Likud minister May Golan won’t join Otzma Yehudit’s slate for election

The far-right Otzma Yehudit party announces that Likud minister May Golan will not be on their slate for the October 27 election, reports say.

The social equality minister is expected to lose her seat after a poor result in the Likud primary, and was in talks to join National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s party instead.

“We greatly appreciate and love minister May Golan. We wish her much success on her future path,” Otzma Yehudit says in a statement, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Golan, 40, was once a rising star in Likud and was first elected in 2019. She has served continuously in the Knesset for more than six years and has sparked controversy with a number of inflammatory remarks. She has also faced allegations that she created fictitious no-show jobs for her associates.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud announced that MK Tally Gotliv would run with Otzma Yehudit. The announcement came after Gotliv’s disappointing result in the Likud primary, which she has blamed on Netanyahu and said could put her “in Shin Bet detention facilities” if she is voted out and loses parliamentary immunity.