The Israeli Communist Forum reaffirms the position expressed in its earlier statement on the elections (January 12, 2001) and calls upon the electorate not support Ehud Barak's bid to be re-elected as Israel's Prime Minister.

All of us know full well the record of Barak's rival, the Likud candidate in these elections, Ariel Sharon - who presently leads the polls by a large margin. We did not forget, nor do we have any intention of forgetting, the crimes which Sharon committed during the Lebanon War, as well as on various other past occasions. Nor do we ignore Sharon's numerous racist and warlike statements, and his consistent opposition to all peace agreements and peace processes. Nevertheless, all of these do not constitute a sufficient reason for the Arab population in Israel and the Jewish peace forces to give their vote to a man who committed very grave crimes in the past year. These crimes included the mass killing of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, on a scale unparalleled even under the right-wing government which preceded Barak, as well as the murder of 13 Arab citizens of Israel and the wounding of hundreds of others - heinous acts, the like of which was not seen in Israel for decades.

Prime Minister Barak repeatedly claims to have offered, in his negotiations with the Palestinians, concessions more far-reaching than those made by any previous Israeli PM. He does not, however, produce any official document stating with any kind of exactitude what these concessions were - while he does repeatedly commit acts which seriously sabotage the possibility of furthering the peace process.

Throughout the entire course of the negotiations, the Barak Government increased the construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, in contravention of international law. In fact, settlement extension under Barak was considerably more rapid than under his right-wing predecessor, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as in the Golan Heights which Israel seized from Syria. The Barak Government also failed to implement Israel's obligations under previous agreements with the Palestinians.

In the past month, the Barak Government further escalated the oppression and carnage in the Occupied Territories, culminating with the criminal use of Death Squads which murdered 18 Palestinians - among them a peace-seeking dentist, whose murder astonished and horrified all Israeli peace activists. The inhabitants of the territories are subjected to curfews, sieges of towns and villages and numerous other infringements upon their freedom, making their daily life extremely difficult. Moreover, these measures have already exacted a heavy toll in lives, including those of women and children; for example, on several occasions ambulances were stopped at military checkpoints, even when carrying wounded persons or women in labor.

Also during the past month, Ehud Barak deliberately whipped up a war hysteria, which even senior military officers criticized as completely baseless and derived from electoral considerations. Barak thus revealed a tendency for dangerous adventurism - since inflammatory statements can well lead to provocative actions, and escalate onwards-real war.

Also in the socio-economic sphere, the Barak Government was a complete disappointment to all who had any hopes in it. During its year and half in office, the gap between rich and poor further widened, privatizations were carried out, and poverty as well as unemployment rose to the highest levels we have known in many years.

Even at the present moment, with but a short time left until elections day, we reiterate our call upon Ehud Barak to effect a fundamental change in his policies, in all spheres. Only by such a change can Barak hope to regain support from a part of those who voted for him in the previous elections and who do not intend to repeat their vote this time. In the absence of such a change - which, regrettably, seems to be the case up to the present moment - we see no reason for Barak to be supported again. In that case, rather, we call upon the voters to cast a blank ballot, by so doing manifesting a loud protest against the unacceptable policies of both candidates.