The 1980

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a ...

was held on 18 December 1980. It saw the delegates to the party's convention reelect

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

as the party's leader. Peres defeated

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

. This was the third of four leadership contests in which Rabin and Peres faced each other (following the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and February 1977 and preceding by the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

leadership elections).

Background

The vote took place in advance of the 1981 Knesset election. At the time of the leadership election, Labor was broadly anticipated, per

opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of que ...

, to have a strong performance over rival

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

in that election. Additionally, prior to his death from a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in late February 1980,

Yigal Allon Yigal Allon (; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli military leader and politician. He was a commander of the Palmach and a general in the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He was also a leader of the Ahdut HaA ...

had been campaigning to unseat Peres as party leader, but his prospects of winning were seen as weak. Allon was a political rival of Peres.

Candidates

, incumbent leader since 1977, member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

since 1959, former

minister of defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

(1974–1977), former

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given t ...

(1974), former

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

(1970–1974), and former Minister of Immigration and Absorption (1969–1970) *

, former leader (1974–1977), former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

(1974–1977), member of the

since 1973, former

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

(1974), former

ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, , sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

(1968–1973), and former

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

(1964–1968)

Campaign

Peres was expected to secure a comfortable reelection as party leader. Rabin attempted to persuade the delegates comprising the electorate that he was more popular than Peres, and therefore presented the party with a greater chance at leading in the 1981 Knesset election.

Voting procedure

The election's electorate was the 3,101 delegates to the party's convention.

Results

References

{{Political party leadership elections in Israel Israeli Labor Party leadership elections Labor Party leadership Israeli Labor Party leadership election Yitzhak Rabin Shimon Peres Israeli Labor Party leadership election