http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/649910.html
Braverman: Peretz is following Blair's path By Mazal Mualem
President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Professor Avishay Braverman, yesterday endorsed Labor Party chair Amir Peretz, and announced plans to run for Knesset on the party's ticket.
"Don't be afraid of Peretz, he's not a communist," Braverman declared at a joint press conference with Peretz at Labor headquarters in Tel Aviv. "He is following the exact same path as British Prime Minister Tony Blair."
Peretz said Braverman's presence "indicates that the Labor movement is succeeding overnight in connecting to its origins."
[...]
Braverman said he is thrilled to be joining Labor under Peretz, whose election inspired the university president to enter politics.
Insisting that Peretz's path is genuinely one of "free enterprise, of investment in human capital, in education," Braverman urged people not to be cowed by scare tactics that paint Peretz as a radical socialist.
[...]
Peretz's supporters have invested great efforts since the outset of his primary campaign to attract segments of the middle class that ostensibly are diametrically opposed to his ideology in order to alter his image as a rowdy union leader. The maneuver has been succeeding. Peretz has been presented to the public by means of a clear and reasoned agenda, and along the way has gathered more supporters among public figures, including businessmen and high-tech entrepreneurs.