jewish people. The Labor Party has a principled commitment to the maintenance of a democratic form of government; to the enhancement of the social and economic well being of all of Israel's citizens; to the strengthening of Israel's economy based on free market principles; and, to the achievement of a comprehensive peace with security in the Middle East. The Labor Party is pragmatic in its approach. It recognizes the necessity to compromise in both the domestic arena and in foreign affairs in order to promote political stability and the advancement of Israel's fundamental interests. Leaders of Israel's Labor Party have included David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Abba Eban, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Ehud Barak. The head of the Labor Party today is Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. Political PlatformAs approved at the 6th Party Congress, May 1997 Introduction The Israel Labour Party will strive to create a new reality in which there will be no more terrorism and war, and in which tremendous financial resources will no longer be committed to the arms race. Israel's peace and security policy will be aimed toward ending the Israeli-Arab conflict. The regional policy will be based on pursuing economic cooperation in various fields; mutual ties in the areas of culture, science and technology; joint development of the standard of living and welfare; and fulfilling the promise of a better future with greater opportunities for the young generation in our region. In order to achieve this goal, Israel will continue to conduct peace negotiations, while at the same time, combating the forces of fundamentalism and terrorism that aim to destroy this process. This new reality will strengthen Israel's security and standing and will encourage economic prosperity and the welfare of the state.
Israel's Security The Government of Israel is responsible for the personal and general security of the citizens of the State of Israel. Israel's peace policy is based on the reconciliation between both peoples and their readiness to live in respect of mutual rights to self-determination and statehood, and on the superior deterrent capability and strength of the IDF.
A stable peace is, in and of itself, an important security element for the strength of the State. This stability is based on, among other things, defensible borders and vital security arrangements which the Israel Labour Party sees as essential elements for all future security arrangements.
The reconciliation of the people of the region and their readiness to live in respect of the rights to self-determination are also important elements for the future nature of the region.
Israel will continue to develop its qualitative advantage over those of Arab armies, and will place a high priority on independent research and development in the area of defense and on expanding the manufacture of innovative and sophisticated weaponry and material. Combating terror and subversion, will be a fundamental component of Israel's peace and security policy. The fight against terrorism requires a firm stand, sophistication, determination, patience, regional and international mobilization - the foundations of which have already been laid by the previous Labour Government.
Israel will struggle to prevent nations whose ideologies are based on hatred and ruin, first and foremost, the nations of Iran and Iraq, from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. It will work within the regional and international framework to prevent the lethal combination of fundamentalist ideology and unconventional weapons.
Final Status Agreement with the Palestinians The negotiations will be based on the Oslo Accords, with guarantees for the State of Israel to exist in peace and security within defensible borders, and with precise definitions of the elements for the normalization of relations between Israel and its neighbors.
1. Jerusalem United Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty. The Palestinian residents of the city will enjoy municipal rights in the quarters in which they reside, and special arrangements will be established for the sites sacred to Christianity and Islam.
2. Self-Determination for the Palestinians The Labour Party recognizes the Palestinians' right to self-determination, and does not rule out in this connection the establishment of a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty.
3. Security The Jordan river will be Israel's eastern security border and there will be no other army stationed to the west of it.
4. Borders and Settlements Israel extends its sovereignty over areas that are major Jewish settlement blocs.
5. The Right of Return Israel does not recognize the right of return of Palestinians to areas under Israeli sovereignty. Israel will negotiate with the Palestinians on allowing the return to areas under Palestinian control.
Israeli Relations with Syria
The Israel Labour Party will continue to pursue a peace agreement with Syria. Within the framework of the peace agreement, Israel will be open to compromise on the basis of land for peace and security, U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and the guidelines of the Madrid Conference.
Security Arrangements Within the framework of a peace agreement, Israel demands strict and diverse security arrangements. Israel insists that a peace agreement with Syria will include Syria's obligation to prevent hostile activities against Israel, emanating from its soil and areas under its control.
Type of Agreement and its Implementation The agreement will be implemented gradually and will be accompanied by confidence building measures. Within the framework of the peace agreement, Israel insists on the full normalization of relations considered standard among neighboring countries living in peace.
The Question of Water An agreement of the source of water, its protection, development and use will be an integral part of the peace agreement.
POWs and MIAs In any peace agreement with Syria, Israel will demand that the Syrian government work toward the return of Israel's POWs and provide any and all information on the fate of its MIAs. Israel will also insist that Syria enable the return of the remains of Eli Cohen.
Settlements Existing settlements on the Golan will be strengthened.
Israel - Lebanese Relations
Israel is prepared to reach a peace agreement with an independent and sovereign Lebanon. Israel has no territorial designs on Lebanon and recognizes that the international border serves as the border for peace between the two countries.
The peace agreement, which will include diplomatic ties and full normalization of relations, will protect the security interests of the State of Israel and its citizens in the north through a variety of security arrangements that will ensure, among other things, the complete cessation of terrorism and the prevention of its renewal.
Within the framework of either a comprehensive settlement or a partial agreement, the Israel Labour Party will strive to create conditions that will enable the IDF to withdraw from Lebanon in return for a guarantee of peace and well-being for the residents of northern Israel.
In any agreement, either full or partial, there will be guarantees for the security and safety of the residents of the security zone in southern Lebanon and the forces of the South Lebanese Army.
Israel and the Palestinians: Demographic Facts Israel's population today is 5.5 million. 4.5 million of Israel's people are Jewish while 1 million are Arab. The overwhelming number of Israel's Arab citizens were born and raised in the State of Israel, after 1948. Palestinian Population Statistics in the Territories
Unemployment among the Palestinians is at or above 50%. The large majority of the population in Gaza is under the age of 25. The choice facing Israel and the Palestinians is either the creation of a reality based on a geo-political separation, the development of a relationship of peaceful co-existence with security, improved social and economic conditions for both peoples and the hope for a better future for our youth or, a renewal of the cycle of violence and blood letting, the spread of religious fanaticism and an increase in political extremism.
Settlement Building Facts 1992-1996 Units under construction in 1992: Units under construction on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, summer 1992: up to 40,000. When the Labor-led government assumed power in 1992 it prohibited new construction and terminated construction on the great majority of the units already being built. The remaining 10,000 units, most of which were close to completion, were allowed to be finished. With the exception of the Jerusalem area, virtually no new construction was permitted in the settlements all through the period, 1992-1996, of the Labor-led government. Population Increase: The increase in the number of people living in settlements from 1992 to 1996 totaled some 39,000 people. 16% of these were due to natural growth (i.e. 6,240 people). The remainder can be accounted for largely by the occupation of many f the housing units mentioned above. In July 1992, when the Labor-government began its rein, there were approximately 106,000 settlers in the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In June 1996, the population totaled about 145,000 individuals. The four years growth in population, therefore, totaled some 37% or approximately 39,000 people. It should also be noted that more than half of the number of people who became new residents in the settlements between 1992 and 1996 actually took up residence in the Jerusalem area or in communities located literally within minutes of the pre-67' border (the 'green line'). Labor Legacy When the new Likud-led government assumed power in the summer of 1996 it did not receive, as the previous government had, a legacy of tens of thousands of new housing units being constructed throughout the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Likud Policy On October 17, 1996, Prime Minister Netanyahu has canceled the Labor government freeze on construction in the territories and has announced plans to expand existing settlements and build new roads and industrial parks throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On October 17 Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his intention to personally take responsibility for advancing the new government's settlement expansion program. Sources:Central Bureau of Statistics, Settlement Division WZO and Peace Now.
Other News
Labor Opposes Change in Conversion Law Labor Party Knesset M.K.'s oppose the proposed amendment to the Law on religious conversions. "The approval of this Law" the Labor Party caucus declared "will affect the 'status quo', create division within the Jewish people and affect the solidarity with Israel of a great portion of the Jewish people". Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, explaining the decision to oppose the proposed amendment put forward by the Orthodox religious parties, declared that "passage of the proposed law would divide the Jewish people. It would be a grave political mistake to do this". "We favor', he said, 'finding a solution which will maintain the unity of the Jewish people". M.K. Dr. Ephraim Sneh, former Minister of Health, said: "Passage of this law would be a slap in the face of the Jewish people. It will result in our loosing the moral high ground as the center of Jewish life". M.K. Prof. Shevah Weiss, former Speaker of the Knesset said: "The current (conversion) law has created unnecessary problems and has resulted in the justified protest of the Reform and Conservative religious communities. The proposed ammendment to the law will create a split among the Jewish people and this must be prevented". M.K. Haggai Merom, former Chair of the Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs Committee said: "The proposed law which supposedly deals with the matter of conversions in Israel, in fact has much broader implications. It will result in the separation of the Diaspora Jewish community from Israel. We must not, under any circumstances, allow the Orthodox to change the law and then to exploit the opening it would give give them to impose further restrictive controls on Jewish life. The Reform and Conservative communities in Israel must not be isolated". Quote Unquote "We are not making any substantive changes in our relations with Diaspora Jewish communities and their right to perform conversions. We are simply changing a de facto situation to a de jure one. This is a judicial process which was imposed on us by Reform and Conservative bodies". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Labor and Likud - The Difference The Oslo Process The Oslo Agreements is based on the principles of mutual recognition and territorial compromise. The Oslo "process" is based on the principle of gradualism, including the gradual redeployment of Israeli forces on the West Bank as the Palestinian Authority assumes both political and security responsibility in agreed upon areas. Labor believes it is essential to adhere to the Oslo Process which is gradual and step by step. The idea of conducting negotiations over permanent status issues immediately, without pursuing a more gradual, supervised implementation process, is to risk undermining the entire peace process by addressing the most explosive issues in an atmosphere of distrust and enmity Likud seeks to ignore the Oslo "process" and to advance immediately to permanent status talks without having created conditions conducive to rational and cautious decision making based on agreed and acceptable incremental changes in political and security realities on the ground. Settlements Labor opposes construction of new settlements and the expansion of existing settlements before the final status agreements are reached. Likud will not build new settlements at this time. However, the Likud-led government has approved the expansion of existing settlements, including the creation of new neighborhoods often well beyond the borders of current settlement boundaries. Labor would extend Israeli sovereignty over areas of major Jewish settlement blocs. (It has been estimated that 70% of the settlers are located in several settlement blocs, and a small number of other settlements close to the pre-1967 border, on a total about 10% to 15% of the West Bank land mass). Har Homa Labor considers Har Homa to be within the southern municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. The governments of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres were committed in principle to developing Har Homa. However, out of recognition of the consequences of a unilateral action of this kind, approval of implementation was withheld until final status talks establish undisputed boundaries for all of Jerusalem. Likud, without heading the warnings of Israel's security establishment and without due consideration of the political consequences, chose to initiate the development program of Har Homa. Territories and Borders - Final Status Guidelines Labor's position is that the final status borders must be based on three principles: 1. Population separation between the 2 million plus residents of the West Bank and Gaza strip and the State of Israel. 2. Adjustments in the pre-1967 borders to accommodate Israel's security requirements. 3. There will be no foreign army west of the Jordan river. To insure stability in the Israeli - Palestinian relationship and the viability of the emerging Palestinian entity, geographical contiguity must be allowed for on most of the West Bank. Likud seeks to extend Israeli sovereignty over a majority of the territory on the West Bank. Included would be as many as 120 or more Jewish settlements, many of which are located within, or contiguous to, areas with large Palestinian population concentrations. This will insure the fact that there will be many small enclaves of Jewish settlers dispersed throughout the Palestinian controlled territories. This Likud "peace plan", will result in preventing the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian geographical entity, a Palestinian sine qua non to a political settlement. It will also perpetuate and exacerbate a Bosnia like integration of population and territory. The Jordan Valley Labor will make the Jordan river Israel's eastern security border. Necessary and appropriate security arrangements will be made to insure an Israeli presence in the Jordan valley. Likud calls for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the entire Jordan Valley area, making the Jordan valley Israel's eastern political border. Jerusalem Labor is committed to maintaining Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty. The Palestinian residents of the city will enjoy municipal rights in the quarters in which they reside, and special arrangements will be made for the sites sacred to Christianity and Islam. Labor favors the preservation of separate residential neighborhoods in the city, in order to prevent unnecessary friction between the Jewish and Arab residents. Likud, while advocating that Jerusalem remain united and under Israeli sovereignty, has encouraged and supported Jewish habitation in areas of the city such as Ras El Amud and Silwan, which until now have been populated exclusively by Arab residents. Syria Labor led governments, under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, affirmed the principle of land for peace in Syrian track negotiations. The depth of Israel's territorial compromise on the Golan Heights is to be predicated on the depth of the peace, normalization arrangements and on security arrangements. Water sources, their protection and use, as well as arrangements for economic cooperation, will also be essential elements to any agreement. Likud Likud appears to be ready to consider a territorial compromise on the Golan Heights. However, its refusal to acknowledge the progress which was made in negotiations conducted by the Labor government, has created a stalemate on the Syrian track. Lebanon Labor seeks a comprehensive agreement with the Lebanese, providing for security arrangements in southern Lebanon which end terrorism and which guarantees peace and security for the residents of the region, as well as along Israel's northern border. Likud's inability to reopen talks on the Syrian track has perpetuated the conflict with Hizbollah terrorist forces in Lebanon. Economics Labor favors a free market economy, gradual privatization and reduced government involvement in the economy. Labor maintains that government must act with social responsibility, recognizing that the provision of education, health and other social services, cannot be guaranteed by the market place. Labor does not agree with the extreme philosophy of socio - economic Darwinism. Social stability and justice must be guaranteed by responsible government. Likud's extreme commitment to market forces and its support of West Bank settlements have resulted in enormous cuts in the education budget, in the reduction of essential social services, in a crisis in the medical system and in high and increasing levels of unemployment, and social discontent. Religious Pluralism Labor is committed to the unity of the Jewish people. It affirms the legitimacy of all religious streams and asserts that Israel is a democratic, Zionist and Jewish State in which all have the right to live in an atmosphere of tolerance and true equality. The Labor Party is opposed to the passage of legislation in the Knesset which would deny the rights of non-Orthodox religious groups in Israel. Likud is committed to an agreement with its extreme Right wing, religious and haredi (ultra-Orthodox) coalition partners. This agreement obliges the Likud to support legislative and other arrangements designed to insure the centrality and authority of the Orthodox Rabbinate in all matters of personal status and religious practice in Israel. Source: Israeli Labor Party |
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