The 3,000-member Likud Central Committee is to convene early next week to decide whether to hold the primaries on the date proposed by the joint Netanyahu-Landau camp, or that put forward by Ariel Sharon.
Sharon, anxious to put off for as long as possible the vote in which his leadership will be challenged, wishes to keep the already scheduled April 2006 date. His challengers, MKs Dr. Uzi Landau (pictured) and Binyamin Netanyahu, want to move up the date to this coming November. Central Committee Chairman Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, a popular figure in the Central Committee, is still trying to promote a compromise solution calling for primaries in February.
Arutz-7 spoke with three Central Committee members over the past two days. The first, Natan Englesman of Shilo, is a member of Moshe Feiglin's Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction. Feiglin also plans to run for party leader whenever the vote is held. "The vote on the issue of moving up the primaries looks to be very close," he said, "and will be decided by individual votes." Englesman favors ridding the party of Ariel Sharon as quickly as possible.
Englesman acknowledged that Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, as well as Ministers HaNegbi and Livnat, have enlisted to support the Sharon camp's bid not to move up the primaries: "They are captives in the hands of the Sharon family, and they know that moving up the primaries and replacing the Likud leader will similarly push up the primaries for the Likud's list of Knesset candidates - something they want as late as possible so that people will forget the scenes of the expulsion [to which these ministers did not forcefully object - ed.]. There are also some party functionaries who enjoy being in the ruling party, and the like - but there are also some 1,200 members who comprise the party's ideological hard-core and who wish to rid the party of the Sharon family."
"We have mapped out all the Central Committee members," Englesman said, outlining his camp's strategy, "and we are in almost daily touch with them. Those who are still undecided receive a personal visit from our people, and we try to convince them face-to-face. We have had good success in this; even if many of them can't announce their intentions publicly, for various reasons, at the ballot box they will vote for early primaries."
Englesman admitted that if his group's efforts to move up the primaries are successful, this would pave the way for Netanyahu to be elected party leader. Netanyahu waffled on the disengagement, voting last year for a "compromise" proposal enabling the withdrawal from Gaza, but voting against it on other occasions. He often spoke out against the plan. Just ten days before the actual expulsion, he resigned his Cabinet position, saying that he wished to make it clear that he did not support or have a hand in the plan.
"True, [Netanyahu] is not exactly the prince of our dreams," Englesman said. "He and his friends allowed the expulsion; they could have stopped it, but did not - perhaps they didn't want to - and therefore we face a problem. After this upcoming vote, we will plan out our strategy for the next stage."
Another Central Committee member, Shimon Gabso, is a top aide to MK Uzi Landau. "Right now," he told Arutz-7, "our goal is to win the Sept. 26 vote to advance the primaries, and that's what we're working on with full force. The day after that, we'll start working on Landau's candidacy... Our polls in fact show that we will win this upcoming vote by a 10% margin."
"Sharon can deny that he's planning to start a new party," Gabso said, "but we have plenty of indications to the contrary. We are not deposing him, as the other side likes to say, but rather taking part in a democratic process of choosing our leader."
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked, "What do you say to Likud members who say that voting Sharon out will hasten new elections and will thus cost the Likud a year of being in power?"
Gabso replied, "Yes, we are the ruling party, but in actuality, we are only a contractor of Labor Party policies, with further withdrawals on the horizon. If I were [heading the National Union party], I would do everything possible to make sure that Sharon remains as Likud leader, because then many Likud supporters won't vote for Likud and the National Union party will double in strength. My own mother, a life-long Likudnik, told me that under no circumstances would she vote for the Likud if Sharon heads it. And what about all the other mothers?..."
Gabso acknowledged that there are some differences of opinion between the Netanyahu and Landau camps - for instance, the fact that Netanyahu has said he doesn't plan to shorten Sharon's term in office - but he does not wish to empahsize these. "We're working together with the Netanyahu camp for the purpose of advancing the primaries," Gabso said, "and I believe that this cooperation is worth about 10-15% of the Central Committee votes."
Baruch Hassan, a member of the Sharon camp, was told that the Landau camp is basking in poll results showing a 10% lead for moving up the primaries. Asked what the Sharon camp polls show, Hassan said, "I have no idea; we're not working with polls, but on the ground, trying to show that advancing the primaries means giving Bibi Netanyahu a chance to divide Jerusalem, split the Likud, and give away the Golan."
"Netanyahu will split Jerusalem?!" he was asked, and responded, "Yes, Jerusalem - in the past, he conducted talks about giving away part of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount. He also gave away Hevron, and talked about 13% of Judea and Samaria..."
Q. "Isn't it true that the Sharon government is basically carrying out Labor Party policies - uprooting communities, with more to come?"
A. "Look, to be the ruling party, and not to do a thing for the good of the country, that's not the objective of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister... sees just a little further and knows a little bit more than we do what's good for the country. The Prime Minister has not yet said that he's giving away any more land --"
Q. "What do you mean, didn't you hear his speech at the UN?"
A. "The Prime Minister says that the Palestinians are supposed to collect the weapons and stop the terrorism - something that the Prime Minister doesn't believe will happen - and only then will he talk to them about a Palestinian state, which is something that both he and Netanyahu agree to."
Hassan said he was happy that Sharon had withdrawn Israel from Gaza, thus solving an acute demographic problem for Israel, and that Israel now faces an existential danger from Iranian nuclear weapons that must be dealt with.
Sharon, anxious to put off for as long as possible the vote in which his leadership will be challenged, wishes to keep the already scheduled April 2006 date. His challengers, MKs Dr. Uzi Landau (pictured) and Binyamin Netanyahu, want to move up the date to this coming November. Central Committee Chairman Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, a popular figure in the Central Committee, is still trying to promote a compromise solution calling for primaries in February.
Arutz-7 spoke with three Central Committee members over the past two days. The first, Natan Englesman of Shilo, is a member of Moshe Feiglin's Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction. Feiglin also plans to run for party leader whenever the vote is held. "The vote on the issue of moving up the primaries looks to be very close," he said, "and will be decided by individual votes." Englesman favors ridding the party of Ariel Sharon as quickly as possible.
Englesman acknowledged that Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, as well as Ministers HaNegbi and Livnat, have enlisted to support the Sharon camp's bid not to move up the primaries: "They are captives in the hands of the Sharon family, and they know that moving up the primaries and replacing the Likud leader will similarly push up the primaries for the Likud's list of Knesset candidates - something they want as late as possible so that people will forget the scenes of the expulsion [to which these ministers did not forcefully object - ed.]. There are also some party functionaries who enjoy being in the ruling party, and the like - but there are also some 1,200 members who comprise the party's ideological hard-core and who wish to rid the party of the Sharon family."
"We have mapped out all the Central Committee members," Englesman said, outlining his camp's strategy, "and we are in almost daily touch with them. Those who are still undecided receive a personal visit from our people, and we try to convince them face-to-face. We have had good success in this; even if many of them can't announce their intentions publicly, for various reasons, at the ballot box they will vote for early primaries."
Englesman admitted that if his group's efforts to move up the primaries are successful, this would pave the way for Netanyahu to be elected party leader. Netanyahu waffled on the disengagement, voting last year for a "compromise" proposal enabling the withdrawal from Gaza, but voting against it on other occasions. He often spoke out against the plan. Just ten days before the actual expulsion, he resigned his Cabinet position, saying that he wished to make it clear that he did not support or have a hand in the plan.
"True, [Netanyahu] is not exactly the prince of our dreams," Englesman said. "He and his friends allowed the expulsion; they could have stopped it, but did not - perhaps they didn't want to - and therefore we face a problem. After this upcoming vote, we will plan out our strategy for the next stage."
Another Central Committee member, Shimon Gabso, is a top aide to MK Uzi Landau. "Right now," he told Arutz-7, "our goal is to win the Sept. 26 vote to advance the primaries, and that's what we're working on with full force. The day after that, we'll start working on Landau's candidacy... Our polls in fact show that we will win this upcoming vote by a 10% margin."
"Sharon can deny that he's planning to start a new party," Gabso said, "but we have plenty of indications to the contrary. We are not deposing him, as the other side likes to say, but rather taking part in a democratic process of choosing our leader."
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked, "What do you say to Likud members who say that voting Sharon out will hasten new elections and will thus cost the Likud a year of being in power?"
Gabso replied, "Yes, we are the ruling party, but in actuality, we are only a contractor of Labor Party policies, with further withdrawals on the horizon. If I were [heading the National Union party], I would do everything possible to make sure that Sharon remains as Likud leader, because then many Likud supporters won't vote for Likud and the National Union party will double in strength. My own mother, a life-long Likudnik, told me that under no circumstances would she vote for the Likud if Sharon heads it. And what about all the other mothers?..."
Gabso acknowledged that there are some differences of opinion between the Netanyahu and Landau camps - for instance, the fact that Netanyahu has said he doesn't plan to shorten Sharon's term in office - but he does not wish to empahsize these. "We're working together with the Netanyahu camp for the purpose of advancing the primaries," Gabso said, "and I believe that this cooperation is worth about 10-15% of the Central Committee votes."
Baruch Hassan, a member of the Sharon camp, was told that the Landau camp is basking in poll results showing a 10% lead for moving up the primaries. Asked what the Sharon camp polls show, Hassan said, "I have no idea; we're not working with polls, but on the ground, trying to show that advancing the primaries means giving Bibi Netanyahu a chance to divide Jerusalem, split the Likud, and give away the Golan."
"Netanyahu will split Jerusalem?!" he was asked, and responded, "Yes, Jerusalem - in the past, he conducted talks about giving away part of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount. He also gave away Hevron, and talked about 13% of Judea and Samaria..."
Q. "Isn't it true that the Sharon government is basically carrying out Labor Party policies - uprooting communities, with more to come?"
A. "Look, to be the ruling party, and not to do a thing for the good of the country, that's not the objective of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister... sees just a little further and knows a little bit more than we do what's good for the country. The Prime Minister has not yet said that he's giving away any more land --"
Q. "What do you mean, didn't you hear his speech at the UN?"
A. "The Prime Minister says that the Palestinians are supposed to collect the weapons and stop the terrorism - something that the Prime Minister doesn't believe will happen - and only then will he talk to them about a Palestinian state, which is something that both he and Netanyahu agree to."
Hassan said he was happy that Sharon had withdrawn Israel from Gaza, thus solving an acute demographic problem for Israel, and that Israel now faces an existential danger from Iranian nuclear weapons that must be dealt with.