Netanyahu chooses female academics for Likud list

The 11th slot on the list will go to Dr. Anat Berko, world-renowned terrorism expert who teaches at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center's Lauder School of Government.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Likud convening, January 25, 2015 (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Likud convening, January 25, 2015
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided Wednesday to fill two slots on the Likud list reserved for candidates of his choosing with women who teach at Israeli institutions of higher learning.
The 11th slot on the list will go to Dr. Anat Berko, a world-renowned terrorism expert who teaches at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center’s Lauder School of Government.
Netanyahu gave the 23rd spot to Dr. Limor Samimian-Darash, an assistant professor at the Federman School of Public Policy and Government at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Both appointments are pending approval by the Likud secretariat, which convened Wednesday but delayed a secret-ballot vote until Thursday for technical reasons. The secretariat asked the women to address the body before the vote takes place.
Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick, who Netanyahu seriously considered for one of the slots along with several other candidates, praised Berko’s appointment. She also endorsed Netanyahu, calling him the best leader Israel has to face its current challenges.
“The decision was never about me,” Glick said.
“It was about the prime minister trying to put together a list he thinks will create the widest possible support for the Likud in the election.”
The Likud list must be submitted to the Central Elections Committee by 10 p.m. Thursday night.
It will include Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely in the 20th slot and former public security minister Avi Dichter in the 26th, after a Supreme Court-ordered recount requested by Dichter found that she defeated him by 101 votes.
The 21st through 25th slots are reserved for candidates from regions and minorities. Since the election was announced, polls have never shown the party receiving more than 25 seats.