A meeting has been called by Bayit Yehudi MK Moti Yogev and former MK and deputy defense minister Eli Ben-Dahan for party members to discuss ways to “renew and rehabilitate” Bayit Yehudi.
Steps are being taken to force primary elections for the Bayit Yehudi leadership due to anger among significant portions of the party membership and central committee toward current leader Education Minister Rafi Peretz.
A meeting has been called by Bayit Yehudi MK Moti Yogev and former MK and deputy defense minister Eli Ben-Dahan for party members to discuss ways to “renew and rehabilitate” Bayit Yehudi.
Beyond that, efforts are being made to gather the signatures of 25% of the Bayit Yehudi central committee, numbering about 1,000 members, needed to convene a central committee emergency meeting.
The purpose of calling such a meeting is to vote on a motion to hold leadership elections for the party and replace Peretz.
It is understood that a majority vote of 65% of the central committee is needed to approve leadership elections.
It is unclear, however, when those elections will take place.
Even if they were to take place before the election on March 2, it would almost certainly be impossible to replace Peretz as a candidate for the Knesset on the Yamina slate of right-wing, religious parties.
Disaster. Otzma Yedudit has announced its intention to run a spoiler’s race against the Right bloc. Bibi has allegedly said privately that there is now no hope for a Right victory in the March election. Bibi blew it by rejecting UTJ’s proposal to give one of its Knesset seats to Otzma Yehudit and Itamar Ben-Gevir. A generous offer that was advantageous to the Right bloc in several respects, and that Ben-Gvir may have accepted.
think that Bibi should bribe Otzma Yehudit and their far-right allies in Jewish home offering them minor posts in his administration that would have little power, and no power at all to oppress or mistreat Arabs. This would make them feel that they were part of the right-wing coalition and willing to support, or at least not oppose it, without harming anyone.
This is what Abraham Lincoln did in 1864-65 in a similar situation
Lincoln persuaded many Democratic Cingressmen who had not been reelected to Congress in 1864 to vote for the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, which the Democrats were reluctant to do, by promising them middle-level or low-level jobs in his administration. They were not jobs that gave the appointees any policy-making powers. But they did provide a decent salary, required the office-holders to perform only light duties, and offered the office-holder opportunities to make busines and political connections for the future. Most of these Congressman accepted Lincoln’s bribe offer, which he was careful to conceal from the public, and voted to free the slaves.
From Arutz Sheva a few days ago.
Bibi should agree to this offer. It will neutralize the Otzma-Beit-Yedudi threat to the Right bloc.
From today’s Arutz Sheva:
Bibi seems to be maneuvering skillfully to reduce the Otzma three to Israel in the coming elections.
This dissention in Bayit Yehudi exolains why I think it was a bad idea to exclude Otzma Yehudit from the Yamina list. Now the Right block may face a spolers race by Otzma and Beit Yehudi “dissidents.”