Communications consultant Ronen Tzur announced on Wednesday evening that he will not run in the Democrats party primary, saying in a Channel 13 "Seven" studio interview that the party contains "extreme factions" that do not suit him. He said, "Whoever thought he was arriving at the home of Labor or even Meretz found a house that deals in dark and black methods." The Democrats were formed as a merger of Labor and Meretz.
Tzur also questioned whether the party could become part of the next government. The article noted that the Democrats' primary has dozens of candidates, but polls put the party at no more than 10 or 11 seats, making it very hard for any candidate, including Tzur, to win a place on the list.
Tzur further said he had been accused of spreading messages attacking another primary contender, retired Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer. The messages portrayed Sheffer as a "far-left man who grovels before those who justified Oct. 7." The reports were presented as an exaggerated version of criticism Tzur had previously voiced.
A review of the details later found an unexpected twist, the sender listed for the denunciation messages was actually Sheffer's own personal spokesman. According to the examination, the purpose was to make party members view what they would assume was a smear campaign by Tzur against Sheffer, even though the campaign was initiated by Sheffer's camp.
Sheffer apologized in a post on X, writing that one of the messages sent as part of the primary "came from my team" but was written to look as if it was attacking him. He said it echoed Tzur's messages and was therefore attributed to Tzur, adding that this was not the kind of politics he wants to bring, that not knowing about it does not remove his responsibility, and that the responsibility is entirely his. He said he had called Tzur to apologize and also apologized to the party members.
