Two Labor veterans bury hatchet to challenge Yachimovitch

Former Histadrut trade unions federation leader Amir Peretz and incumbent Ofer Eini have buried a six-year old hatchet to lead the party veterans’ challenge against the new Labor party leader Shelly Yachimovitch and her faction in the Nov. 29 primaries. Peretz and Eini are both hardened campaigners with strong grass roots followings in the trade unions, the kibbutz and moshav movements and among Israeli Arabs and Druzes – the Labor party’s traditional rank and file. Yachimovich has flooded the top ranks with new faces to reinvigorate the waning party. Israelis go to the polls on Jan. 22, 2013.