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Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu
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| By Israel Insider staff August 15, 2007 |
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In yesterday's Likud primary elections, party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu won a landslide victory of 73.2 percent. Moshe Feiglin, a candidate who ran with a religious platform, garnered 23.4 percent, and Danny Danon trailed behind with just 3.4 percent.
"We ended the small battle, and now we are starting the big war," a Netanyahu associate said. "Tomorrow we start working to topple the government and return to power."
A central focus of Netanyahu's campaign was retaining Likud's moderate right-wing reputation, and preventing Feiglin from introducing "extremist" programs into the party's agenda, according to Haaretz. Feiglin is known for supporting the prohibition of Arabs in the Knesset, promoting the emigration of non-Jews from Israel and pulling Israel out of the United Nations.
"Likud as a democratic movement has to find ways to protect itself," a source close to Netanyahu said.
"There is no choice but to find ways to stop the phenomenon. There is a problematic situation here. A group that is not an integral part of Likud is trying to dictate its agenda. There are communities that do not have even one Likud voter but have dozens or hundreds of Likud members," Netanyahu continued.
Feiglin, who calls for making religion an integral part of Israeli life, remained optimistic despite his loss.
"Jewish Leadership should be placed at the head of the nationalist camp and that begins today," he told reporters, adding that "even if it doesn't happen this time, there will be other campaigns."
The electoral victor is now getting ready for the race to win the premiership. He is calling on Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to call for early elections after the final Winograd report, as promised.
"The Likud's journey back to the Prime Minister's Office has begun," Netanyahu said at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, where he later delivered a victory speech after press time.
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