Erel Margalit Announces His Candidacy to Lead the Labor Party

"Let's Demand a Revolution for Different Leadership In Israel"

JERUSALEM, April 27, 2011 - Erel Margalit, a leading Israeli venture capitalist and a founder of the
Avoda Now campaign to reinvigorate the Labor Party with thousands of new
members, announced this evening that he is running for the Party's
chairmanship.

(Photo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110427/NY90934 )

"I can no longer watch from the sidelines as the political situation in
Israel deteriorates. Netanyahu's government has damaged every positive aspect
of the country, making it a necessity to reinvigorate the Labor Party. Thus,
I am issuing a call to revolutionize the Labor Party and I aspire to lead it,
and all of Israel, to a hopeful and better future."

Margalit continued, "The Labor Party under my leadership would be clear
in its mission: attract new and diverse people from every part of Israel and
positively impact the most pressing issues on the public agenda."

Margalit's comments were made during a speech this evening to honor the
volunteers of JVP Community, a non-profit organization that Margalit founded
nine years ago to improve the lives of underprivileged children and students
in Jerusalem. The event was attended by hundreds of young graduates of the
program and their parents.

"The Israeli public sees the current leadership of the Labor Party and
contenders for the chairperson as responsible for its decline, and instead,
wants a different leadership representing a new and better way. We need to
restore the Labor Party to the greatness it enjoyed with legendary leaders
like Ben Gurion, Golda and Rabin," Margalit declared.

Margalit is a founder and managing partner of Jerusalem Venture Partners,
a leading Israel-based venture capital firm and a major investor in the
Israeli technology sector. Over the last several months, he has worked with
other business and community leaders to restore the Labor Party by
encouraging the return of former members and recruiting new members.

A poll conducted on April 20th, 2011 by the Smith Institute, commissioned
for this evening's event, included the following results:

    - 81% of former Labor Party members are dissatisfied with how the Labor
      Party functions.
    - 69% of former Labor Party members agreed that only a revolution can
      save the Labor Party. 60% of current members of the Party also agree
      with this statement.
    - 63% of the Party's former members agree that only a new candidate and
      new people can save the Labor Party. 53% of the current members share
      the same opinion.
    - 41% of the current members of the Labor Party and 32% of past members
      noted that if a new and realistic candidate entered the primaries,
      chances were high to very high that they would vote for that candidate.
    - 35% of the former members of the Labor Party said there was a high to
      very high likelihood that the above development would result in their
      return to the Party.

U.S. Contact: Marco Greenberg, marco@thunder11.com, +1-917-282-7418

Israel Contact: Nadav Golan, 050-922-1666

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