Posted on 02/03/2003 7:45:46 AM PST by anotherview
Sarid: My mistake was not speaking strongly enough against Arafat
By Mazal Mualem
"I don't think I spoke out strongly enough against Yasser Arafat. In retrospect that was a mistake that had a severly detrimental effect on Meretz," MK Yossi Sarid, who resigned last week as chairman of the party in the wake of its failure in the elections, said yesterday at a meeting of the Meretz leadership in Tel Aviv.
Sarid said that his failure to distance himself from the Palestinian leader had resulted from Meretz's desire to honor the principle that negotiations should be held with elected representatives. In addition, he had not wanted to play into the hands of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he said.
Sarid had not been blamed by party members for the election failure and many called on him to reconsider his decision to step down as chairman of the party, but a clearly emotional Sarid said that his decision was final, and the right one in the circumstances.
"One cannot demand certain norms and then not live up to them oneself. The party's failure in the elections cannot be left unaccounted for," Sarid said. He had served as party leader for seven years.
Meretz won only six seats in the elections, down from 10 seats in the previous Knesset. The party peaked at 12 seats in 1992.
Sarid's resignation has left the party in a state of shock and as yet, the faction has not decided on a new leadership.
The party is in effect leaderless and is currently deliberating between electing a temporary leader, choosing a new leader (a step backed by MK Ran Cohen, who has announced his intention to run for the position) or letting Meretz's senior leadership run the party jointly.
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