Labor Party chairman Avi Gabbay told his supporters on Wednesday evening that he does not plan on running at all for the next Knesset. In a post on Facebook, Gabbay wrote, "I made the decision not to run for the party leadership long ago. I remained uncertain whether to remain on the Knesset list or not." "Yesterday morning I announced that I would not run for the party leadership. I hoped that this would be the end of the deliberations. At the same time, discussions began in the district court about another internal and procedural matter of the party. These discussions, which continue all the way along with the quarrels and disagreements that accompany them, have shown me that the party culture has not changed, and even though I believed I could deal with it, I could not. The party is in a great crisis, and I do not remove the responsibility from myself," the Labor chairman wrote. "One of the reasons for the cultural problem is the former chairmen who remain on the list," he continued. "In the world outside of politics, when a CEO steps down, he moves on and does not become subordinate to the person who replaced him. Below me were four former chairmen. This phenomenon naturally leads to personal problems and I do not want to be a continuation of that phenomenon." Gabbay went on to criticize his own party, saying, "I believe that a party that cannot unite and move forward cannot come to the public and suggest that it run the state. In the end, it is about life and the quality of life of the country's citizens, and not just an inner-party political game. I know that a huge part of Israeli society believes in these positions, including a large part of those who vote for the parties in the coalition.” "But they do not vote for us, for ours and their positions, partly because of the endless fighting, the mutual disloyalty, and the fact that we are broadcasting to the public that we are only concerned with politics. I could not change this culture as a chairman, and certainly I will not succeed as an ordinary Knesset member, and without changing this culture, it is impossible to succeed." "Therefore, I decided to go with my heart and my truth and not with the cold interest and remove myself from the list to the next Knesset," Gabbay concluded.
