Full disclosure: I am unfortunately one of those who voted for Meretz in the most recent election.
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There are only two left-wing parties in Israel that have remained: Labor - which founded the state and led it during difficult times; and Meretz, which has sparked the progress toward more human rights and civil liberties in Israel.
When the so-called "Change Government" was formed in 2021, I feared that the Left was willing to commit political suicide just so this patchwork coalition survive. Now that a year has passed, it has become clear how right I was, regrettably.
Labor, which was supposed to be the flagship part of the liberals and social activists, has failed to create a viable alternative to the Right ever since it lost power.
Its two leaders following the Rabin Assassination - Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak - left it to its own devices. The party lost its socio-democratic character when it chose new leaders that were failed capitalists: Avi Gabbay and Tzipi Livni. When it ran under the name The Zionist Camp - effectively sidelining the Arabs - proved just how rampant the nationalist sentiment has become among the rank and file.
Under the current leader, Merav Michaeli, liberal causes have been all but put on the back burner unless they had to do with feminist issues, even though it supported the Draconian measures of the budget that have raised the retirement age for women.
Meretz - the party that was led by giants such as Yossi Sarid and Shulamit Alon - shrunk to a small interest group that seeks to bolster LGBT rights under former leader Nitzan Horowitz.
As one of its late MKs described it, "it lost its liveliness and has become dominated by fluff, and it has failed to even nominate an Arab for a viable Knesset seat.
Meretz and Labor could have stopped the neoliberal and anti-poor budget that has recently been passed. According to some estimates, more than 400,00 children began their school year without having meal security. What's been lost in the recent teachers union threats to go on strike is that regardless of what educators are paid, a pupil who is not properly fed will not be able to study well.
They have also supported measures that bolster the settlement enterprise and the various naturalization bills that target Palestinians who marry Israelis, and on top of that supported de facto annexation, as well as approval of illegal outposts.
Labor and Meretz ministers also failed to deliver as part of the cabinet. Michaeli has not managed to unclog Israel's roads and her public transit reform has hurt the older generations; it does not have the courage to the newly built light-rail system in Tel Aviv to operate on Shabbat - a mistake that will cost us dearly for years to come; Horowitz has failed in his efforts to shorten the shifts at hospitals, and Publis Security Minister OMer Bar-Lev has failed to tackle the rampant crime among Arabs. Other ministers from the Left have failed to even leave any legacy and are considered an afterthought.
The primaries in Meretz and Labor prove that nothing has changed in those parties. No one is willing to own to their mistakes, and the old leadership is now back.
The claim by both leaders - Meretz's Zehava Gal-On and Labor's Michaeli - that "we have a great team" shows their view of the electorate as imbeciles. I have no doubt that deep inside both know that forfeiting the left-wing causes that championed the anti-occupation efforts and their abandonment of the Israelis left behind will hurt them among their left-wing base.
Perhaps it is best that both parties fade away, as both have dismal poll numbers that could leave them out of the Knesset. Prime Minister Yair Lapid knows better than both how to drive home the "Anyone But Netanyahu" message. The political vacuum created by both parties would hopefully be filled by a newly sprouted left-wing party that truly represents Arabs and Jews - a party that is not nationally driven and discrimination-free.
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