The February 1977

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 23 February 1977. It saw the delegates to the party's convention reelect

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 ...

as the party's leader. Rabin defeated

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 ...

. It was the second of four leadership contests in which Rabin and Peres faced each other (after 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 followed by the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, and

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). It had been anticipated that the winner of this leadership election would lead the Israeli Labor Party into the May 17

1977 Knesset election Legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 May 1977 to elect the ninth Knesset. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right wing, led by Likud, won a plurality of seats, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignme ...

. However, Rabin ultimately announced his resignation before the Knesset election, and Peres was instead selected in an April vote held by the Israeli Labor Party's Central Committee to lead the party into that election.

Candidates

, 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,

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 ...

since 1974, 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) *

, incumbent leader since 1974,

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 ...

since 1974, member of the Knesset 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)

Background

The race came at a moment when Labor was facing the prospect of seeing its 28-consecutive years of government leadership end, with the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

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 ...

bloc and the

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known ...

being seen as cutting into the Labor Party's support for the upcoming

Campaign

The race was a close battle between the incumbent Rabin and Peres, who had faced each other for leadership in the preceding 1974 leadership election.: * * Rabin and Peres held little policy difference. Peres was seen as slightly to the right of Rabin on domestic matters. Rabin argued to the electorate that replacing him would divide the party and harm its image, and painted an image of himself as a positive leader for the nation. Peres, on the other hand, argued to the electorate that the Labor Party needed to satisfy the nation's desire for change by choosing a new leader for itself. Rabin received support from most of his cabinet, as well as

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

, his predecessor as party leader and prime minister. The day before the vote, Rabin pledged to renew efforts to reach a peace agreement with the Arabs.

Voting procedure

The election's electorate was 3,000 delegates to the party's convention, This was the first time that the party selected its leader by a vote of convention delegates, having previously held leadership elections through either a vote by the party's Central Committee or other party agencies. Ahead of the vote, the result leadership election was seen as uncertain in outcome, a departure from previous leadership elections, which were largely a ratification of the already-chosen selection of party bosses.

Results

References

{{Political party leadership elections in Israel 1977 01 Labor Party leadership 01 Israeli Labor Party leadership election 01 Yitzhak Rabin Shimon Peres