With a national election year approaching, the ruling Likud party will convene Tuesday for a rare and highly charged vote to choose its Central Committee, Secretariat and other key internal power centers. The gathering is the party’s first convention since January 2012, a gap of nearly 14 years that has raised the stakes for ministers, lawmakers and activists vying for long-term influence.
Senior Likud figures are bracing for head-to-head battles. Younger ministers hope to unseat veterans, while all sides seek greater control over the party’s most influential bodies. The contest has stirred strong emotions and personal rivalries among lawmakers who view the outcome as crucial to their status inside the movement.
Central Committee vs. Secretariat
Likud is organized through local branches across Israel. Each branch elects its allocation of Central Committee members and a local council, based on the number of party votes in the last national election and the size of its membership. Tuesday’s convention, the party’s fifth, will renew the membership of the Central Committee, the body that holds broad sway over internal decisions and exerts daily pressure on ministers and Knesset members who depend on its support ahead of primaries.
Beyond its informal influence, the Central Committee formally approves major internal and political decisions, including mergers with other parties, changes to the party constitution, and the composition and leadership of the Secretariat as well as its key committees.
The Secretariat, a smaller executive body, approves senior appointments inside Likud and handles issues tied to national elections such as budgets and staffing. It also votes on reserved slots on the party’s Knesset slate that the party leader may request.
Weeks of tension
For weeks, Likud has been roiled by internal maneuvering. Some lawmakers are running for chair of the Central Committee or the Secretariat, while others are working aggressively to ensure their allies win those positions. With such a long gap between conventions, lawmakers see this as a rare chance to secure power that could last many years.
A dramatic factor heading into the vote is the return of an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 members whose party registration had been frozen due to payment issues or other administrative holds. Their reinstatement adds a bloc of voters larger than the entire membership roster of most Israeli parties.
Key battles
The race for chair of the Secretariat is among the most heated. Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen is challenging longtime incumbent Defense Minister Israel Katz. They face a third contender, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, who has expanded his influence over the past year through work in party branches and in the World Zionist Organization. All three are waging intensive ground campaigns focused on turnout.
Other alliances have emerged despite past rivalries. Communications Minister Dudi Amsalem and former Jerusalem mayor and now Minister Nir Barkat, usually political adversaries, have joined forces through the Jerusalem branch to promote Amsalem for chair of the Central Committee, seeking to unseat Tourism Minister Haim Katz. They face competition from MK Amit Halevi, who is pushing a slate of his own in the capital.
Across the country, Likud MKs are working to elect local allies. MK David Bitan in Rishon Lezion, MK Nissim Vaturi in the Golan and Katzrin, MK Shalom Danino in Ofakim, MK Hanoch Milwidsky in Petah Tikva, MK Ofir Katz in Afula and the Jezreel Valley, MK Ariel Kallner in Haifa, and MK Avihai Boaron in the West Bank are all trying to boost their local influence.
Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who has strong ties in branches with large concentrations of Israel Aerospace Industries workers, including in Shoham, Ashdod, Rishon Lezion and Lod, is running again for chair of the Central Committee.
Likud lawmakers are also focusing on major Likud-led municipalities such as Netivot, Nof Hagalil, Netanya and Bat Yam, which contribute significant numbers of Central Committee members.
What comes next
Within 90 days of Tuesday’s vote, the newly elected Central Committee will choose the chairs of the Central Committee and the Secretariat. Those results will clarify the true strength of senior ministers as they prepare for the next major test: Likud primaries for the Knesset slate.