Independence (Israeli political party)
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Independence
סיעת העצמאות |
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| Chairman | Ehud Barak |
| Founded | 17 January 2011 |
| Split from | Labor Party (2011) |
| Ideology |
Centrism Zionism |
| Political position | Center/center-left |
Independence (Hebrew: העצמאות, Ha'Atzma'ut) is a political party in Israel. It was launched by Defense Minister Ehud Barak on 17 January 2011 after he and four other Labor Party MKs announced their secession from the caucus. In the words of the announcement, the faction aims to be "centrist, Zionist, and democratic" and to establish itself as a separate political party. It was built on the vestiges of the Third Way party. Nine days after Barak announced his retirement from politics, it was announced that Independence would not contest the 2013 Knesset elections.
The secession was seen as a pre-emptive move, before other Labor MKs act on their ultimatum to either let Labor leave Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition due to the stalling of a peace process, or force Labour's then-chairman Barak to face the consequences within his own party. Splitting the Labour Party enabled Barak to keep a faction of Labour MKs loyal to him within Netanyahu's coalition, preventing the departure of all 13 Labour MKs from the coalition. As of 17 January 2011, the coalition has the support of 66 out of 120 MKs, as compared to 74 before that. Since Labour was often an unreliable coalition partner in Knesset voting, the reduced number of MKs does not increase the risk of a no-confidence vote. Netanyahu was singled out by analysts as the biggest winner from the split, and was reported to have been involved in the behind-the-scenes making of the political deal. Barak said that he was tired of infighting within Labour as he accused the rest of the Labour of "moving too far to the dovish end of the political spectrum." The more leftist faction was also wary of Barak's closeness to the Prime Minister Netanyahu.Daniel Ben-Simon left the Labour party in protest against Barak's decision to stay with the government.
MK Einat Wilf mentioned in the press conference: "Not all is our fault, some of it is the Palestinians' fault", referring to the argument leading up to the departure of Independence from the Labour Party. Wilf also said that the party could not stay united because one faction was moving towards the "far left of Israeli politics," and the other side believed the current government was an effective partnership. However, the remaining members of Labour condemned the move. Eitan Cabel said it would "destroy the party,” whilst Shelly Yachimovich called it "a corrupt and opportunistic move, designed to save Barak's seat in the government. He has brought a catastrophe upon Labor." Daniel Ben-Simon had stated prior to the split that he would become an independent MK because of Labour's continued position in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Avishai Braverman, Minister of Minorities, and Isaac Herzog, Minister of Social Affairs, also intended to resign following the split.
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