New Likudniks (Hebrew: הליכודניקים החדשים "New Likudniks") is an Israeli Likud party faction, established in 2011 by leaders of the social justice protests.[1]

The declared aim of the group is to invite a large number of people who believe in their values and values as described in the Likud Constitution, and to enlist them in support of Knesset candidates who express positions consistent with the agenda they wish to promote: to push middle-class interests from within Likud.[2] It takes no position on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[2] The group began to surge in late 2016, going from about 3,000 members to more than 12,000 in the 2019 Likud primaries, among a total of 100,000 Likud members.[1]

The faction tried to promote its six candidates to the April 2019 Israeli legislative election Likud's list. However, in a controversial move, most of them were expelled from Likud.[3][4][5]

The only New Likud's candidate that is on the list is Nir Hirschman. However, the faction made a deal with other Likud members to build a new "recommendation list" for the primaries.

Criticism

Many "old" Likud members and journalists have questioned the right-wing credentials of the New Likudniks. They have accused New Likudniks of the group of being undercover leftists, who are seeking to compensate for their diminished status in Israeli politics.[1]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of them: "They're not Likudniks and they're not new. They're old leftists."[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Andrew Tobin. "Rebellious New Likudniks are crashing Netanyahu's party". Times of Israel.
  2. 1 2 "Likud boots out two primary candidates for party-clashing views". Times of Israel.
  3. ↑ Lahav Harkov. "New Likudniks runs candidates in Likud primary as party weighs expelling them". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com.
  4. ↑ "New Likudniks appeal to court against party expulsion". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com.
  5. ↑ Lahav Harkov. "New Likudniks kicked out of Likud primary". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Targeting 'New Likudniks'". Haaretz. 28 August 2017.
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