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Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Likud to hold open vote on replacing Edelstein as Knesset Defense Committee chair
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A Likud faction vote on replacing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein will no longer be held in secret after the party’s legal adviser determined that there should be an open ballot.
In the Knesset, “the accepted rule… is to hold open votes” while “exceptions to this arrangement… are rare,” writes Likud legal adviser Avi Halevi, in a letter published by Channel 12. As such, he continues, “the Likud faction in the Knesset adopted a consistent practice of open voting… [and] all votes held within the faction, including the election of Knesset committee members and chairpeople, were open.”
“An exception to this rule,” he asserts, “is inconsistent with the law, with the desired parliamentary tradition and with the public duty that applies to elected officials.”
According to the report, Edelstein, who is running for the position again, strongly supports the secret ballot, thinking that he could receive backing from colleagues who may be reluctant to defy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly.
However, a coalition insider told The Times of Israel that this would likely not help him retain the chairmanship.
A Likud source confirms to The Times of Israel that the ballot will not be secret.
The Times of Israel Community.