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.
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