by Gil Hoffman
With nine candidates running, Israel's next prime minister could be elected by the fewest people ever.
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OPPOSITION LEADER Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a Likud faction meeting in the Knesset last week.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
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There were plenty of people who were angry that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett came to power despite his Yamina Party winning only 273,836 votes in the last election.
The next prime minister could be decided by only 150,000 votes, the current membership of the Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu, if he decides to sign a plea agreement that would require him to leave politics.
The
party's paid membership would be responsible for choosing a new Likud
leader, who could have a relatively easy time forming a government in
the current Knesset.
With
as many as nine candidates running, it is inevitable that there will be
a run-off race among the top two finishers. Depending on turnout, it is
possible to earn a spot in that run-off race with a tenth of the votes
Bennett won and become prime minister. So why not run? The following
candidates (in alphabetical order) intend to try:
Nir Barkat (credit: Courtesy)Nir Barkat, 62
The
former Jerusalem mayor is the leading candidate in the polls. He has
built himself up as a worldly figure who can talk to the international
community in perfect English and is ready to be prime minister. Barkat,
unlike other candidates, can bring the Likud many mandates from other
parties, polls show. Having a hi-tech fortune of more than one billion
dollars at his disposal could not hurt.
Defense Committee chairman Avi Dichter (Likud) August 8, 2018. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Avi Dichter, 69
The
only serious security figure in the race, as the former head of the
Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). As the oldest candidate in the race,
he looks prime ministerial. It also helps that he has no significant
political enemies.
But he also does not have enough support inside the party, and his background in Kadima will not help him.
YULI EDELSTEIN – his message was that there is no reason to think that
if Netanyahu leads the party again, he will have any more success in
forming a government than he did the last four times. (credit: Yonatan
Zendel/Flash90)Yuli Edelstein, 63
The
final prisoner of Zion to leave the Soviet Union, he showed courage by
being willing to run against Netanyahu and by taking the Health
portfolio during a pandemic. He has the statesmanlike experience of
being Knesset speaker. Like Barkat, he speaks perfect English and can
form a government immediately, and as the husband of an oligarch's
daughter, has no problem with financing a campaign.
Ambassador Gilad Erdan October 19, 2021 (credit: COURTESY ISRAEL'S UN MISSION IN NEW YORK)Gilad Erdan, 51
The
ambassador to the United Nations has the great disadvantages of not
living in Israel and not being a Knesset member, which would legally
prevent him from forming a government.
If
Erdan would become Likud leader, he would have to force a Knesset
election that almost no MKs want. But he also has stayed above the fray
as an outsider, which makes him untainted and clean.
Netanyahu
signing a plea agreement would save Erdan from testifying against him.
He is on the prosecution's witness list in Case 4000, due to his ousting
as communication's minister. He has gained diplomatic experience in
Washington and New York and is young enough to wait patiently to win.
Leader of Zehut Moshe Feiglin (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)Moshe Feiglin, 59
The
former Zehut Party leader recently returned to Likud. "If Netanyahu
leaves and they shorten the minimum membership requirement, I intend to
run," he said Sunday. Feiglin's vocal opposition to vaccination could
harm him and paint him as an extremist. Like Erdan, he is not an MK.
Minister
Tzahi Hanegbi speaks during the funeral of Hodaya Asulin, in the West
Bank settlement of Mevo Horon. Asulin was severly injured in a terror
attack in 2011 and never regained consciousness following the attack.
She died earlier today on November 22, 2017. (credit: HADAS
PARUSH/FLASH90)Tzachi Hanegbi, 64
Has
the most Knesset experience, getting elected first in 1988 and serving
as justice minister in Netanyahu's first cabinet in 1966. He also has
decades of diplomatic experience and strong ties with both Democratic
and Republican administrations in Washington. He even raised his
children in English.
But he does not have the support in Likud that he had when he headed its central committee before leaving to Kadima.
Likud MK Israel Katz speaks during a Conference of Heads of Local
Authorities, in Ramat Negev, southern Israel, July 22, 2021. (credit:
FLASH90)Israel Katz, 66
The
former foreign minister and finance minister has the most senior
ministerial experience. He also has the longest tenure in Likud and the
most connections in the Likud central committee, which could help him at
least become temporary head of the party. But his English is not good
enough and Netanyahu has battled him lately.
Likud
MK Miki Zohar blasted him for announcing his candidacy. "Hold your
horses," Zohar said: "We are in the most critical moments of Netanyahu,
the Right and the Likud. Such declarations and explanations don't help
anyone. A little patience wouldn't hurt."
Acting Justice Minister Amir Ohana speaks at a Shurat Hadin conference, Jerusalem, February 5, 2020 (credit: YONAH JEREMY BOB)Amir Ohana, 45
The
youngest candidate, and arguably the closest to Netanyahu and his
family. Ohana has quickly become very popular with the Likud's Sephardi
masses who cheer him like the ultimate celebrity whenever he enters a
Likud rally. A former justice and public security minister, he speaks
forcefully against the legal establishment.
But he cannot win the support of anti-Netanyahu members, and he was tainted by his role in the Meron disaster.
TRANSPORTATION
MINISTER Miri Regev resorted to making threats that took advantage of
the power she wields from her position in the government. This is a
criminal offense, and it needs to be stopped. (credit: OLIVIER
FITOUSSI/FLASH90)Miri Regev, 56
The
only woman in the race, she said Sunday, that whoever gets elected will
unite the party, speaking in feminine form. In a controversial
interview five months ago, she told Yediot Aharonot that Likud members
should vote for her due to her Sephardi roots and her background in the
periphery and stop voting for "white people."
Regev
was born in the southern development town of Kiryat Gat to immigrants
from Morocco, Felix and Marcelle Siboni. “The time has come to have a
Sephardi prime minister,” Regev said. “I think the Likud rank and file
must vote this time for someone who represents their class, their
ethnicity and their agenda."
Gil Hoffman
Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2022/01/biden-fbi-will-seek-motive-terrorist-who-took-daniel-greenfield/
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