David Ben Gurion’s new political grouping, Rafi, “has no intention of returning to Mapai, because there is no Mapai to return to, ” Shimon Peres, secretary-general of the new party, declared here last night.
Mr. Peres, former Deputy Minister of Defense and Mr. Ben-Gurion’s chief aide in the formation of the group, which had broken away from the Mapai Party, made that statement at a meeting of the Rafi central committee here. He said, however, that Rafi will not ban any “private” efforts to bring about a rapprochement with Mapai.
At the meeting last night, the Rafi central committee decided to elect a secretariat, to consist of 31 members. Of the 31, the leaders decided, the central committee would appoint 19, while the rest would be named by Rafi’s regional branches. Mr. Peres had been elected secretary-general last May.
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