“The Israeli Labour party looks set to strengthen its representation in the Knesset when Israel goes to the polls on January 22 under the new leadership of Shelly Yachimovich. Having sunk to 13 seats in the 2009 election under Ehud Barak, and then split in 2011, the party is now polling around 20 seats according to the latest polls, and will likely replace Kadima as the leading party of the Israeli centre-left. But its strategy for doing so may be confusing for some British observers.

Labour’s leaders often talk about carrying ‘two flags’ in their political platform, a socioeconomic flag, emphasising traditional Labour Zionist values of social equality, and a peace and security flag, emphasising readiness for territorial compromise. Often in the past it was the peace process that was the central electoral issue. However, Yachimovich, a tough former journalist known for promoting social issues, is seeking support from centre-ground voters by emphasising the socioeconomic agenda, and downplaying Labour’s agenda on the peace process. Understanding this strategy requires looking at the context of Israeli politics over the past few years.”

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