“It seems like Netanyahu is trying to bring into the Likud, and into the government that he will create, people that either are from the extreme Left or people that were in favor of the Disengagement, even people who are still in favor of that act."
Moshe Feiglin, Likud member and founder of the pro-Land of Israel faction Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership), offered sharp criticism for what he called the un-democratic way in which Binyamin Netanyahu is seeking to expand his party rolls.
“If someone joins the party and wants to become a Knesset Member, he should become elected by all the members of the party,” Feiglin said. “The whole concept of open primaries, for which Netanyahu himself pushed very hard in the past, is based exactly on that principle - the common knowledge and understanding of 20,000 people who will create the best list of Likud Knesset members.”
Bibi's Strategy
According to sources within the Likud party, Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu will try to add Israeli public figures, some of whom have no prior political experience, to the party list for the upcoming fall Knesset session. While party sources see this as an attempt by Netanyahu to boost Likud’s popularity in the polls, some existing members, like Feiglin, fear that the party will soon become overrun with left-leaning members, thereby endangering the security of the State.
Among the Israeli public figures Netanyahu is said to be considering inviting into the Knesset are former basketball star Tal Brody; businessman Yair Shamir, the son of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; the grandson of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, of the same name as his revisionist-Zionist grandfather; former generals Moshe (‘Bogie’) Ya’alon and Yossi Peled; and former Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Education Yechiel Leiter.
Gen. (ret.) Uzi Dayan and former Police Commissioner Assaf Chefetz have recently joined the Likud; neither has strong right-wing views.
Current members of Netanyahu’s party lashed out at the chairman in reaction to news of this strategy, which would decrease the chances of many of the current members from receiving Cabinet positions if the Likud wins the next general election. In addition, according to some sources in the party, one of the methods Netanyahu is considering is to give every other spot on the list to a newcomer - meaning that half of the Knesset Members in the Likud would be effectively appointed by him rather than chosen by the Likud membership.
Another Attempt to Oust Feiglin?
The Likud sources revealed another motivation for Netanyahu’s new plan to reserve slots: To prevent pro-Land of Israel activist Moshe Feiglin and his Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) movement from entering the Knesset. The last few years have seen Feiglin’s popularity soar, and in the last Likud primary he came in second to Netanyahu with nearly one-fourth of the vote. In response to the threat presented by his rival within the party, Netanyahu has in the past repeatedly and openly attempted to oust Feiglin from the party.
“I really hope that is not true. To think that Netanyahu, who did everything he could to open elections to the authority of the [Likud] Central Committee and Likud members… to think that he is going to go backwards,180 degrees against the party’s interest, against the party’s members, all that just to go against me, is hard to believe.”
An Open Door for a Leftist Likud Takeover: 'Scary'
Even more frightening to Feiglin are the names of some of the prospective Likud new-comers that may enter the Knesset through Netanyahu’s plan, such as Uzi Dayan, Dan Meridor and Yehiel Leiter. The Jewish Leadership chief expressed concern that the traditionally strong Zionist character of the party would be threatened by people like these if Netanyahu’s plan succeeds.
“The [Likud] charter talks in a very specific way about being loyal to the land of Israel, to the heritage of Israel,” said Feiglin in an interview with IsraelNationalNews. Feiglin pointed out that most of the newcomers Netanyahu wants to place into the new party list are from the political Left.
“Having new names and public figures to join Likud is a good idea,” he said. However, he added, “it seems like Netanyahu is trying to bring into the Likud, and into the government that he will create, people that either are from the extreme Left or people that were in favor of the Disengagement, even people who are still in favor of that act."
Feiglin pointed out that Netanyahu is “trying to bring in a guy like Uzi Dayan, who was one of the major founders of the Oslo agreements, and who did everything he could to bring about the Disengagement,” as well as Dan Meridor from the Israel Democracy Institute, “who ran from one place to another to convince Sharon to do the Disengagement.”
Feiglin also described one Netanyahu's pick, Yechiel Leiter, as a “so-called settler who came out with plans to destroy communities in Judea and Samaria” and uproot 11,000 more people as one of the figures Netanyahu is courting.
“So you see where this direction is leading us, and it’s scary. It’s very, very scary. I think everyone who sees these names should be very worried.”