The Knesset plenum this evening (Wednesday) approved in a preliminary reading the "Nir Barkat Law" which seeks to limit the ability of wealthy politicians to finance their own campaigns.
The Barkat Law stipulates that a candidate in the primaries will be limited to raising donations up to the amount of NIS 100,000.
The coalition dropped the bill submitted by MK Dudi Amsalem (Likud), while at the same time passing an identical law submitted by MK Sharren Haskel from New Hope.
The purpose of the move is to stoke tensions within the Likud party and to control the advancement of the legislation of the law that causes a difficult confrontation within the Likud faction.
Prior to the vote, MK Yisrael Katz from the Likud promised MKs from the faction that they would get the votes of the "new Likudniks" in the next primaries if they voted in favor of the law.
A few minutes before the vote on Dudi Amsalem's law, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid filed an appeal with Justice Minister over the law, claiming that Amsalem was bringing “hate speech” into the plenum.
MK Haskel's bill passed by a majority of 64 supporters against 17 opponents.
MK Dr. Shlomo Karhi from the Likud explained why he supported the law: "I voted for Amsalem's law and I will work to increase the amount to a reasonable level, because after all, everyone works with what G-d has endowed him with. All talk of it being a personal law is a lie. The law is correct in its essentials in preventing the purchase of power through money. There is no difference between this and a restriction during an election period or a contribution to a party that is limited to about 11,000 per year."