The results of the primaries within the ruling Likud party produced a list of candidates loyal to its leader Netanyahu, characterized by right-wing, racist, nationalist tendencies in the spirit of the “Kach” movement of its founder, the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.
The identity of the winners in this election also reflects a predominantly male list, with only three women among the top twenty-five candidates. The Likud list is almost entirely devoid of candidates with right-wing liberal leanings, unlike previous iterations when it was led by former ministers such as Dan Meridor, Roni Milo, Ehud Olmert, Dan Tikhon, and others.
The voter turnout in the Likud primaries dropped to only 53% (about 75,000 votes out of about 140,000 eligible voters), which is 4.5% lower than the turnout in the previous primaries in 2022. It seems that the decline in the voter turnout this time is related to the decline in Likud's strength on the street for many reasons, including the results of the war, corruption, the coup against the system, and the many fortifications made by Netanyahu, where he allocated ten out of the first twenty seats, which he will decide who occupies, in addition to travel and the scorching heat these days.
The voter turnout in the Likud primaries dropped to only 53%.
Netanyahu (head of the list without an election as he is the party leader) won first place in the elections, followed by Energy Minister Eli Cohen in second place, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana in third place, Justice Minister Yariv Levin in fourth place, then Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Knesset Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Culture Minister Miki Zohar, MK Almog Cohen (from the “Jewish Power” party formerly headed by Ben-Gvir), Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Shekli, Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem, MK Moshe Saada, MK Tali Gottlieb, MK David Bitan, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, MK Boaz Bismuth, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.
As for the ministers who failed in the elections and will find themselves outside the Knesset, they are Environment Minister Idit Silman, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Social Equality Minister Maya Golan, and an additional minister in the Finance Ministry, who is responsible for the reconstruction of the South and North, Zeev Elkin.
A significant number of current Likud MKs also failed to secure guaranteed seats, including Hanoch Militsky, Keti Shitrit, Ariel Kellner, Nissim Fatouri, Sasson Guita, and Shalom Danino. Generally, most of those who won guaranteed seats are considered personal loyalists of Netanyahu, although a few of his opponents did win.
Representative of “minorities”
It should be noted that Likud allocated a very low position on its list of elected officials (position 41) to the so-called "minority representative," a position usually held by a Druze Arab activist, such as Ayoub Kara, Fatin Mulla, Afif al-Abd, and As'ad As'ad, etc. However, the party authorized its leader, Netanyahu, to move this representative to a more secure position.
The first Arab member of the Knesset to enter the Knesset on the Likud party was As’ad As’ad, a reserve colonel from the Druze town of Beit Jann, in 1992. He quickly lost popularity in the party after he supported the Oslo Accords and voted for them in the Knesset in 1993, contrary to his party’s position, which led to a conflict with Netanyahu in the following elections in 1996. Since then, he has distanced himself from Likud and expresses positions in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state through a two-state solution.
Reactions
In response to the results, Knesset member Militsky, who lost the election, said that this is the nature of democracy and that he respects the outcome. Meanwhile, Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman attacked Likud (his former party), telling the official Hebrew radio station that Likud today is a diluted Haredi party. He claimed that groups of Haredim had joined Likud and contributed to the election or defeat of certain candidates.
He continued: “The results indicate that Netanyahu realizes he is going to lose in the upcoming Knesset elections, and therefore he sought to build a list of candidates whose central goal is to prevent the formation of an opposition to him within Likud in the aftermath of losing the elections and going into opposition.”
Likud attacked Lieberman, accusing him of saying nonsense, and described him as a tyrant who heads the Yisrael Beiteinu party without internal elections, and appoints his candidates for the Knesset according to his whims.
The head of the Democratic Party, Yair Golan, said sarcastically in a statement that he wanted to congratulate Likud on the excellent list chosen today, and continued: “A list that guarantees Likud’s defeat and the victory of the democratic and liberal camp. A list of convicted criminals, suspects awaiting the Attorney General’s verdict, and TikTok activists who have done nothing for the citizens of Israel, not even for their own voters. Good luck in the opposition.”
