Shelly Yachimovich

Shelly Rachel Yachimovich (שלי רחל יחימוביץ׳, born 28 March 1960) is an Israeli politician, who served three terms as the official Leader of the Opposition, a member of the Knesset, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

She was conscripted in 1978, and in 1985, Yachimovich graduated from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with a degree in behavioural science.

While studying in Beersheba, she worked as a correspondent for the Al HaMishmar newspaper.

She went on to become an anchor for the Israel Broadcasting Authority's radio station Reshet Bet, earning a reputation as opinionated and critical of conventional wisdom and the establishment.

As a journalist, she covered women's and social welfare issues.

The group was established in February 1997 by four mothers who have lost their sons in the Israeli helicopter disaster.

The founders formed a pressure group advocating a withdrawal, pointing out the excessive cost in human lives of a continuing Israeli presence in Southern Lebanon.

Yachimovich and military affairs journalist Carmela Menashe were the first to give stage to the group's agenda, helping the grass-roots movement strike at the heart of Israeli public debate.

In October 2000, following a work dispute, she left her radio job and joined Channel 2 TV, where she hosted a political talk show and served as a news commentator.

She also did a weekly program for Israel Army Radio (Galei Tzahal).

As a journalist, Yachimovich was credited in giving prominent stage on national radio for activists of the "Four Mothers" advocacy group who campaigned for Israel's withdrawal from Southern Lebanon.

The growing discussion over Israel's role in Southern Lebanon eventually led prime minister Ehud Barak to announce a withdrawal plan in 2000, amid vocal criticism over Yachimovich's agenda from military officials.

Four Mothers' group leaders later noted that Menashe's and Yachimovich's support was crucial in promoting their goal.

Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest financial institutions, had announced in late 2002 that it was about to cut 10% of its workforce of about 900 employees, many of whom were tenured under the bank's employment contract.

Criticism of the plan came from the Histadrut labor union, which questioned the necessity of such a massive layoff amidst ILS 1 billion in profits for the bank that year.

First filing legal action against the bank via the Tel Aviv District Labor Court, the Histadrut union also went on to embark on a massive public relations campaign against the bank's management.

The bank's main shareholder, American-Israeli businesswoman Shari Arison, one of Israel's wealthiest women, led a press conference to defend the layoffs, on advice from her public relations consultant Rani Rahav.

Arison expressed regret for the layoffs, characterizing management's decision as an example of national responsibility.

Critics rejected her argument as being poorly constructed, claiming that her remarks only seemed to demonstrate that for the country's wealthiest, national responsibility means profit maximization.

Histadrut labor union chairman Amir Peretz, who was facing upcoming Histadrut leadership elections, then led a campaign personally attacking Arison, publishing billboards with the slogan 'Shari Arison laughs, 900 families cry'.

Agitated about the slogan, Arison threatened Poster Media, the company that put up the billboards and which was partly owned by Arison, with a $10 million libel suit, successfully halting the campaign.

Yachimovich entered the discussion by airing a critical review of Shari Arison's conduct, on her editorial segment in Channel 2 news.

She warned that the threats of a lawsuit provided an example of how the rich and successful are able to arrange things to their liking, in this case by firing such a large number of employees and then silencing public criticism of the move.

The next day, Arison's consultant Rani Rahav published an assertive open letter attacking Yachimovich, faxing it to 500 of Israel's top CEO's and media personalities.

The letter, containing the phrase 'Bad, bad Shelly' multiple times, was described by press as childish.

In the letter, Rahav asked Yachimovich to depart Israel, claiming she should be grateful that wealthy people choose to live in Israel, invest in its economy and donate to charitable causes within it.

Later that year, when Arison relocated her residence to the United States, Rahav published yet a second open letter titled 'You won, Shelly', blaming Yachimovich in Arison's relocation.

On 29 November 2005, two weeks after Amir Peretz was interviewed by Yachimovich on "Meet the Press" for the occasion of his election as leader of the Labor Party, Yachimovich announced she was leaving journalism and entering politics.

Following criticisms, a cooling-off period of three months was imposed on journalists by Israeli broadcast regulator The Second Authority in late 2005.

Yachimovich later claimed on her behalf that she didn't have the slightest idea of joining politics on her mind during that interview.

She ran in the Labor primaries and achieved the ninth place on the party's list for the 2006 elections, in which she was elected to the Knesset.

Yachimovich was criticized on her sharp move from journalism to politics.

Critics noted that it was inappropriate for a watchdog journalist to become a member of the system she was supposed to be guarding.

Others alleged that the interview she had with Peretz shortly before joining politics must have lacked professional impartiality, according to journalism ethics.

She served as leader of the Israeli Labor Party between 2011 and 2013.

Before entering politics, she was a journalist, an author, and a television and radio commentator.

Yachimovich was born in Kfar Saba.

Her father, Moshe, was a construction worker and her mother, Hanna, a teacher.

Both parents were Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel from Poland.

She became politically engaged at an early age, and was expelled from Ostrovsky high school in Ra'anana at age 15 for hanging up posters denouncing the principal's style of leadership.