The Netanyahu government has been a disaster – for Israel and its security, for the Palestinians, and for the prospects of a wider regional peace. LFI has opposed it from the time it came into office. We believe its strategy is driven by Netanyahu’s appeasement of his far-right coalition partners, on whom he depends for political survival. These parties – which attracted the support of only 1 in 10 Israelis at the 2022 general election – are attempting to pursue their own extremist agenda at the expense of Israel’s national interest.
With elections due this year, we should not forget that different leaders, such as the Democrats’ Yair Golan and opposition leader Yair Lapid, who are not in hoc to a militant minority, are ready to help take the helm.
• The Israeli centre and left provide the best hope for substantive change both domestically and in terms of Israel’s relations with the Palestinians and the wider region – we must do everything we can to assist them and avoid actions which weaken them domestically.
• Netanyahu’s government doesn’t represent the views of most Israelis, who are desperate for change and have consistently opposed the most contentious policies of his government.
• The views of the majority of the British public – who wish to see peace and abhor violence and terrorism – align with that of Israeli progressives.
LFI believes we should:
STRENGTHEN SISTER PARTY AND CIVIL SOCIETY RELATIONS
Labour has a long and historic bond with the Israeli centre-left. Our two sister parties, Israeli Labor and Meretz, have merged to form the Democrats. We should strengthen the relationship between Labour and the Democrats, while working to also strengthen relations with civil society movements, including the Israeli trade unions.
HIGHLIGHT PROGRESSIVE ISRAELI VOICES
LFI’s Voices for Change project highlights our commitment to give activists in Israel striving for democratic values, social justice and peace the opportunity to share their challenges, hopes and achievements.