Registered Likud members may vote for the party’s lineup on Wednesday, 9 Teves in the party’s primaries. Polls will operate from 09:00-22:00 and 96,651 registered party members may vote at one of the 600 polling stations in 115 locations around the country. The vote will decide who will head the party as well as who will represent the party in the upcoming national elections for the 20th Knesset.
Many predict that with the retirement of the older guard, viewed as the moderates; such as Dan Meridor, Benny Begin and Moshe Kahlon, the new list will be more right-wing, perhaps resembling the Likud of yesteryear.
In the days leading up the election, persons close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu worked hard to advance the campaigns of Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, former minister and Kadima member Avi Dichter [who is also a former director of the ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet)], Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz, and Na’ava Boker, the wider of policeman Lior Boker who perished in the Carmel tragedy.
There are 38 people completing on the national ticket, the party’s top positions, of which 15 are viewed as “realistic” to enter the next Knesset. The voters will select 11 of these 17 positions. In addition, 32 people are competing for slots under sectoral races.
The party’s court backed the party’s comptroller in a challenge from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with the latter maintaining he did not have the authority to disqualify his candidacy. However, Comptroller Shai Galili decided to lift the ban on his own despite the party’s court backing his authority in the matter.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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After Begin was elected PM, he was scheduled to visit Washington and meet with President Carter. There was one problem: the meeting was scheduled for the nine days, when we are told to avoid court cases with non-Jews because of the bad mazel of those days. Begin asked Rabbi Porush to ask HaRav Shach whether the warning about the nine days applied to his having an official meeting with the U.S. President. HaRav Shach answered that the warning about the mazel of the nine days only applies to an individual, not the community, and he said that Begin should go. But, “Before he speaks with the President, he should read through Parshas Vayishlach.” Begin thanked Rabbi Porush and told him, “Menachem I want you to know I am not [only] a maamin be’emunah sheleimah; I am a meimen be’eminohshleimah.” (Putting a spin on the pronunciation, Begin switched from Hebrew to Yiddish – using his inflection to signal to Rabbi Porush that he wasn’t merely dati [at heart]. He identified as a heimishe Yid.