Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is concerned regarding Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party, which he feels will take votes from Likud and the New Right party headed by Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked. The Prime Minister, according to a KAN11 News report, is concerned Feiglin will not receive sufficient votes to enter Knesset, and these right-wing votes will be trashed.
Recent polls fluctuate, with the most recent showing Feiglin enters Knesset with five seats. However, most polls in recent weeks show the Zehut party will not be in the 21st Knesset. Netanyahu feels that these votes would be right-wing votes that are likely to be wasted by citizens voting for the Zehut party. Mr. Netanyahu adds that it is interesting and worrisome that Feiglin has conveniently decided not to announce who he would recommend to the president to receive the mandate to form the next coalition government, citing Feiglin announced he would only reveal this following the elections, and this would go to the candidate that will meet those matters which are important to Zehut, as per the party’s platform.
During a recent interview with Ynet, Feiglin expressed interest in two cabinet portfolios, which are currently in the hands of those who appear to be natural partners of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He was referring to the Education portfolio, which is held by Naftali Bennet. However, following elections, that is likely to be in the hands of Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who now heads the Bayit Yehudi party. The other post is that of Finance, currently held by Moshe Kahlon. Kahlon’s party is also in danger of not earning a sufficient number of votes to get into Knesset, requiring 3.2% of the vote.
When asked what matters he wishes to advance in the coming two years, Feiglin announced that one condition for his party entering the government is the legalization of cannabis “because people in Israel are dying, suffering, all because cannabis is not legal. More than this, my loyalty to Eretz Yisrael is open clear and absolute”.
It is pointed out that while there are many attractive components to the Zehut platform, the said platform also includes ending the Chief Rabbinate’s exclusivity regarding marriage and conversion, as well as a liberal stance on other critical religious issues, as reported by YWN-Israel. The Zehut platform on religious issues in many aspects mimics that of the Blue and White and Meretz parties.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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Feiglin used to be pretty good .He has been sliding further and further However
since then
Far-right Likud MK Declares He Is No Longer a Homophobe
Moshe Feiglin, who once called himself a proud homophobe, tries to embrace gay community, but still opposes gay marriage
Feb 08, 2013 5:47 AM
Far-right Likud MK Moshe Feiglin tried to make amends with Israel’s gay community on Thursday, meeting with homosexuals from across the political spectrum at the Tel Aviv branch of the Israeli LGBT Association, Bar-Noar.
A chasm still separates Feiglin’s positions and the leading concepts of the gay pride community. On Thursday evening, as well, Feigilin stuck by the principle according to which the traditional family unit should stand above all. Still, even he admitted that he had softened his position somewhat since he wrote the 2009 article.
In 2009, Feiglin wrote that homosexuality had long stopped being considered sexual deviancy. “It is the domain of individuals who no one wished to interfere in their private lives. They long ago came out of the closet and constitute today the vanguard of the ‘post’ culture. It is the ruination of the family unit, which is the foundation stone of every national society. Throughout history, from Rome until contemporary Europe, giving legitimacy to the phenomenon of homosexuality and its expansion has heralded the decline of nations and cultures,” he wrote.
“In a way I’ve changed,” said Feiglin, whose 2009 article – titled “I’m a proud homophobe” – was published in Makor Rishon.
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March 11,2019
Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party combines libertarian, free-market sentiments with a religious settler ethos. It’s a vision that imagines a ‘ Wild West in the Middle East’ — and is proving popular with hipsters
It’s happened before in Israeli elections: A minor party, in the right place at the right time, becomes the party of choice for those who are sick and tired of the status quo….