Sunday evening, two floors underground.
About 100 people gathered at the Art Club, which is located in a kind of shelter in Tel Aviv.
It was not a particularly artistic event nor entertainment, but a panel of Meretz party candidates for the primaries.
It will happen next Tuesday.
On the same day, the members of the party will choose both the chairman of the party and its list for the Knesset, by digital voting - similar to the primaries in the Labor Party, alongside physical polling stations nationwide. 24 nominations and candidates are competing for the four or five realistic places that Meretz receives in the polls.
The atmosphere was quite relaxed, and somewhat Tel Avivian.
A small dog ran between the tables, and while the guests sipped beer, the candidates went up one by one on a small stage, listed their achievements in the last Knesset or explained their qualities for the upcoming Knesset, if elected.
You can like or dislike it, but you can't take Meretz away from being one of the more ideological parties in the party system.
The speakers repeatedly repeated the climate crisis and LGBT rights, and drew a lot of applause when they took a principled stand against the occupation, condemned the violence of the settlers - and probably when they threatened the "corrupt" Netanyahu and his dangerous partners, Ben Gabir and Smotrich.
Close leadership battle
However, due to the friendly atmosphere, it is difficult to hide the camping.
One of the guests, looking like an old activist, goes around among those present with a shirt that says "2 terms and enough" and hands out flyers with the following language: "There is no cult of personality in Meretz, Zehava Galon and Michal Rosin - make room for fresh elected officials."
When he walked by with his promotional materials in front of Knesset member Rosin's eyes, she hissed at him: "It's not respectful, we don't do it that way."
In Meretz they say that these are Yair Golan's guys.
Two battles are currently taking place in Meretz: the battle for a place on the list, and the battle for the leadership of the party between Yair Golan and Zehava Galon.
And contrary to what is claimed, the struggle for leadership is not over.
It is estimated that the result will be close.
Panel of candidates, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Indeed, the two candidates represent a distinct view of the party.
Galeon expresses the traditional values of Meretz.
It is more closely associated with the struggle against occupation, the commitment to human rights, and now emphasizes an innovative progressive approach whereby it ties all of Meretz's traditional rights and values together.
She is considered a strong symbol in the party, while Golan is considered a figure who was parachuted in from the outside, and emphasizes his ability to open Meretz to new audiences and establish its power as a large Zionist left party that also has something to say about agriculture and security.
"I'm coming back, Meretz is coming back," says Galeon's slogan, marking her as someone who promises to return her crown to its former glory.
Ataret Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sharid, to be more precise.
"I didn't think I would be here, but the circumstances led me to a, I would say, really dramatic feeling that I have to come back," she tells the audience at the beginning of her speech.
"First of all, to increase the power of Meretz, who is currently on the fence. Climate, LGBT rights and the fight against occupation are rights that are related to each other, and Meretz's values are not esoteric: if you want a left-wing party, it should stand for these values.
I call on the leftists to return home, because the left does not make us smaller, and fighting the occupation does not make us smaller.
I come back more experienced, with connections in the political system.
Not for nothing, right after I announced my candidacy, Prime Minister Lapid and Benny Gantz invited me to a meeting."
"The fight between us is a fight for a way," explains Yair Golan right after her.
"Zaheva has already led the party in the past, and what it symbolizes is Meretz closing in, Meretz focusing on the electorate of Gush Dan, very Tel Avivian in character, and I think there is no future on this path. We need to talk about a big Meretz. No more Meretz as a satellite party to a ruling party that is A little on the right, but a party with which to rebuild the Zionist left. I want to open the party to new audiences."
Galon pulls out the polls in response to Golan's claims that he is bringing new audiences: "After Yair Golan announced his candidacy for the leadership of Meretz, the ground did not shake. In the polls, Meretz was below the blocking percentage and we did not see the new audiences he is bringing around him. After I announced the candidacy, four weeks after , Meretz increased to 6-5 mandates, and I am bringing the leftists home. Yair Golan fails to bring the more centrist audience he is trying to bring."
One of the heated points of contention between the supporters of the two claimants to the crown concerns Golan's military background.
"Meretz does not need military veterans to lead it," say activists and members of Meretz, who are anxious about the party's civilian nature.
"Meretz must be differentiated from other parties," Galon says.
"The attempts to centralize Meretz and enter into competition with the army veterans in the centrist parties will drive away the leftists from Meretz and will not bring in new voters," she adds.
Golan comes prepared: "The left-wing party is a party that supports equality. Alas, if they discriminate against me because of my Hebrew background, of which I am very proud. The attempt to take all the military personnel and label them as 'generals', in a negative tone, is in my view an act that should not be done. I I contributed 38 years to Israel's security, I risked my life more than once, I dealt with the most important national issues. I think it is a blessing for Meretz that in its ranks there is a person who is an expert on the most significant strategic and security problems of the State of Israel and he speaks about it with authority. This brings Meretz back To the forefront of the most important issues."
A question of identity
Meretz's census numbers about 19,000 eligible voters, where, like other parties, there is also a distinction between free voters and organized functional groups, each of which is identified with certain candidates.
One of the prominent groups in the party is the "Reds", a large historical camp within Meretz that was previously associated with Ilan Gilon and today the party's secretary general Tomer Reznik leads it.
Another distinguished group is the members of the kibbutzim, eighty approximately 3,500 functionaries.
In addition, the "Purple" camp operates, which was previously identified with Tamar Zandberg and is now more divided.
And finally, the group that distinguishes Meretz has 6,000 Arab functionaries, which consists of the Druze and the Arabs in the north, the Arabs of the Triangle and the Bedouins in the south.
In Meretz they say that over the years a deal of the Arabs and the kibbutzim would rule the chairman, but today there are disputes in the battle for leadership. The working assumption in the party is that the Bedouin in the south, led by Dr. Abu Siam, will support the Golan.
According to him, he recruited 2,000 people from the Bedouin sector to the party, but the party's apparatus disqualified them for various reasons.
Another bastion of power that is commonly attributed to the Golan is those who function in the kibbutzim.
"We have 3,500 people at the kibbutz headquarters who have worked for Meretz, and most of them support Yair Golan," explains Prof. Michal Shamai, from the School of Social Work at the University of Haifa and secretary of the Mishmar Ha'emek kibbutz.
"Yair Golan is not afraid to say out loud that Meretz is a Zionist party, a left-wing Zionist party," she adds, and explains: "For the kibbutz movement, a clear Zionist statement is very important, especially today when they try to classify kibbutz members as traitorous leftists. Yair visits kibbutzim on the northern border and in Otaf, Not only now in the elections. He made a very clear statement against the fact that the reform in agriculture is not carried out in cooperation with the kibbutzim and moshavim, he solved a number of problems in the poultry industry, he helps in the fishing industry. And when he talks about the need for a political settlement, he has receipts for it. Yair Golan talks about The occupation from an Israeli point of view, and Vazhava is seen in the public, including among some members of the kibbutzim, as someone who talks about the occupation from a Palestinian point of view."
Leadership crisis.
Zahva Galon, photo: Gideon Markovich
However, people around Galon believe that Golan's power in the kibbutzim is not as strong as is attributed to him.
And even with the support of the kibbutzim, Galon's voter base is still just as strong.
Along with significant support among the free functionaries, it is also supported by the "Reds", led by the party's Secretary General Tomer Reznik, although he himself has not publicly expressed himself about it. Like Ali Salalha, they will also support Galon.
Along with these groups, Galon has the trust of all of Meretz's serving MKs: Nitzan Horowitz, Mossi Raz, Michal Rosin, Gabi Lasky, Salalha, and as mentioned, also Frij.
One of the veterans of Meretz who expressed surprising support for candidate Zehava Galon is former minister Ran Cohen, who ran against her in the past for the leadership of the party.
"I support gold for two reasons," Cohen said ahead of the upcoming vote.
"Yair Golan is an excellent man, and I will vote for him to be number 2, but running for the presidency after one term is always too early. In addition, I think that Meretz is in a leadership crisis after the retirement of Horowitz from the presidency and the departure of Zandberg and Frige, and in such a situation Experienced leadership and not someone new."
Cohen, a kibbutznik in the past, rejects the claims of the kibbutzniks against Galon: "The truth is, I have always disliked these sectoral divisions within Meretz. The organization of kibbutzniks and other groups is not to my taste. And today many with their eyes in their heads know that it was a great loss for Meretz. The fact that they are organizing means nothing, and I think the kibbutzim are wrong here."
One will come out of four
The battle for the list in Meretz also looks tight and difficult.
Besides the chairman, according to the polls, six sitting MKs are running for four to five realistic seats.
Similar to other parties, in Meretz the incumbent MKs also enjoy a built-in advantage of political power and public recognition. Unlike the contest for leadership, the camps in Meretz are more divided in the election to the list. In Meretz's list for the Knesset, women are guaranteed representation in the fourth and sixth places, so this turns the battle for men Make it harder and one of the incumbent MKs may find himself out.
One of the four sitting MKs will find himself as the last man standing. Mossi Raz, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Michal Rosin, who is considered an ideological figure, is supported by the "Reds" and Zehava Galon's camp.
In Meretz, she is considered strong, but she claims that talk about her being "safe" hurts her - perhaps on purpose.
"People say I'm strong because the Reds support me, so you can vote for others. It makes people think I'll be elected even if they don't vote for me."
Another sitting MK who is competing in the women's battle is Gabi Leski, who works in a joint axis with MK Mossi Raz.
The two are identified with the ideological wing of the party that emphasizes the struggle against the occupation alongside other issues.
"We need to choose as many candidates as possible who have a proven record of fighting the occupation," says Moussi Raz.
He is complemented by MK Gabi Leski, who boasted at the gathering of her fight for the Palestinians against the settlers: "I worked to allow the Palestinians to enter their agricultural lands.
In the Knesset, we managed to lead a change in which the IOS prosecutor gives the soldiers the authority to arrest settlers who act against the law,
The assessment in Meretz is that Rosin will finish as the first woman, but she is, as stated, convinced that these talks are intended to weaken her power.
Among the men fighting for places 5, 3, 2 - it is estimated that if Golan does not win the battle for the heads he will finish high on the list, probably in second place.
Horowitz is asking for the support of the functionaries on the background of his actions in the government and is supported by the Reds.
Ali Salalha enjoys the support of the Druze commander he held in the north as well as the support of the Reds, and Mossi Raz is considered a strong candidate among the free votes.
If Golan does not win the battle for leadership, one of the four sitting MKs will find himself as the last man standing in the unrealistic seventh place. Alongside them are candidates who are not serving in the Knesset but enjoy public prominence, such as the chairman of the Meretz administration and Tamar Zandberg's partner Uri Zaki, and Yariv Oppenheimer, along with representatives of the younger generation in the party, such as 25-year-old Eliran Bichovsky, former chairman of Meretz Youth and faction coordinator in the Knesset, and Omer Schechter, 30-year-old former deputy mayor of Rosh Ha'Ain.
"I call on all the candidates to reduce their internal attacks and engage in work to increase Meretz, and to prevent a situation where a panic government of Smotrich, Bibi and Ben Gvir is formed," concludes party secretary general Tomer Reznik. In this sense, the elections in Meretz are not only an internal matter. After a year in power , the list and the elected chairman will be required to fight the threat of the blocking percentage.
The contestants and the voters know that if Meretz does not pass, the center-left bloc's chances of forming a government will crash.
The bloc's fate depends, among other things, on the results that will be announced on Tuesday evening.
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