Likud moves to reserve electoral list spots for Sa’ar and Katz

The Likud party has announced that its secretariat will review a proposal to reserve three additional spots on its electoral list for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Defence Minister Israel Katz, and Likud Central Committee Chairman Haim Katz. These three positions are in addition to the eight spots already reserved for candidates chosen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposal was announced shortly after 1:00 am on Tuesday and is expected to be ratified by the secretariat later today. Likud stated that Sa'ar's spot is guaranteed under the merger agreement between his 'New Hope' party and Likud. Regarding Israel Katz, the party noted that the reservation allows him to focus on security requirements without engaging in political campaigning. Haim Katz's spot is attributed to his role as chairman of the party's central committee. The Likud statement did not clarify why these three individuals are not being accommodated within the existing eight spots reserved for Netanyahu's appointees. If approved, Netanyahu will control 11 of the top 30 spots on the Likud list ahead of the 27 October election. This decision follows controversy surrounding Oren Dobronsky, an entrepreneur and Netanyahu's first choice for one of the eight reserved spots, after it emerged that he had described US President Donald Trump as 'morally corrupt and a jerk' less than two months ago. Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 12 reports that Haredi activists are intensifying efforts to recruit ultra-Orthodox Jews into Likud to influence party policy from within. According to the report, approximately 7,000 of Likud's 140,000 members are Haredi, with nearly all major Hasidic groups represented. Yossi Rosenbaum, a Haredi public relations strategist and Likud activist, told Channel 12 that his bloc now has 'thousands' of members and can mobilise several thousand voters. Factors driving this trend include dissatisfaction with traditional Haredi parties—specifically United Torah Judaism and Shas—and the belief that membership in the ruling party is a more effective way to advance their interests. Some figures officially affiliated with Haredi parties are also participating in this effort, including a Bnei Brak city councillor who represents Agudat Yisrael while simultaneously managing an organised bloc of Likud voters. Netanyahu and ministers including Israel Katz, Yariv Levin, Gideon Sa'ar, and Shlomo Karhi have attended community events in recent months to court Haredi support. With the upcoming primaries expected to be highly competitive and projections suggesting Likud may drop to 23 seats, a bloc of several thousand Haredi voters could prove decisive in the internal party race.