2007 Israeli Labor Party Leadership Election

Labor won 19 Knesset seats in the March 2006 election, became the second-largest party, and joined the Kadima-led coalition government headed by Ehud Olmert.[5] Amir Peretz, Labor’s leader, unsuccessfully sought the finance portfolio before accepting the defense ministry and becoming deputy prime minister.[6] His appointment to the defense portfolio surprised some observers because he was not a former general and was best known for his work on social issues.[6]

Peretz supported Olmert’s military campaign against Hezbollah after the abduction of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, 2006.[6] The war ended inconclusively and brought severe criticism of both leaders; many of Peretz’s former supporters on the left were disappointed by his role in a campaign they regarded as costly and misguided.[6] A March 2007 Channel 10 poll gave Olmert a popularity rating of 3% and Peretz a rating of 1%, while 75% of respondents wanted Olmert to resign.[3] Polling also showed increased support for Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu.[3]

The Winograd Commission’s interim findings assigned personal blame for “failings” to Olmert, Peretz, and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz. It criticized Olmert for deciding “hastily” to go to war without a comprehensive plan and for declaring goals it described as unclear, overambitious, and infeasible.[3]

Barak announced in January 2007 that he would challenge Peretz for the Labor leadership.[7] The five candidates were Peretz, Barak, Ayalon, former minister Ophir Pines-Paz, and former Mossad chief Danny Yatom.[3] Barak was a former prime minister and IDF chief of staff, while Ayalon had led the Shin Bet and navy.[1][8] The primary was scheduled for May 28.[3]

Labor’s choice of leader also had implications for the government’s survival.[3] Before the primary, withdrawal by Labor would have left the coalition with 59 seats, requiring support from a smaller party to remain in power and avert early elections; reconfiguration of the government without a national election was another possibility.[3] Ayalon announced on May 1 that he would not join a government headed by Olmert, whereas Barak had not made the same commitment at that stage.[9] A decision to leave the coalition could, however, rest with Labor’s Central Committee rather than with the party leader alone.[10]

The first round took place on May 28, with all five candidates competing.[11] Voting was scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., and a rocket alert sounded while Peretz voted in Sderot, prompting his security detail to move him indoors.[11] Barak and Ayalon sought high participation, particularly among Arab voters and kibbutz members.[11]

Barak finished first with 35.6% of the vote, followed by Ayalon with 30.6%, Peretz with 22.4%, and Pines-Paz with 8.7%; Yatom was the fifth candidate.[12] Neither leading candidate reached the 40% threshold for an outright victory, so Barak and Ayalon advanced to a June 12 runoff.[12] Peretz’s defeat removed the incumbent party chairman and defense minister from the leadership contest.[1]

The first-round vote showed differing patterns of support across localities.[12] Barak placed first in Holon, Akko, Dimona, and Ramle, while Ayalon led in Jerusalem and Hod Hasharon.[12] Peretz won in Safed, Sakhnin, and Lod.[12] Reported turnout accompanying the first-round results was 65.2%.[12]

After his elimination, Peretz emphasized that he retained a strong group of supporters within Labor.[12] Barak’s associates considered joining forces with Peretz’s camp to strengthen Barak’s position in the runoff.[12] Competition for support also extended to Pines-Paz, who had not announced an endorsement in the immediate aftermath of the first round.[13] Barak’s campaign included visits around the country while he avoided major media appearances.[13]

Barak defeated Ayalon in the June 12 runoff, with the results reported overnight into June 13 after all 313 polling stations had been counted.[14] He received 34,542 votes, or 51.3%, while Ayalon received 32,117 votes, or 47.7%; another 683 voters, reported as 1%, abstained.[14] Runoff turnout was reported as 65%.[2]

In his victory speech, Barak called for party unity and said he intended to work with Ayalon and the other candidates.[14] He identified strengthening Israel’s security system and military deterrence as priorities.[14] Ayalon telephoned Barak to congratulate him, promised cooperation, and said he would not appeal the result.[14]

Olmert’s government unanimously approved Barak’s appointment as defense minister on June 15, 2007.[15] Peretz submitted his resignation and was due to leave the government the following Monday.[15] Olmert cited the tense security situation and the collapse of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza as reasons for moving quickly with the appointment.[15] Barak received parliamentary approval and was sworn in on June 18, replacing Peretz in the defense portfolio.[4]

During the runoff campaign, Barak had said Labor would leave Olmert’s government if Olmert did not resign before publication of the final Winograd Commission report.[14] After becoming party leader, he opposed an immediate Labor withdrawal that would force early elections, while promising to end the coalition partnership with Kadima after the final report.[1]

Although Barak had previously served as prime minister, he was not a Knesset member when he regained the Labor leadership.[1] He would have needed election to parliament to become prime minister again.[1] Ayalon remained a Labor Knesset member during the 2006–2009 parliamentary term and served for more than a year as a minister without portfolio.[8]

Contemporary coverage framed the contest less as an isolated internal party vote than as part of the political aftermath of the Second Lebanon War. Reporting emphasized renewed demand for leaders with extensive military experience and the implications of Labor’s leadership choice for Olmert’s coalition.[3][7] Later accounts commonly describe the result as Barak’s 2007 political comeback, linking his return to the Labor chairmanship with his rapid appointment as defense minister.[5][7]

The election marked Barak’s political comeback: he regained the Labor leadership and soon became defense minister and deputy prime minister.[1][7] His return followed renewed public interest in leaders with substantial military experience after the Second Lebanon War.[7] Both runoff candidates had senior security backgrounds: Barak was a former IDF chief of staff, while Ayalon had headed the Shin Bet and the navy.[1][8]

The result replaced Peretz as both Labor leader and defense minister without immediately taking Labor out of Olmert’s coalition.[1] The contest thus connected an internal party leadership decision with the distribution of senior government offices and the question of whether Labor would continue its partnership with Kadima.[1][3]

After the runoff, Ayalon’s strategic adviser alleged large-scale ballot forgery, suggested that the disputed ballots involved Arab localities, and said the campaign possessed recordings and other evidence.[16] Ayalon accepted the result but said he intended to report what he had seen to the police, the state comptroller, and other relevant bodies.[16] A petition was filed with Labor’s appeals court, although a scheduled hearing was cancelled; Barak’s supporters rejected the allegations and denied that fraud had occurred.[16]

A 2008 report described a police investigation and recommendations to file charges, with a decision on indictments expected from the state prosecutor’s office.[17] A subsequent timeline recorded that the National Fraud Investigation Unit concluded its investigation on December 10, 2008, and that it had raised suspicions of forged signatures in the voters’ register.[18] These accounts describe allegations and investigative developments, not a final legal finding establishing fraud.[17][18]