He added that if he received an offer that was worthy, he would bring it to all the members of Zehut for a vote.
By GIL HOFFMANLeader of Zehut Moshe Feiglin(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin in recent days and offered him an economic portfolio in the next government if his party were to drop out of the September 17 race.Netanyahu reportedly also offered to take steps to legalize medical cannabis, a key issue in the Zehut platform, and to help pay the party’s debts. The offer to Feiglin consisted of one package if he would drop out and another if he would also endorse Likud.But Feiglin rejected the offers and vowed to continue to lead Zehut until it enters the Knesset. On Tuesday, Zehut will hold a mass campaign rally at Expo Tel Aviv, with 700 participants already signed up to attend.“It is no secret that we are under heavy pressure to leave the race, and we are receiving a variety of offers but I will not break my promise to my voters,” Feiglin wrote on Facebook.He added that if he received an offer that was worthy, he would bring it to all the members of Zehut for a vote.The Otzma Yehudit party has also rejected offers to withdraw from the election. Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir met Monday with Netanyahu’s confidant and former bureau chief, Natan Eshel. Ben-Gvir said after the meeting that he would not reveal its contents but that Netanyahu needs Otzma to cross the 3.25% electoral threshold to help him achieve a coalition of 61 MKs.While no polls have shown either Zehut or Otzma crossing the threshold, both parties are close. Noam, another far-Right party, is expected to quit the race if it does not sign up 100,000 potential voters before the election.Netanyahu is interested in preventing right-wing votes from going to waste after both Zehut and the New Right party failed to cross the threshold in the April 9 election.
