A prominent Israeli leader of the nationwide 2011 social-welfare protest movement announced on Wednesday his membership in the country's center-left Labor Party.

National Student Union Chairman Itzik Shmuli joins fellow newcomer and protest leader Stav Shaffir, as well as muckraking journalist Mickey Rosenthal.

Rosenthal produced a documentary slamming a coterie of wealthy Israelis, who he alleged had in recent decades taken over public assets with the connivance of successive Israeli governments.

During a press conference with party Chairman Shelly Yachimovich, Shmuli said that he hoped to make a difference in the political sphere.

"The Labor party has been and remains the only option for people like me and for the values I represent," Shmuli said.

He added that after years of "cynicism and indifference" towards politics which have "suffocated" Israel, there's an opportunity in upcoming elections to "make a change".

Yachimovich congratulated Shmuli and said she "respects him" for his decision.

"His joining us today marks a declaration of intent as to the ideological agenda of this party and the nature of our campaign, of putting Israeli society at the top of our platform," she added.

Shaffir announced last Friday that she planned to run for a Knesset (parliament) slot with Labor in the upcoming January elections.

Labor is trying to push the social-economic agenda, which brought millions of Israelis into the streets last year, to the top of the election campaign.

Meanwhile, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party enjoy a clear lead in the polls due to the security agenda in recent months, focusing on the debate whether to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.