Power struggle within Likud to come to a head in key Sunday vote

Likud’s delegates in the World Zionist Congress are currently split evenly between representatives of the Likud in Israel and from the World Likud.

By ELIAV BREUER FEBRUARY 11, 2025 18:27

Culture and Sports Minister Micky Zohar at the Knesset. February 3, 2025. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

A long-brewing internal power struggle within the Likud is scheduled to come to a head on Sunday, where the Likud’s Central Committee will vote on whether to amend the party’s constitution.

Likud’s delegates in the World Zionist Congress are currently split evenly between representatives of the Likud in Israel and from the World Likud. The amendment in question would alter the split such that 80% of the delegates would come from the Likud in Israel, and only 20% from the World Likud.

The driving force behind the amendment is Culture and Sports Minister Micky Zohar, who has string backing in the Likud Central Committee, which represents the Likud in Israel, but current World Zionist Organization chairman Yaakov Hagoel holds sway in the World Likud. The amendment would thus strengthen Zohar’s influence in the Congress, while diminishing that of Hagoel.

Zohar’s camp also includes Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who is also chairman of the Likud Central Committee, and Knesset Economics Committee chairman MK David Bitan.

Hagoel has argued that Zohar’s move will harm the Likud’s relationship with diaspora Jewry. In an interview on Kol Brama Radio on February 4, Hagoel claimed that Zohar’s motivation was to increase his ability to grant lucrative jobs in the WZO’s agencies to his political supporters. Yaakov Berdugo, an influential confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made similar accusations on Channel 14 on Tuesday morning.

World Zionist Organization head Hagoel Yaakov. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

A constitutional amendment in the Likud requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the Likud Central Committee, and it is unclear whether the amendment will pass.

Zohar suffered a blow in late January when he was forced to retreat from a series of agreements with other parties in the WZC, over appointments in the next Congress. The agreements, many with centrist or left-wing parties, drew criticism within the Likud and an eventual challenge in the Likud’s judiciary institution. Zohar claimed that his retreat was aimed at “reunifying” the Right in the WZC.

World Zionist Congress to convene in October

The World Zionist Congress will convene in Jerusalem in October. The Congress’s over 500 delegates are split roughly equally between three groups – delegates from the US, delegates from the Jewish diaspora, and Israeli delegates. The latter are allotted to existing political parties based on their representation in the Knesset.

The Congress will determine critical roles in four national bodies: Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National (KKL-JNF), The Jewish Agency for Israel, the World Zionist Organization (WZO), and United Israel Appeal.