With all of the votes counted, it is clear that there are some significant changes in the Likud lineup. Deputy Minister of Transportation Tzipi Hotevely is not going to be in the Knesset as she did not land a ‘realistic’ position, referring to a spot in the first 20 of the party lineup. This is based on election polls, with the highest giving Likud 24 seats.
Also pushed out is Deputy Speaker Moshe Feiglin, who also failed to land a realistic slot. Har Habayis activist Rabbi Yehudi Glick was also unsuccessful in his bid to land the slot reserved for a representative of Yesha.
The first 26 lineup:
1. Binyamin Netanyahu
2. Gilad Erdan (Currently Minister of the Interior)
3. Yuli Edelstein (Knesset speaker)
4. Yisrael Katz (Minister of Transportation)
5. Miri Regev (Chairwoman of the Knesset Interior Committee)
6. Silvan Shalom (Minister of Galil & Negev Development)
7. Moshe Ya’alon (Minister of Defense)
8. Ze’ev Elkin (Deputy Foreign Minister)
9. Tzachi Hanegbi (Chair of Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee)
10. Danny Danon (Deputy Defense Minister)
11. Reserved for PM appointment
12. Yuval Steinitz (Minister of Intelligence & Strategic Affairs)
13. Gila Gamliel
14. Yariv Levin
15. Ofir Akunis
16. David Biton
17. Chaim Katz
18. Jackie Levi
19. Dan Region candidate to be announced
20. Avi Dichter
21. David Amsellem
22. Miki Zohar
23. Reserved for PM appointment
24. Ayoub Kara (slot for non-Jewish candidate)
25. Nava Becker (slot for new women candidate)
26. Tzipi Hotevely
Former ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) Director Avi Dichter grabbed the 20th slot from Tzipi Hotevely. That is the last so-called ‘realistic’ slot. They were neck and neck throughout the primaries and Dichter appears to have the slot with 900 more votes that the deputy minister. Hotevely will be in the 26th slot and based on all polls, she will not be in the next Knesset.
According to Feiglin aide Michael Pu’ah in an interview with Arutz Sheva, the prime minister literally fired the poll watchers in the middle of the night, leaving no one to supervise the counting of the votes. Pu’ah laments “there is no connection between the truth and the results of the primary. We will probably never know the truth…”
Mr. Netanyahu told Likud legal officials that it was unfair to have poll watchers from some parties while others had no representative. Party officials accepted the explanation and the results are what they area.
At this time there has been no word from the Feiglin camp indicating if the results will be challenged.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Nu, so what so bad? Feiglin & Glick will now have more time to hang out on Har Habayis.
feiglin would make a great fit for ha’am itanu
Feiglin is in the wrong party, he belongs in Bayit Yehudi sort of like Simcha Felder should be a Republican.
Mbachur
Ha’am itanu wouldn’t go for extremism like Feiglin.
It’s made to be a very frum party that caters also to a more traditional crowd, the type that used to vote for shas in previous years, but won’t noW that Maran zt”l is no longer with us,
Including chabad
Frum mizrachi
Yishai “chasidim” (lot of them)
Deri haters
And classic sefaradim.
#2- Feiglin’s whole argument has always been that to make a real difference you have to win control of the Likud. I see no real chance of his ever succeeding in doing that but for him to leave the Likud would be an admission of total defeat. I suspect that he will prefer to stay put.
Hotevely, on the other hand, could transition smoothly into Habayit Hayehudi and may choose to do so.
Feiglin & Hotevely are the best of Likud, it is Bibi who wants the National Religious people out of Likud.
sefardi tahor: How about listing all the things you think Feiglin is extreme about. There is not one position he has that is against the Torah.