The Likud Central Committee convened Tuesday evening and approved party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu's proposal to move internal primaries up to August 14.
With MK Silvan Shalom having already pulled out of the race, Netanyahu will face Moshe Feiglin, who heads the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction within the Likud.
Feiglin addressed the Central Committee, saying that only someone with faith could lead the nation to victory over Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Olmert had better guns and a better army, but Nasrallah had faith and that is why he beat Olmert,” Feiglin said.
Netanyahu inserted several unannounced speakers between Feiglin and himself “so that he would not have to respond to Feiglin’s claims or give the impression that he sees Feiglin as a serious challenger,” according to state-run Reshet Bet radio’s political correspondent.
"We believe that we can take the country out of the mud,” Netanyahu boomed. “We can take a different road."
MK Shalom claimed he dropped out of the race because Netanyahu refused to postpone primaries to offer enough time to display an agenda and run a campaign. Netanyahu’s camp said Shalom, who was trounced by Netanyahu in the previous primaries, knew he would not win, and was scared he might not even take second place, but rather lose to Moshe Feiglin. According to the Jerusalem Post, a recent Brain Base poll commissioned by Netanyahu reported that to be likely.
The Central Committee approved August 14 – the date preferred by both Netanyahu and Feiglin. A run-off, if needed, would be held on August 21 - though MK Reuven Rivlin told Army Radio Wednesday that there would not be a third candidate in the upcoming race. MK Shalom did not attend the assembly, and warned Netanyahu that he "would not leave the race against Feiglin strengthened."
The Jewish Leadership faction plans to launch a campaign to visit every member of the Likud Party in order to convince them to vote for Feiglin. The idea is modeled after the efforts extended prior to the Likud referendum on Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan, which rejected the Disengagement; Sharon subsequently ignored the results of the referendum which he himself called.
Netanyahu Attacks Barak
At a ceremony marking a year since the Second Lebanon War, following the Likud Central Committee meeting, Netanyahu referred to former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, now elected to head the Labor Party once again, as “amateur, reckless and an adventurer.”
Netanyahu went on to blame the war on Barak, who led a retreat from Lebanon in 2000. “Barak's government brought Nasrallah to the border,” he said. “The withdrawal from Lebanon was an irresponsible retreat.”
Looking For a New Leader
Maariv political correspondent Ben Caspit, guest-hosting Army Radio's "What's Burning" morning talk-show, interviewed Feiglin Tuesday. "We are back to the 90s - with Netanyahu, Barak and Olmert competing for the top spot," Caspit said. "Israeli politics is stuck with the same ideas, same conceptions and same people. We are about to talk with someone who says he is a fresh change to the old cast of characters."
Excerpts from the interview:
Feiglin: "The question is not about primaries but about who will lead this nation... I am running to win and not to make a show or increase influence."
Caspit: "So Netanyahu is just another leftist?"
Feiglin: "Netanyahu is a very worthy person, and he should certainly be active in the government, but there is no choice - the leadership position must be a man of faith. We are talking about a basic element of leadership; we have taken G-d out of the equation."
Caspit: "What ministerial position would Netanyahu receive in your government?"
Feiglin: "Netanyahu was a good Finance Minister and Foreign Minister and perhaps one of those positions would be granted to him."
Caspit: "But the Likud is not a religious party - for that there are religious parties. You are talking about G-d and faith, which is nice, but you are talking about convincing the party to become religious, to declare Jewish Law its platform and to embark on a war of independence or destruction or I don't know what against the goyim who threaten our destruction. This isn't the situation. You are a bit detached..."
Feiglin: "Ben, you are mistaken. The Likud is not a secular party, but a national party. A majority of its members are traditional -"
Caspit: "But you are making it religious! The Likud believes in Democracy!"
Feiglin: "I am not talking about a religious party - I am against the existence of religious parties. I am talking about restoring national pride, about why we returned to this land in the first place. What are we if we are not Jews? Why are you pretending that we are calling for a state based on Jewish Law?"
Caspit: "Democracy overrules Jewish Law and the rabbis?"
Feiglin: "It is the nation that wants a more traditional society, and we who are the bigger democrats. What happened here? A tiny minority took control of the courts and took control of the press, a group that doesn't believe in anything Jewish and dragged the society to the fringes of the left. When a normal person comes along - a simple, proud Jew who wants to represent what the nation wants and is proud of - he is labeled 'right-wing extremist.' We will lead this country, with G-d's help, very soon."