The battle over the Likud Party primaries this week was a clear example of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting his dominance over his political kingdom, Haaretz senior analyst Esther Solomon told the Haaretz Election Podcast. 

Netanyahu had unsuccessfully tried to cancel the always robust Likud primaries altogether – ultimately compromising by pushing through a measure where he chose the candidates for nine key spots on the top of the list. He included a spot for Oren Dobronsky, an Israeli high-tech entrepreneur and hummus chain owner in Silicon Valley who has not lived in Israel for years, has no political experience and made headlines recently for calling U.S. President Donald Trump a “morally corrupt piece of shit” in the recent past. 

The prime minister’s message was clear, Solomon said: "This is no longer about the Likud party. This is about me."

Solomon joined Haaretz correspondent Judy Maltz and host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the top stories from the last week week, which included controversy over efforts by expat Israelis to travel en masse to vote to replace the current government, and a proposal by opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot to form a minority government even if he doesn’t have a decisive election victory. 

Also on the podcast, Maltz described her encounters as she travels across Israeli cities to take their pulse ahead of the election, including Kfar Chabad, where, she quipped “only the Messiah is more popular” than far-right extremist Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Arab city of Umm-al-Fahm, where she said it was “very sad” that many young well-educated Palestinian citizens of Israel said they were so alienated that they were not planning to vote.

Read more:

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In Monday's Likud Party Primary, Netanyahu Hopes to Get Rid of Lawmakers Whom He Had Nurtured in the Past

Netanyahu Changes Likud Rules to Let Far-right Politician Run in Primary

'People Here Like Ben-Gvir's Tough-guy Approach': Will This Netanyahu Stronghold Near Gaza Go Further Right?

'We Need to Finish the Job': The Israeli Town Where Itamar Ben-Gvir Ranks Second Only to the Messiah

The battle over the Likud Party primaries this week was a clear example of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserting his dominance over his political kingdom, Haaretz senior analyst Esther Solomon told the Haaretz Election Podcast.&nbsp;
Netanyahu had unsuccessfully tried to cancel the always robust Likud primaries altogether &ndash; ultimately compromising by pushing through a measure where he chose the candidates for nine key spots on the top of the list. He included a spot for Oren Dobronsky, an Israeli high-tech entrepreneur and hummus chain owner in Silicon Valley who has not lived in Israel for years, has no political experience and made headlines recently for calling U.S. President Donald Trump a &ldquo;morally corrupt piece of shit&rdquo; in the recent past.&nbsp;
The prime minister&rsquo;s message was clear, Solomon said: "This is no longer about the Likud party. This is about me."
Solomon joined Haaretz correspondent Judy Maltz and host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss the top stories from the last week week, which included controversy over efforts by expat Israelis to travel en masse to vote to replace the current government, and a proposal by opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot to form a minority government even if he doesn&rsquo;t have a decisive election victory.&nbsp;
Also on the podcast, Maltz described her encounters as she travels across Israeli cities to take their pulse ahead of the election, including Kfar Chabad, where, she quipped &ldquo;only the Messiah is more popular&rdquo; than far-right extremist Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Arab city of Umm-al-Fahm, where she said it was &ldquo;very sad&rdquo; that many young well-educated Palestinian citizens of Israel said they were so alienated that they were not planning to vote.
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-08-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/netanyahus-new-election-ploy-smells-of-desperation-and-elon-musk/0000019f-fa3e-d101-a5bf-fb3e95100000">Netanyahu's New Election Ploy Smells of Desperation and Elon Musk</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-08-16/ty-article/.premium/in-likud-primary-netanyahu-hopes-to-get-rid-of-lawmakers-whom-he-had-nurtured/000001a0-09cf-dbac-a5bc-89ff5ad60000">In Monday's Likud Party Primary, Netanyahu Hopes to Get Rid of Lawmakers Whom He Had Nurtured in the Past</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-08-12/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-changes-likud-rules-to-let-far-right-politician-run-in-primary/0000019f-f643-db94-a3df-ffc38f740000">Netanyahu Changes Likud Rules to Let Far-right Politician Run in Primary</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-07-22/ty-article-magazine/.premium/a-netanyahu-stronghold-near-gaza-was-ravaged-on-oct-7-will-it-go-further-right/0000019f-7984-dec7-afff-79ed7f7e0000">'People Here Like Ben-Gvir's Tough-guy Approach': Will This Netanyahu Stronghold Near Gaza Go Further Right?</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/2026-07-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/in-kfar-chabad-only-the-messiah-is-more-popular-than-ben-gvir/0000019f-9340-df92-a7ff-b7c26b210000">'We Need to Finish the Job': The Israeli Town Where Itamar Ben-Gvir Ranks Second Only to the Messiah</a>

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.