A senior member of the Labor Party in Israel endorsed Ehud Barak’s leadership bid. Ophir Pines-Paz, who finished fourth among the five candidates for the Labor leadership in a preliminary round of voting last week, said Wednesday he was backing the former prime minister in the June 12 runoff against Ami Ayalon. Earlier this week the front-running Barak also won the support of Danny Yatom, who finished last in the first round.Ayalon, the former Shin Bet chief, dramatically increased his vote base with the endorsement of the outgoing Labor leader, Defense Minister Amir Peretz.
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