In reaction to the bad result, party leader Avi Gabbay and MK Tal Russo resigned, leading to a leadership election being called.

[6] On 18 July 2019, Amir Peretz and Orly Levy-Abekasis, the chairwoman of Gesher, announced a joint run in the elections for the twenty-second Knesset.

This dissatisfaction led to the resignation of Stav Shaffir, who left the Labor party to form the Democratic Union with Meretz and Ehud Barak.

Shmuli eventually decided to remain in the Labor party and criticized his colleague's move.

[8] On 25 August, Amir Peretz shaved his signature mustache, telling voters to "read his lips" and that he and the Labor-Gesher alliance would not sit in a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.