The founding convention of former Premier David Ben-Gurion’s dissident Israel Workers Party (Rafi) ended here this weekend with a demand for electoral reform along the lines of Britain’s constituency system. Shimon Peres was unanimously reelected party secretary-general and a 210-member central committee was elected.
The delegates reiterated the party’s support for Mr. Ben-Gurion’s persistent demand for a judicial inquiry into the Lavon Affair. Pinhas Lavon, a one-time power in the ranks of the Mapai, was ousted as Defense Minister as the result of a security mishap. He was cleared of responsibility in a series of investigations despite Mr. Ben-Gurion’s vehement protests, and invited to return to Mapai by Premier Levi Eshkol. This was one of the issues on which Mr. Ben-Gurion split with Mr. Eshkol.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
