By the Salami Method

Netanyahu's decision to reserve a spot for Israel Katz in the Likud primaries raises questions about the future of the mechanism. Katz, who slipped in previous primaries, gets a reserved spot days before the August 17 vote, alongside Sa'ar and Haim Katz. The move is seen as part of a trend of weakening the primaries and building a parallel mechanism for determining the list.

Prime Minister and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to reserve a spot for Defense Minister Israel Katz on the party's Knesset list, days before the primaries scheduled for August 17, raises questions about the future of the internal mechanism. Alongside Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz were also reserved. The move is seen by the author as part of a broader trend of weakening the primaries and building a parallel mechanism, where the chairman determines significant parts of the list himself. Katz, who came in second in the 2019 primaries and slipped to 11th in 2022, is considered by polls to be someone who would fall to the end of the second decade if he ran. The author notes that Katz promoted priorities aimed at powerful audiences in the Likud Central Committee, including support for the draft exemption law, avoiding condemnation of harm to soldiers, and canceling administrative detentions against Jews in November 2024. In July 2026, he canceled a restraining order against Tal Yinon Dardik. The author hints that the reservation may have been intended to prevent continued behavior that complicates Israel with the Americans. She concludes that the affair can be seen as a sign of the possible end of the primaries, by the salami method, until the party members discover that the important decisions have already been made elsewhere.

By the Salami Method