Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his staff could be behind a campaign that urged the center-left parties to unite and run on a joint ticket in the April 9 elections, according to a document revealed by Channel 13 on Saturday evening.
The campaign slogan was Bli ichud, hakol avud, a play on words that can mean either “Without unity, all is lost” or “Without unity, the vote is lost.”
“Generally speaking and as required by laws on party funding … continued activity following the announcement by most actors that they are running together could lead to needless restrictions on party funding. Our mission is complete and ended the moment a major merger was created on the center-left,” the document states.
Barak’s staff issued a response to the Channel 13 report: “In the past two-and-a-half years, Barak has worked extensively, sometimes alone, to bring together a fighting opposition. In recent months, Barak has done a lot of work to achieve mergers on the center-left. Although Barak has for years been friends with Elmaliach, who serves as head of National Responsibility, it is a sovereign entity that operates under his [Elmaliach’s] sole judgment.”
The Likud Party said in response to the report that “Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid will establish a left-wing government with the support of a bloc that includes the Arab parties.”