Meanwhile, Braverman said at a press conference that he has asked Ben-Eliezer to lead the party until a new party chief is elected.

Ben-Eliezer, for his part, sharply derided Barak over his decision to leave the party, and said that late Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin "was spinning in his grave," over the step. But, Ben-Eliezer, insisted, the Labor party will still flourish but under younger management, saying that he "has no intentions of running for the chairmanship of the party."

"The Labor Party that I know for 26 years ... is in a crisis," Ben-Eliezer said, adding, however, that "I have no doubt that it will return."

Barak's announcement took me by total surprise "I couldn't believe that Ehud Barak who fled the party once would do it again, " Ben-Eliezer said.

A very public harbinger of the slow-motion tsunami overtaking Labor came at a major left-of-center demonstration against government policies held in Tel Aviv Saturday night.

There, many in the estimated crowd of 10,000 protesters booed and hissed when Barak's name was mentioned.

As well, the crisis where comes in the wake of a recent internal crisis in Labor, where many members expressed their disappointment over the current government's policies on the peace process, and appealed to the party to quit Netanyahu's ruling coalition.

Last Tuesday, Labor lawmaker Daniel Ben-Simon, a former journalist, struck a blow to the party by announcing his withdrawal with the stated aim of forming a one-man faction in the parliament, citing his disappointment with Labor and his failure to bring its members to leave the coalition.

Not mincing words, Ben-Simon said, "For some months now I do not see eye to eye with the faction and the coalition. I've lost hope. Since it was not possible to withdraw as a group, I decided to expedite this move."

Ben-Eliezer, as a staunch advocate of the peace process with the Palestinians, announced in recent weeks that he personally would lead Labor out of the coalition in April unless the stymied process is resumed.

"Barak's abandonment allows for a renewal of the party and its return to social action and true vision," Herzog told reporters.

"This crisis gives us the chance to rebuild a strong movement. The Labor movement is on a new path," he said.