A guide to the perplexed on the new political divisions

[Gimel]

The Hebrew word for political party comes from the word for dividing. That word has never been more proper than today, when Israel's political parties are more divided than ever.

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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has taken the Likud far from its natural center-right position with his unilateral disengagement plan.
About half of the party's 40 MKs have followed him, with the other half remaining steadfast to the party's traditional ideology.

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If the NRP appears divided with two chairmanship contenders, much more so does Labor, with at least 10 who consider themselves party leadership material. Party chairman Shimon Peres will do everything possible to prevent a leadership race from taking place, but if he is unsuccessful, challengers will likely include MKs Matan Vilna'i, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Avraham Burg, Ephraim Sneh, Haim Ramon, Avraham Shochat, former Labor leader Ehud Barak, and possibly MKs Ophir Pines-Paz and Amram Mitzna.

Currently, the party is divided between MKs enthusiastic about joining the coalition like Haim Ramon, and national-unity government opponents. Burg, Mitzna, and MKs Eitan Cabel and Yuli Tamir have met to coordinate strategy against a national-unity government, but Mitzna changed his mind on Thursday.

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