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Lieberman makes surprise omissions from Yisrael Beitenu list
Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman yesterday announced his party’s list of Knesset candidates for the upcoming election, which did not include Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov, Anastasia Michaeli and, most surprisingly of all, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
The list of Yisrael Beitenu candidates, selected by Lieberman himself, will be merged with the Likud Party list to run as a joint ticket in January’s election. Lieberman selected newcomer and former head of Israel Aircraft Industries Yair Shamir as the number two candidate. Ministers Uzi Landau, Sofa Landver and Yitzhak Aharonovitch complete the top five. Lieberman commented, “We have a winning list… On January 22, we will all celebrate the victory of the nationalist camp.”
However, the absence of Meseznikov, Michaeli and especially Ayalon is perhaps most notable. Meseznikov and Michaeli had announced that they were taking time out of politics earlier in the day, although there is wide speculation in the Israeli media that Lieberman had handed them a fait accompli. Meseznikov explained, “I feel I am exhausted by my work in politics,” while Michaeli is said to want to spend more time with her husband and eight children. Announcing the list at an event in Jerusalem, Lieberman specifically thanked Meseznikov saying, “I was sorry Meseznikov, my partner over the past 14 years, decided to leave politics…He would have been very high on the list and been a senior minister in the next government.”
However, there was no such mention of Ayalon, who has served as Lieberman’s number two at the Foreign Ministry since 2009, having been Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations from 2002-6. Lieberman gave no explanation for the omission of Ayalon, who was reportedly only informed of the decision soon before the announcement.
In other election news, Ehud Barak is reportedly attempting to persuade Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor to take over at the head of the Independence Party after Barak retired from politics and Meridor failed to secure a realistically electable slot on the Likud Party list.