Israel: Familiar Field

Union vote hints at a close race

The contest was touted as a kind of election barometer. When the results came in last week, however, it appeared as if the barometer had gone haywire. "This means good returns for the Likud in June," said Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a member of Prime Minister Menachem Begin's ruling conservative coalition. Said Begin's challenger, opposition Labor Party Leader Shimon Peres: "We are rather satisfied with the results."

Both sides were digesting the voting tallies for delegate representation in the 1.5 million-member Histadrut, the sprawling national labor federation that embraces 60% of Israel's 2.49 million...

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