(IsraelNN.com) Moshe Feiglin, Likud member and founder of the pro-Land of Israel faction Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership), offered sharp criticism for what he called the un-democratic way in which Binyamin Netanyahu is seeking to expand his party rolls.
“If someone joins the party and wants to become a Knesset member, he should become elected by all the members of the party,” he said. “The whole concept of open primaries which Netanyahu himself pushed for very hard in the past, is based exactly on that principle, that common knowledge and understanding of 20,000 people that will create the best list of Likud Knesset members.”
Bibi's Strategy
According to sources within the Likud party, Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu will try to add Israeli public figures, some of which have no prior political experience, to the party list for the upcoming fall Knesset session. While party sources see this as an attempt by Netanyahu to boost Likud’s popularity in the polls, some existing members, like Feiglin, fear that the party will soon become overrun with Left-leaning members, thereby endangering the security of the State.
Among the Israeli public figures Netanyahu may invite into the Knesset are former basketball star Tal Brody; businessman Yair Shamir, the son of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; the grandson of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, of the same name as his revisionist-Zionist grandfather; former generals Moshe (‘Bogie’) Ya’alon, Uzi Dayan and Yossi Peled; former police superintendent Assaf Hefetz; and former Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Education Yechiel Leiter.
Current members of the Likud party lashed out at Netanyahu in reaction to news of this strategy, which would cost many of the members to lose their bid for cabinet seats if Likud wins the next general election. In addition, according to some sources in the party, one of the methods Netanyahu is considering is to give every other spot on the list to a newcomer, meaning that half of the Knesset members in the Likud would be appointed by him rather than elected by the public.
Another Attempt to Oust Feiglin?
The Likud sources revealed another motivation for Netanyahu’s new plan to reserve slots: To prevent pro-Land of Israel activist Moshe Feiglin and his Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) movement from entering the Knesset. The last few years have seen Feiglin’s popularity soar, and in the last Likud primary he came in second to Netanyahu with nearly one-fourth of the vote. In response to the threat presented by his rival within the party, Netanyahu has in the past repeatedly and openly attempted to oust Feiglin from the party.
“I really hope that is not true. To think that Netanyahu, who did everything he could to open elections to the authority of the [Likud] Central Committee and Likud members… to think that he is going to go backwards,180 degrees against the party’s interest, against the party’s members, all that just to go against me, is hard to believe.”
An Open Door for a Leftist Likud Takeover: 'Scary'
Even more frightening to Feiglin are the names of some of the prospective Likud new-comers that may enter the Knesset through Netanyahu’s plan, such as Uzi Dayan, Dan Meridor and Yehiel Leiter. The Jewish Leadership chief expressed concern that the traditionally strong Zionist character of the party would be threatened by people like these if Netanyahu’s plan succeeds.
“The [Likud] charter talks in a very specific way about being loyal to the land of Israel, to the heritage of Israel ,” said Feiglin in an interview with IsraelNationalNews. Feiglin pointed out that most of the newcomers Netanyahu wants to place into the new party list are from the political Left.
“Having new names and public figures to join Likud is a good idea,” he said. However, he added, “it seems like Netanyahu is trying to bring into the Likud, and into the government that he will create, people that either are from the extreme Left or people that were in favor of the Disengagement, even people who are still in favor of that act."
Feiglin pointed out that Netanyahu is “trying to bring in a guy like Uzi Dayan, who was one of the major founders of the Oslo agreements, and who did everything he could to bring about the Disengagement,” as well as Dan Meridor from the Israel Democracy Institute, “who ran from one place to another to convince Sharon to do the Disengagement.”
Feiglin also described one Netanyahu pick, Yechiel Leiter, as a “so-called settler who came out with plans to destroy 11 communities in Judea and Samaria ” and uproot thousands more Jews as one of the figures Netanyahu is courting.
“So you see where this direction is leading us, and it’s scary. It’s very, very scary. I think everyone who sees these names should be very worried.”
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