Channel 14 commentator petitions Likud court over “inequality”
A Channel 14 commentator running in the Likud primaries has filed an urgent petition with the party’s court to block Knesset member Tzaga Melko from running in the “new immigrants” slot. Edi Cohen argues that under Likud rules, the “new immigrant” status is reserved for those who arrived in Israel from 1993 onwards, while Melko arrived a decade earlier.
For the first time, a Channel 14 commentator participating in the Likud primaries has submitted an urgent petition to the movement’s court to prevent Knesset member Tzaga Melko from being placed in the “new immigrants” slot on the Likud list. Edi Cohen, who is also running for the “new immigrants” slot, argues in his petition that according to the Likud charter, a new immigrant is defined as someone who immigrated to Israel starting in 1993, whereas Melko immigrated about a decade earlier and therefore cannot be defined as a new immigrant.
In the petition, titled “Objection and urgent appeal regarding the inclusion of a candidate who does not meet the threshold conditions in the ‘new immigrants’ slot in the Likud primaries for the 26th Knesset,” Cohen, who immigrated from Lebanon, claims: “In the guaranteed representation slot for the ‘new immigrants’ sector as defined in Articles 23–26 of the election regulations, my list was registered and approved as candidate No. 183. In practice, the candidacy of sitting Knesset member Ms. Tzaga Melko was also included in that same slot, despite the fact that she does not, on the face of it, meet the definition of ‘new immigrant’ set forth in the regulations.”
The petition further alleges: “According to publicly available biographical information, including her own registration, Ms. Melko immigrated to Israel in 1984, and according to my client, in 1983. The discrepancy between the versions does not change the legal outcome, and it is requested that the Elections Committee verify the exact date against the Population Registry and the immigrant certificate as stated in Article 23 of the regulations.” Cohen clarifies that the objection is not intended to harm Ms. Melko personally, but is directed against her placement in a specific slot whose threshold conditions are not met, which directly infringes upon the legal rights of other candidates competing for that same slot.
The petition also notes: “Media reports stated that discussions were held within Likud, with the participation of senior figures, regarding how to help Ms. Melko remain on the list given her low chances of passing the general national list election. One option discussed was to allow her to run through the ‘new immigrants’ slot, even though it is reserved for new candidates. These statements, if proven, indicate that the placement is not a technical error but a deliberate attempt to bypass explicit regulations, which aggravates the severity of the defect.”
The decision to approve Melko’s candidacy presents an additional problem, as sitting Knesset members are entitled to funding from the Knesset—in Likud’s case, about 380,000 shekels—while non-incumbent candidates receive no state funding. This creates a built-in inequality between candidates who are Knesset members and those who are not.
On Sunday, the Likud court will deliberate on all petitions related to the vote on allowing Knesset members to run in district slots, including Edi Cohen’s petition. On Monday, as reported by Channel 14, is the deadline for Likud Knesset members registered for the general national list and districts to decide which slots they intend to run in.
