Despite Israeli Prime Minister – and Likud Chairman - Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu's best efforts to derail them, Likud Central Committee elections are on track to take place on April 28th (14 Iyar, Pesach Sheni). Moshe Feiglin and his Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction are expected to do well in these internal Likud elections. Manhigut Yehudit is currently the largest faction in the Central Committee, and the results of this election should serve to further strengthen Feiglin's growing power in the party.
Netanyahu has pushed hard to have the elections delayed until at least 2012 in order to gain time to register more Kadima defectors to offset the growing base of Feiglin loyalists. Tel Aviv District Court Judge Yehuda Zeft made it clear on Tuesday that elections should go forward as planned stating, “Even if you decide to declare yourselves central committee members for life and that it will also carry on to your children, it doesn’t mean it counts.” In the wake of this warning, Bibi has cancelled a planned Likud internal vote on his postponement, while leaving open his option to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Netanyahu waged an intense personal campaign against Feiglin in the 2008 Likud Party primaries. His goal was to prevent his rival from influencing the structure of the Likud list running in the general election of 2009 and to prevent Feiglin from entering the Knesset at that time. The power of Manhigut Yehudit's grassroots organization behind candidates proclaiming support for strong Jewish values and connection to the entire land of Israel won the day with Likud voters.
Bibi Netanyahu is now concerned that Feiglin's movement will sweep into a stronger position through the upcoming process of selecting a new party Central Committee. The Central Committee of the Likud was the source of the only serious opposition to Ariel Sharon's plan to unilaterally abandon the Jewish communities of Gaza in 2005 and is gearing up to become an insurmountable obstacle to Netanyahu and his current plan to create an Arab state in the Jewish biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.
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