Manhigut Yehudit in the News

Israel National News: 24 Tamuz 5767 (July 10, 07)

By Ezra Halevi
Courtesy of Arutz 7 -- Israel National News

(IsraelNN.com) The Likud Central Committee convened Tuesday evening and approved party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu's proposal to move internal primaries up to August 14.

With MK Silvan Shalom having already pulled out of the race, Netanyahu will face Moshe Feiglin, who heads the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction within the Likud.

Feiglin addressed the Central Committee, saying that only someone with faith could lead the nation to victory over Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Olmert had better guns and a better army, but Nasrallah had faith and that is why he beat Olmert,” Feiglin said.

MK Shalom claimed he dropped out of the race because Netanyahu refused to postpone primaries to offer enough time to display an agenda and run a campaign. Netanyahu’s camp said Shalom, who was trounced by Netanyahu in the previous primaries, knew he would not win, and was scared he might not even take second place, but rather lose to Moshe Feiglin. According to the Jerusalem Post, a recent Brain Base poll commissioned by Netanyahu reported that to be likely.

The Central Committee approved August 14 – the date preferred by both Netanyahu and Feiglin. A run-off, if needed, would be held on August 21 - though MK Reuven Rivlin told Army Radio Wednesday that there would not be a third candidate in the upcoming race.  MK Shalom did not attend the assembly, and warned Netanyahu that he "would not leave the race against Feiglin strengthened."

The Jewish Leadership faction plans to launch a campaign to visit every member of the Likud Party in order to convince them to vote for Feiglin. The idea is modeled after the efforts extended prior to the Likud referendum on Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan, which rejected the Disengagement; Sharon subsequently ignored the results of the referendum which he himself called.