Yachimovich Wins Fight To Lead Labor Party
Shelly Yachimovich, a former reporter, has won the leadership of Israel’s Labor Party, beating ex-union leader Amir Peretz, Israeli TV reported.
The TV station said initial results in a party primary early Thursday showed 54% for Yachimovich and 45% for Peretz, with official results expected later in the day.
Labor dominated Israeli politics for Israel’s first three decades as an independent state. But it has become marginalized and now holds only eight out of 120 seats in the Knesset.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unlikely to face new elections for at least two years.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief