2002 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

A leadership election was held by the Israeli Labor Party on 19 November 2002. Mayor of Haifa Amram Mitzna defeated incumbent Leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Member of the Knesset Haim Ramon.^[1][2]

2002 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

← 2001 20 November 2002 2003 (interim) →
Turnout	59.5%
Candidate Amram Mitzna Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Haim Ramon Party Labor Labor Labor Popular vote 35,945 25,445 4,830 Percentage 53.91% 38.16% 7.24%
Leader before election Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Elected Leader Amram Mitzna

Background

In 2001, special elections for the position of prime minister took place after the resignation of Ehud Barak. Barak, then the leader of the Labor party, lost to Ariel Sharon.^[3] The Labor Party joined Sharon's new party, with Barak subsequently retiring from political life.^[4] Following his resignation, Barak was replaced as party leader by Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who defeated Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg in a leadership election in December 2001.^[5] Due to tensions regarding the leadership election, it was decided that a second leadership election would be held in 2002.^[6] In May 2002, Eitan Cabel stated that Member of the Knesset Haim Ramon would run for the party's leadership, with Cabel serving as Ramon's campaign manager.^[7] In July, Ben-Eliezer and Ramon agreed to hold the election on 19 November.^[8]

On 1 August, Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna stated that he was considering running for the leadership of the Labor Party.^[9] Several politicians, including Minister of Science, Culture and Sport Matan Vilnai,^[10] Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai,^[11] and Member of the Knesset Yossi Katz,^[12] endorsed the idea. Mitzna formally announced his candidacy on 13 August.^[13]

On 5 November 2002, following Labor's withdrawal from the government, the Knesset was dissolved,^[14] and new elections were called for January 2003.^[15] On 12 November, Mitzna, Ben-Eliezer and Ramon participated in a televised debate on Channel 2.^[16]

Campaign

Mitzna campaigned on a solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He stated that Israel should negotiate a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, which would include the evacuation of Israeli outposts.^[13]

Ramon criticized Mitzna for advocating negotiations with Palestinian authorities, arguing that Israel should unilaterally withdraw from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He also criticized Ben-Eliezer's plan to construct a Separation barrier in the West Bank, believing that Israel should withdraw before a barrier is built.^[17] Ramon also criticized Ben-Eliezer for participating in Sharon's Government.^[18]

Candidates

• Amram Mitzna - Mayor of Haifa.^[19]
• Binyamin Ben-Eliezer - Incumbent leader of the Labor Party and Minister of Defense (until 2 November 2002).^[20]
• Haim Ramon - Member of the Knesset and former Minister of Health.^[21]

Results

2002 Israeli Labor Party leadership election^[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labor	Amram Mitzna	35,945	53.91%
	Labor	Binyamin Ben-Eliezer	25,445	38.16%
	Labor	Haim Ramon	4,830	7.24%
Turnout			66,667	59.5%

Aftermath

Both Ben-Eliezer and Ramon coneded defeat after initial results showed a Mitzna victory.^[23] Ben-Eliezer was assigned the second spot on the party's list for the 2003 election,^[24] where the party won 19 seats, then an all-time low.^[25] After the election, Mitzna announced his resignation from the party leadership in May 2005,^[26] and was replaced by Shimon Peres, who became the interim leader until the next leadership election took place.^[27]