Feiglin garnered 12.4% of the vote, coming in third place behind Binyamin Netanyau (44.4%) and Silvan Shalom (33%).
Feiglin, an orthodox Jew who heads the Jewish Leadership faction within the Likud, has been the butt of severe criticism by veteran party leaders, who view him as an outsider.
Feiglin claims he is returning the Likud to its roots as a party dedicated to settling all the Land of Israel, and retaining all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza under Israeli rule. His critics, however, portray him as a fanatic who lacks appeal to mainstream party voters looking, they claim, for a more pragmatic candidate for prime minister.
Karpel said that election results showing over 10% of Likud voters choosing Feiglin should be interpreted as a victory.
Karpel, 52, who lives in the Judean community of Bat Ayin and teaches philosophy at Haifa University, said that Feiglin has been treated unfairly by the press because “he wears a yarmulke and has a beard.”
He explained that if Feiglin’s ideology were viewed objectively, people would realize that his opinions represent the core values of the Likud party. Those values are devotion to the land of Israel and preserving the Jewish character of the state.
With the primary election behind them, Karpel said he hoped his faction “will be integrated into the Likud leadership.” “Our goal is not to be permanently in the opposition,” he said.
Karpel was less sanguine about getting Feiglin or one of his supporters elected as a Member of Knesset. While Feiglin’s supporters tend to vote as a bloc in the Likud Central Committee (the body that determines the order of the party’s election list), Karpel said the faction’s representation on that committee was too small to guarantee success.
Karpel said he was not disappointed that leaders of the Yesha Council, representing Jewish municipalities in Judea and Samaria, publicly called for their constituency to vote for Binyamin Netanyahu. He called them “men with no horizon or vision.”
Karpel said that the Yesha Council contributed to Netanyahu’s winning the race by a margin that precluded the need to hold a second round. He contends that Feiglin would have come out number two, if a second round were held.
Feiglin, an orthodox Jew who heads the Jewish Leadership faction within the Likud, has been the butt of severe criticism by veteran party leaders, who view him as an outsider.
Feiglin claims he is returning the Likud to its roots as a party dedicated to settling all the Land of Israel, and retaining all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza under Israeli rule. His critics, however, portray him as a fanatic who lacks appeal to mainstream party voters looking, they claim, for a more pragmatic candidate for prime minister.
Karpel said that election results showing over 10% of Likud voters choosing Feiglin should be interpreted as a victory.
Karpel, 52, who lives in the Judean community of Bat Ayin and teaches philosophy at Haifa University, said that Feiglin has been treated unfairly by the press because “he wears a yarmulke and has a beard.”
He explained that if Feiglin’s ideology were viewed objectively, people would realize that his opinions represent the core values of the Likud party. Those values are devotion to the land of Israel and preserving the Jewish character of the state.
With the primary election behind them, Karpel said he hoped his faction “will be integrated into the Likud leadership.” “Our goal is not to be permanently in the opposition,” he said.
Karpel was less sanguine about getting Feiglin or one of his supporters elected as a Member of Knesset. While Feiglin’s supporters tend to vote as a bloc in the Likud Central Committee (the body that determines the order of the party’s election list), Karpel said the faction’s representation on that committee was too small to guarantee success.
Karpel said he was not disappointed that leaders of the Yesha Council, representing Jewish municipalities in Judea and Samaria, publicly called for their constituency to vote for Binyamin Netanyahu. He called them “men with no horizon or vision.”
Karpel said that the Yesha Council contributed to Netanyahu’s winning the race by a margin that precluded the need to hold a second round. He contends that Feiglin would have come out number two, if a second round were held.