The Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's request that they assign a definition of "moral turpitude" to the crimes Manhigut Yehudit faction head Moshe Feiglin, preventing him from running for the Knesset due to his conviction for "sedition" after organizing mass non-violent civil disobedience protesting the Oslo Accords. The court confirmed an earlier ruling, appealed by Mazuz, that more than seven years have passed since his conviction and Feiglin is now able to serve in the Knesset. One of the presiding justices, Justice Ayala Procaccia made it clear, though, that she considers Feiglin's crimes to have constituted "moral turpitude." The case has turned out to be theoretical, at this point, as Feiglin agreed not to run for a slot on the Likud slate this term in exchange for Binyamin Netanyahu rescinding his attempt to ban Feiglin from ever serving as an official in the party.
Meanwhile, one of the founders of Manhigut, Moti Karpel, has decided that the Likud Party is no longer an effective place for the movement to operate out of and has announced his resignation from the party and faction. "We must choose between two possibilities," a statement from the group explaining Karpel's departure said. "The first is to switch to a different party, thereby exchanging the arena on which we are competing. In this way we would possibly enter the Knesset at the head of an 'Orange' party. The second possibility is to persevere in the arena that currently seems so difficult and possibly on the verge of total collapse. But as far as we are concerned, it is the true arena - the Likud."
"As long as we believe that the Likud is still the tool with which we can best achieve Manhigut's goals, we will carry on in the Likud. The world of politics is a spinning wheel. Sometimes a party is up, and sometimes it is down. Patience and perseverance are the decisive factor. If we impatiently lead the Orange public now, we will enjoy the temporary achievement of putting a few of Manhigut's candidates into the Knesset. But it will at once destroy our chances of achieving our true goal - uniting the entire 'Jewish' public of all shades into one strong political force."