Did not receive a realistic spot — and threatens to quit: The storm in the "Behad" party
The head of the Ethiopian immigrants' headquarters in the "Behad" party, former MK Alali Adamu, threatens to quit after being informed that the headquarters will not receive realistic representation on the list. In the background: fears of a significant decrease in the representation of the Ethiopian community in the next Knesset.
A storm in Bennett's "Behad" party: the head of the Ethiopian immigrants' headquarters, former Knesset member Alali Adamu, threatens to quit the party after being informed that the headquarters under his leadership will not receive realistic representation on the list.
Adamu, who also served as Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia in recent years, joined Bennett's party about a year ago, even before the union with Yair Lapid. During his time in the party, he was responsible for the issue of Ethiopian immigrants, among whom there are estimated to be close to 150,000 eligible voters, equivalent to about 3 to 4 mandates.
This is a significant issue for Bennett, as the representation of the Ethiopian community, which is mostly identified with the right, is expected to decrease significantly in the next Knesset, as all current Knesset members from the community are on their way out: Tsaga Melaku from the Likud, who withdrew from the primaries after not being promised a reserved spot; Moshe Solomon from the Religious Zionism party, who did not run in the party's primaries due to his opposition to the draft exemption law; and Pnina Tamano-Shata from Blue and White, who is currently not passing the electoral threshold in any of the polls.
If Bennett had recruited a popular Ethiopian figure with significant weight in the community, he could have transferred certain mandates of disappointed right-wing voters who are not receiving representation in any party at this stage.
About a month ago, Bennett held a conference for activists from the Ethiopian community, who expressed deep disappointment with the current government and the Likud. During the conference, Bennett committed to promoting programs to combat racism and to solve the community's crisis of trust with the police.
Although Bennett did indeed bring an Ethiopian candidate (Esti Kubo, former head of Israel's economic mission in China), she is not a representative on behalf of the headquarters. Furthermore, in the list of candidates presented by "Behad" so far, Kubo did not appear in a particularly high position — and assessments are that she is not expected to receive a realistic spot on the "Behad" list.
No response was provided by the "Behad" party.
