The Labor Party was celebrating last week after ending its latest registration drive with tens of thousand of new members. But there are already those ready to dampen the party's joy. Party leadership candidate Amram Mitzna claimed that a quarter of the new registrations were not kosher. We are now checking whether we can make these forms kosher, Mitzna said. The party rejected his claims. Speaking at a cultural event in Beer Sheba, Mitzna was asked if he was referring to the registration drive carried out by MK Amir Peretz, who was both defense minister and Labor Party leader in 2006 to 2007. According to party estimates, Peretz recruited the highest number of new members, almost 23,000. People who understand (the process) know who can carry out this type of recruitment, Mitzna responded, before going on to attack Peretz. Does Peretzs experience as defense minister qualify him to return to the job (of chairman)-, Mitzna said. Is this relevant experience? He was a partner in a war of which I dont want to remind everyone of the results (the Second Lebanon War). The Labor Party has rejected Mitzna's claims. The official results of the registration drive have yet to be delivered and the intake process is still in progress, so the number of invalid forms is still unknown, but I do not believe that it comes anywhere close to the numbers that have been raised, Labor Party Secretary-General Hilik Bar said. He said that judge Sarah Frisch had been appointed to determine the reliability of the registration. The Labor Party carried out a large and real recruitment ... I recommend that all the candidates restrain themselves and allow Judge Frisch and the party to do their jobs, Bar said.
