After storms and petitions: 140,000 members will determine the Likud list for the Knesset
The primaries of Israel's largest party are underway. Yesterday, "recommended lists" from branch heads were distributed ahead of the vote. The Prime Minister is acting to prevent a scenario of defections in case he cannot form a government. Who is making deals, and who might find themselves out?
About 140,000 members will decide today what the Likud party list for the next Knesset will look like. The elections will take place at polling stations scattered throughout the country, and the results are expected only by Tuesday, as this is a manual, not digital, vote.
Likud members will vote with two ballots: one ballot with 12 names of candidates for the national list, to enter which one needs to obtain about 25,000 votes - a task not particularly easy; and in the second ballot, each member is allowed to vote for one candidate in each of the seven Likud districts. The candidates' task to enter the districts is easier, as only about a thousand votes are required there to be elected.
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Yesterday, "recommended lists" with voting recommendations ahead of the primaries were distributed on social networks. Movements identified with the settlement movement called to vote, among others, for Ariel Kallner, Boaz Bismuth, Amit Halevi, Tally Gotliv, Moshe Saada, Shlomo Karhi, Nissim Vaturi, Avichai Buaron, Yariv Levin, May Golan, Osher Shkalim and Osnat Zoar.
The friends forum of the "Artzenu" movement, which deals with settlement and the development of the Galilee, placed Yoav Kisch, Yariv Levin, Eli Cohen, Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, Ariel Kallner, David Bitan and Amit Halevi on its recommended list.
Tomorrow, branch heads are expected to distribute forms to members on which it is already marked who to vote for. In addition, there are municipal lists supporting Nir Barkat. David Bitan has a large list in Rishon LeZion.
"It is pathetic and desperate"
Prime Minister and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu was interested in seeing a list that would be loyal to him after the elections. These things connect to briefings coming from his main rival at the moment according to the polls - Gadi Eisenkot, according to which he is in contact with Likud MKs, and he is capable of pulling some of them to him if the election results are about 58 mandates for the opposition bloc and about 51 mandates for the Netanyahu bloc, so that he could form a government. Netanyahu is aware of these briefings, and is trying mainly to block the possibility of there being defectors, and therefore he is investing great efforts to shape the Likud list in his own image.
A candidate who is "taking fire" is Tally Gotliv, whom, according to sources in Likud, the Prime Minister would like to see in a lower place on the list. Gotliv herself responded to the things in a video and a tweet on the X network, where she wrote: "David Sharan, acting CEO of Likud, was interviewed and clarified that the false publication about the Prime Minister's desire to push me from the top of the Likud list is a complete fake! I will recommend to all the cowardly anonymous 'senior officials' who brief the panic channel reporters to stop. It is pathetic and desperate. Likud voters are smart and wise, and the days of consciousness engineering are over."
An example of such a briefing is a verdict that reached us, in which it is written that in 2022 Gotliv represented a defendant who admitted as part of a plea bargain that he was involved in smuggling 33 weapons from Jordan. Another briefing is that Netanyahu is trying to push MK Amit Halevi, who also deals with legal and security matters, to a high place on the list at Gotliv's expense, and Minister Miri Regev to the first woman on the list.
In response to the weapons smuggling case, Gotliv told "Israel Hayom": "As a top-tier defense attorney, I represented in serious crime cases to excellent results. This is a weapons case that was complex in terms of evidence, which led to a lenient plea bargain with a defendant who admitted to what was attributed to him, and who during his arrest joined an exceptional treatment process. I fought for every client of mine, and there was no stone I did not turn for him. I am grateful for the tremendous professionalism in the field of criminal law, which made me the terror of the Attorney General and her circle of friends who pursue criminals in their role."
Another candidate who is "in the crosshairs" is Minister of Economy Nir Barkat. Briefings that came out against him are that half the party would like to see him out. He, for his part, brought a series of influencers to support him - one of them is former Beitar Jerusalem captain Eli Ohana.
Head to head
Ahead of the primary day, the tension level in the ruling party has risen. Yesterday, it was published on the "Hayom" website about the appeal of Shay Galili, the party comptroller and candidate for the Coastal Plain district, that the Tamra branch was added to the Coastal Plain district, even though it does not belong to it geographically. The chairman of the election committee replied that the required change will be made in the future. In a conversation with "Israel Hayom", Galili said that as far as he understands, the affiliation of the branch to the Coastal Plain district may help his rival, Efi Nave. Sources familiar with the details claimed that this is part of the changes in the branches and their unification.
On behalf of Nave, it was stated: "The voter book and the districts are determined by the Likud management. In any case, you will see from the results that I enjoy support in the entire district."
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, by the way, recommended to Likud members on his X account to vote for Minister May Golan.
