Netanyahu expected to mull limiting Feiglin's strength after Likud victory - Haaretz

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Wed., August 15, 2007 Elul 1, 5767

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		Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu celebrating his overwhelming victory in the party's primary elections, Tuesday in Tel Aviv. (Alon Ron)

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Last update - 10:32 15/08/2007

Netanyahu expected to mull limiting Feiglin's strength after Likud victory

By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press

Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to consider steps to limit the strength of Moshe Feiglin, a religious settler with a platform that calls for barring Arabs from the Knesset, encouraging non-Jews to emigrate 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."

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Netanyahu won an overwhelming victory in the Likud primary elections Tuesday, receiving 73.2 percent of the final vote. The other two candidates in the leadership race - Feiglin and Danny Danon - received 23.4 percent and 3.4 percent respectively, Israel Radio reported.

Only some 40 percent of Likud voters cast their ballots in the party's primaries.

Political sources said the former prime minister is also attempting to preserve the movement's public image as a moderate force. This is reflected in Netanyahu's personal message mailed to voters: "Our rivals could portray us as a radical political movement, which cannot be trusted to take the helm," Netanyahu wrote.

Feiglin's people do not seem to be concerned by the statements. Feiglin, who head's the Likud's Jewish Leadership faction and until recently was considered an extremist and bizarre leader, was in good spirits Tuesday.

"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."

Netanyahu said he will now begin the real battle for the premiership.

Netanyahu's first act is expected to be a public call to Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to make good on his promise during the Labor primary to agree a date for national elections immediately after the release of the final Winograd report on last summer's Lebanon War.

Reporters boycotted Netanyahu's victory speech late Tuesday night after a last-minute venue change was made at the convention center in Tel Aviv. The press says that Netanyahu backed out of a previously made agreement when he decided to move the speech into a side room.

Israel Radio also reported that security guards did not allow Feiglin into the room to hear Netanyahu's victory speech.

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1.	No land, No peace	00:33	\|	Wendy	15/08/07

2.	Moshe Feiglin 23% bravo - good start	01:30	\|	Chick	15/08/07

3.	Feiglin, the political incompetent	01:33	\|	Tosefta	15/08/07

4.	Baruch HaShem!	01:54	\|	Slibovitz	15/08/07

5.	This Election Says It All	02:42	\|	Shepherd	15/08/07

6.	Be Strong and Courageous	03:02	\|	Don Cole	15/08/07

7.	39% of likud voters showed up (15000 ballots),	03:31	\|	Joseph E .	15/08/07

8.	Way to go Bibi!!!!!!!!!!!	04:34	\|	jan	15/08/07

9.	To Wendy	04:50	\|	Alvin	15/08/07

10.	Elections	04:55	\|	David	15/08/07

11.	Mazal Mualem phraseology taken against Feiglin is incitement	05:13	\|	Joseph E .	15/08/07

12.	Democracy in action?	06:34	\|	JD	15/08/07

13.	Journalists boycott a speech?! Isnt that censorship?	07:58	\|	Joe	15/08/07

14.	To Joe No. 13	09:15	\|	Neil	15/08/07

15.	Feiglin should set-up a new political party	10:25	\|	Moti	15/08/07

16.	press release	11:20	\|	colin	15/08/07

17.	Feiglin	12:43	\|	David	15/08/07

18.	Th efact that Haarez hates Feiglin proves that he`ll be a good PM	12:47	\|	Tomer	15/08/07

19.	"Likud as a democratic movement has to find ways to protect itsel	13:59	\|	Brian	15/08/07

20.	Poor Journalism - at best	14:10	\|	Honest Zionist	15/08/07

21.	PM	14:12	\|	gerald	15/08/07

22.	why do I want pancreatic cancer for bibi ?	16:16	\|	mehmet	15/08/07

23.	#22..mehmet	17:04	\|	Nemesis	15/08/07

24.	Bibi`s Only Hope-Dump Far Right	18:27	\|	Jane	15/08/07

25.	Congratulations : And Now We Need a New Government	19:04	\|	Mann Date	15/08/07

26.	Why do I want	19:24	\|	Angelo Tito Anselmi	15/08/07

27.	Tosefta in Tveria	19:35	\|	Alf Red	15/08/07

28.	David, Haifa	19:52	\|	Alf Red	15/08/07

29.	BIBI - ISRAEL STYLE DEMOCRACY: BAN OPPOSITION!!	20:17	\|	Noam	15/08/07

30.	Anybody is better then Olmert and his gangsters	22:20	\|	Yochanan	15/08/07

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