Kadima that the minimum wage, and pension and health benefits, be raised in Israel. At the time, Labor favored a negotiated land agreement with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Kadima had so far refused to speak to any Palestinian leader since the Hamas election and has spoken openly of taking unilateral steps in the West Bank, which the Palestinians oppose. Since then, however, Kadima has directly negotiated with the Palestinian Authority. Following the 2009 elections, Kadima led the opposition in the Knesset. During the elections, Kadima successfully attracted left-of-center voters, to the dismay of Labor and Meretz leaders, who discouraged
Tzipi Livni finish her law studies. A graduate of Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law, she has practiced public and commercial law for over 10 years. Livni resides in Tel Aviv. She is married to advertising executive Naftali Spitzer, and the couple have two children, Omri (born 1987) and Yuval (born 1990). Livni has been a vegetarian since the age of 12. Besides her native language, Hebrew, Livni also speaks fluent English and French, having lived in Paris for a number of years. Livni's father, Eitan Livni, a Herut Member of Knesset, died in 1991. Her mother, Sara, who died in 2007, stood