Fierce Battle for Histadrut Leadership to Be Decided Today

YERUSHALAYIM

Both candidates for the leadership of the Histadrut — Avi Nissenkorn and Shelly Yachimovich — were claiming a lead in the polls as over half a million members choose their next chairman on Tuesday.

Yachimovich, a senior Zionist Camp MK, and Nissenkorn, the incumbent, who took over after the early resignation of Ofer Eini, have exchanged accusations of corruption and cronyism, making for an acrimonious campaign.

Yachimovich alleged that Nissenkorn has maintained connections with corrupt officials, including Eini, and Nissenkorn retaliated with a charge that she made a secret quid pro quo deal with MK Eitan Cabel, who’s running for chairman of the Zionist Camp party to replace Isaac Herzog.

In addition to the chairman of the Histadrut, members will also vote for leadership of the various institutions within the organization, including its committees and regional councils.

The Yachimovich headquarters issued a statement saying, “The battlefield is abuzz. There is a good chance that within the next 48 hours, Yachimovich will be the new chairman of the Histadrut.”

In response, Nissenkorn claimed: “We have transformed the Histadrut into a social movement. We are confident that workers and pensioners will express their faith in us and we will win a clear victory and continue with social actions, not just words.”

Nissenkorn’s headquarters point to polls by Mano Geva and Mina Tzemach showing that he leads Yachimovich by 52 percent to 38 percent.

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