There can be no doubt that Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu is working hard to rebuild his image, exhibiting a centrist image rather than the hard-line right-wing image of the past.

In his remarks on Monday during a special Knesset memorial session for Yitzchak Rabin, Netanyahu, the opposition leader, used the platform to condemn the voices of extremism today. He was critical of the partial broadcast of an intended interview with Yigal Amir, the convicted assassin of the late prime minister, stating youths born 13 years ago who did not grow up with Rabin should not have to hear the “diatribes of the killer”.

Netanyahu went on to exhibit an air of centrism as he works to portray Likud as a right-wing centrist party ahead of the elections. Having been linked to the pre-assassination incitement of the right-wing leading to Rabin’s murder, the opposition leader today called for a hard-hand policy against inciters today, rejecting the legitimacy of those who today call for attacks against soldiers, officers and government officials. He added “the lesson learned is a responsible leadership must take action against instigators.”

Netanyahu’s yearning for a new mainstream also explain the return of moderate Dan Meridor to the party, as well as Likud’s refusal to date to permit political hawk Effie Eitam vie for a slot on the party lineup.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)