Ehud Barak offers to join Tafnit party

Tafnit leader Uzi Dayan due to complete party list at the end of the week.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
dayan, uzi 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
dayan, uzi 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who decided against seeking a Knesset seat with Labor, asked Tafnit leader Uzi Dayan to allow him to join his party's Knesset list, Dayan's spokeswoman said. Dayan's spokeswoman said that the party's leader would decide by the end of the week whether to include on the list Barak and many others who have asked to join Tafnit. She said that Barak's non-profit organizations scandal would not prevent the former prime minister from joining Tafnit, a party that considers the fight against corruption its top priority. "People with no previous convictions, and those who have never abused the right to remain silent are welcome to join Tafnit," she said, but stressed that "Tafnit was not a place for people looking for work." Barak's associates said that many parties were interested in the former prime minister, including Tafnit, MK Roman Bronfman's Democratic Choice party, Shinui, and MK Avraham Poraz's new group of MKs who broke off from Shinui. Barak will make a decision by the end of the week whether to run for Knesset or remain in business. Since Amir Peretz's election to the Labor Party leadership, Barak has been a vocal critic of Peretz and Labor. He quit the Labor leadership race to endorse Shimon Peres, who has since left for Kadima. Peretz decided against reserving a slot on Labor's Knesset list for Barak. He also rejected a request from Barak's associates to commit to giving Barak the Defense portfolio in a prospective Labor-led government. Hundreds of Barak's supporters in Labor have threatened to leave the party to protest Peretz's treatment of Barak.