As much as Moshe Feiglin has always said he is not the focus but Zehut is the focus, the ideas are the focus, and he can leave one day and someone else will take over and everything will be the same, that was never really true. Moshe Feiglin was always the focus, always the issue. Feiglin is the draw for his supporters, not Zehut. They never put up anybody else to share the spotlight and to try to attract voters, because Feiglin has always been the guy for Zehut.
On Friday Zehut had a crisis. It seems Moshe Feiglin has been fighting with the controlling board and reserving a high spot on the list for a personal appointment. The steering committee has rejected Feiglin's request and has refused to allow him to appoint his guy to the spot he wanted to. The steering committee points to the recent primaries held, open primaries that Moshe Feiglin himself devised and was so proud and boastful of, and says we cannot change that. Feiglin resigned from Zehut.
Feiglin resigned from Zehut.
Feiglin resigned from Zehut.
Basically that means the end of Zehut.
Everyone was in a tizzy. Events were quickly canceled and nobody knew what would happen to Zehut at that point. Shortly after, Feiglin took his spot back revoking his resignation, after being bombarded with requests and also after some scheduled event in Afula insisted he still come and remain in his position.
Feiglin rescinded his resignation, and in his place, most of the members of the steering committee resigned. He was left with a few other of his people. Feiglin canceled the results of the primaries and appointed 22 people and spotted them according to his own desires.
It looked like Zehut is dead in the water, but they are at least going through some serious problems that they might or might not work their way out of.
Reports have them today trying to come to an agreement and put this all behind them.
Whatever happens, with this balagan it seems unlikely any party will agree to a merger with Zehut, even just as a technical bloc. Whatever happens, many people who supported them or thought about supporting will likely stay away - nobody wants to be involved in such a chaotic party. Their chances of success were already not great, based on history, and this makes it all that much more difficult. Whatever happens, the open primaries they were so proud of, the symbol of being the most democratic party in Israel (in their words), has all been wiped away and Feiglin/Zehut is no better than Yair Lapid, Ehud Barak, UTJ, Shas, and all the other parties that appoint their people as per the wishes and whims of someone rather than through primaries - this is generally fine as most parties do it but when you have bragged about your primaries, this is no longer fine.
Zehut is all Feiglin, and it always has been.
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