Moshe Feiglin

Likud

Manhigut Yehudit joined Likud in 2000, with Feiglin declaring that he would be a candidate for chairmanship of the party as a springboard for premiership of the State of Israel. Feiglin was a minor candidate in the 2002 Likud leadership election.

In 2005, Feiglin again ran for Likud chairman and won 12.5% of the votes, coming third out of seven candidates, after Benjamin Netanyahu and Silvan Shalom. He attempted to run for a slot on the party's Knesset list, but encountered severe opposition from Netanyahu, who delayed party elections and advocated making changes to its charter to bar "anyone who has served three or more months in prison" from running as a Likud MK. This would have prevented Feiglin, who served a six-month sentence in the mid-1990s for civil disobedience, from running for either an MK or leadership position in the future. Feiglin withdrew from the race on 3 January 2006, following the release of a statement from the Likud party election chairman declaring, in agreement with a prior decision by the Israeli High Court, that Feiglin's conviction was not for "dishonorable" violations of the law, allowing him to participate in future Likud affairs.

In the 14 August 2007 primaries, Feiglin nearly doubled his previous showing and received 23.4% of the votes to Netanyahu's 72.8%. Netanyahu, fearing a strong showing by Feiglin, tried to have him ousted from the party prior to the vote, and said he would continue such efforts. On 10 December 2008, Feiglin was won twentieth place in the Likud primaries. On 11 December, following a petition submitted against him by Ophir Akunis, he was demoted to the 36th spot.

In an article written in 2009, Feiglin stated: "Sad to say, Prime Minister Netanyahu is a pitiful puppet of Peres and his cohorts."

Feiglin ran against Netanyahu again in the 2012 Likud leadership election, held on 31 January 2012, and again received 23% of the vote. In the Likud primaries held in late 2012 to select candidates for the 2013 elections, Feiglin finished thirteenth, and was elected to the Knesset in the 2013 elections.

Feiglin served as Deputy Speaker in the 19th Knesset. He and his Manhigut Yehudit faction suffered a serious setback in the December 2014 Likud primaries, held in the run-up to the 2015 Knesset elections, when he fell to the 36th position on the Likud list, making it unlikely he would be returned to the Knesset. In January 2015, he announced that he was leaving Likud to form his own party, after the Likud primaries the previous month. Feiglin complained about efforts that were done to try to keep him out of Israel's parliament, the Knesset. He referred to alleged political corruption in the Likud primary and legal maneuvers Benjamin Netanyahu took in the past to move him down the party’s list, accusing the prime minister of trying to assassinate him politically. As a result of said issues, as well as timing, Feiglin did not form a new party for the Knesset elections in March, and instead decided to take his time to build a strong new party ("If we have to give up on the coming Knesset to build ourselves well and fundamentally, we will do so. We will take the time that we need to build ourselves in the proper and most exacting way."). Shortly after the 2015 election, he announced that the new party was to be called Zehut (Identity). Feiglin's party is in favor of legalizing marijuana.

In July 2021, Feiglin returned to Likud. He sought election to the Knesset in 2022 as a member of Likud, but won the 52nd slot on the party list and was not elected. In January 2024, Feiglin left Likud and reestablished Zehut. The party announced it will contest the 2026 election, and on 1 September 2026, agreed on a joint run with the Religious Zionist Party, with Feiglin receiving the 2nd slot on the joint list.

Hitler comments

In an article in Haaretz, Yossi Sarid quoted Feiglin, in the context of demonstrations against the Oslo accords, as saying, "Hitler was an unparalleled military genius. Nazism promoted Germany from a low to a fantastic physical and ideological status. The ragged, trashy youth body turned into a neat and orderly part of society and Germany received an exemplary regime, a proper justice system and public order. Hitler savored good music. He would paint. This was no bunch of thugs. They merely used thugs and homosexuals." Feiglin clarified his position to the Maariv newspaper that just because he considers Hitler a military genius, this does not mean he admires him.

Banned from Britain

Feiglin is banned from entering the United Kingdom due to a decision by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, made public in March 2008, excluding Feiglin on the grounds that his presence in the country "would not be conducive to the public good". A letter to Feiglin from the Home Office said that Smith based her decision on an assessment that his activities "foment or justify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs; seek to provoke others to terrorist acts; foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts; and foster hatred, which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK". Feiglin responded, "Seeing that renowned terrorists like Hizbullah member Ibrahim Mousawi are welcomed in your country in open arms, I understand that your policy is aimed at encouraging and supporting terror."

Oslo Accords

Feiglin was arrested for organizing mass acts of resistance and blocked highways across Israel during the period in which the Oslo accords were debated and implemented. Feiglin was charged with "break[ing] the barrier of obedience to the rule of law" and incitement to commit crimes. Regarding his organization of peaceful demonstrations and the blocking of intersections without a permit, Feiglin was quoted as stating, "We will do all that it's possible to do, including breaking the law."

He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1997 for sedition, and the sentence was later performed via community service.

Likud members

Relations between Feiglin and his fellow Likud members have been mixed. Likud Knesset member Limor Livnat stated that Feiglin and his friends are "not real Likudniks", and that his faction "cannot be allowed to prevail". In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Livnat explained that Feiglin and his faction must be prevented "from taking over, or the party and the state will be in danger", adding that, "this is not democracy, this is anarchy".

Despite criticism from fellow Likud members, Feiglin has displayed favorable relations with a significant number of former Likud Knesset members. This was manifest during a Feiglin rally at Jerusalem's Ramada Hotel that took place before the 2008 Likud primary after Feiglin promised to throw all his votes to them if they showed up. Former Likud Knesset members Gila Gamliel, David Mena, Daniel Benlulu, and Ayoub Kara attended the event, despite warnings from Netanyahu's advisers not to do so. Gila Gamliel, who did not vote against the Disengagement from Gaza, eventually took Feiglin's votes and placed 19th, one spot ahead of Feiglin. This ultimately resulted in Feiglin getting pushed down to the 36th spot, and out of the Eighteenth Knesset.

Support for Jonathan Pollard

Feiglin is a highly vocal supporter of Jonathan Pollard, a former American naval intelligence analyst who formerly served a sentence in the American federal prison system for spying for Israel. Feiglin, who has called Pollard a hero, has written a number of articles in support of Pollard. In a later 2008 article, Feiglin stated that, "Pollard is a Jew who saved the Israelis from American treachery."

Criticism of U.S. Vice President Biden

Feiglin referred to U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden as a "diseased leper" in a 2010 op-ed column published by Israel's third-largest news outlet, Maariv.

Support for cannabis legalization

As part of his libertarian political philosophy, Feiglin supports the full legalization of cannabis in Israel, stating of legalization in Amsterdam: "I don't see Amsterdam as a bad thing.... There's no chaos, there's more freedom for citizens. [Legalization] didn't upend the way of life." And stating that, "This may be one of the reasons why marijuana is illegal. God owns the patent on cannabis, and the large pharmaceutical companies do not appreciate such an intervention in their market and exert their influence accordingly." The opposition of the Knesset Health committee to Feiglin's proposals have led to multiple controversial confrontations in the Knesset. Feiglin says that, "When I expressed my opinion on this issue over a year ago, I had no idea that I had climbed atop such a potent barrel of social dynamite... The debate is not about cannabis. Cannabis is just the tip of the iceberg. The debate is about liberty."

Approach to homosexuals

Feiglin wrote an article in 2009 entitled "I Am A Proud Homophobe". In 2012, he wrote several posts on his Facebook page detailing his views on gays. "The gay pride parade isn't about rights. It's about forcing the values of the minority onto the majority, effectively locking the majority into the proverbial closet. Homosexual "rights" undermine the normative family, the foundation of our nation."

"Throughout history", Feiglin explained, "from Rome to Europe in our day, the approval and spread of homosexuality presaged the decline of nations and cultures. If one reads the Torah portion 'Noah' - this comes as no surprise.... The organizers of a pride parade do not wish to gain rights. They strive to force homosexuality as a culture upon the public sphere.... A minority has no right to take over public assets. Let the marchers kindly go back to their individual closets. And let them do it without whining, because no one interferes with their affairs in there. Let them give up their attempts at takeovers, and leave the public sphere to normal people...." Feiglin added in an additional post: "I have no problem with homosexuals, most of whom are, most likely, good and talented people and no one wants to interfere in their private lives. I have a problem with homosexuality as a culture. This culture subverts the status of the family. And without the family there is no nation, and without a nation there is no civilization."

Feiglin refused to meet with a gay faction within the Likud, and was quoting as stating: "[A]s individuals I can’t tell them how to lead their lives and I can cooperate with them on different subjects, but as a group that tries to promote an ideology of their sexual orientation, I don’t think they have legitimacy, especially not in the Likud." On Feb. 7, 2013, Feiglin met with an Israeli gay advocacy group in Tel Aviv, and said he was no longer a homophobe. News accounts of the meeting reported Feiglin's views: "'I am in favor of you having all your human rights, but I am not prepared by the way to invalidate the special value of the classic family', he said and made it clear that he still opposed gay marriage and same-sex parenting. 'Every child in the world has a right to a mother and father. It has nothing to do with religion, but with my basic perception of the good of the child', he said."

After his election to the Knesset, Moshe Feiglin met with homosexual groups. Although he does not identify with their lifestyle choices, he told them, he supports their rights as individuals and will fight to ensure that those rights are upheld.

When asked by a lesbian supporter if he would support her running in the primaries for the Zehut party, Feiglin was enthusiastically positive about it.

Women

During his 2013 campaign, Feiglin reiterated his view that women's role in Israeli society should be based on Jewish Biblical principles. In response to a question about feminism, Feiglin was quoted as saying: "'Tel Aviv has become a city that has erased masculinity and where being a man is considered a sickness', and added that feminism has destroyed family values, something essential to Judaism.... Pressed further, he stated that 'the man is the family, while the woman is the home [literally "house"]', and that in our current culture, we are forgetting 'what it means to be a man'."

When the Jerusalem city government voted to permit sex-segregated public buses, according to the wishes of some ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews, Feiglin supported the action: "I see discrimination against women as despicable. But it is unreasonable to force an ultra-Orthodox bus company to institute mixed seating on its buses against the wishes of its customers." Feiglin also opposes the Israeli army's decision to allow women into combat units.

Christians and Christianity

Feiglin has criticized some Christian supporters of Israel, such as Glenn Beck, and challenged the sincerity of Christians who have defended Israel, as well as Israeli Jews who supported Beck. "Glenn Beck doesn't back the Jewish mission. What drives him is the Christian mission. I have no problem doing business with him, but he has to respect me when he comes here just like I don't try to force my identity on him when I come to him. Jews like it when Goyim finally smile at them, but sometimes, a smile is more dangerous than a scowl, and this is one of those occasions", Feiglin said. Feiglin also said he had a "deep problem" with Efrat Chief Rabbi Shlomo Riskin participating as a featured speaker at a Christian prayer rally Glenn Beck organized at the Caesarea Amphitheater in Israel. Danny Danon responded to Feiglin, saying: "Israel has too many real foes, and very few genuine friends like Glenn Beck. I cannot understand the urge to reject his friendship with pseudo-theological argumentation... Rejecting friendship is not a sign of national pride, but a proof of very low self-confidence."

Petition by "Scholars for Israel and Palestine"

In December 2014, a group of academics who are part of the anti-BDS movement and members of The Third Narrative, a Labor Zionist organization, have called on the U.S. and E.U. to impose sanctions on Feiglin and three other Israelis "who lead efforts to insure permanent Israeli occupation of the West Bank and to annex all or parts of it unilaterally in violation of international law". These academics, calling themselves Scholars for Israel and Palestine (SIP) and claiming to be "pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-peace", are asking the U.S. and EU to freeze Feiglin's foreign assets and impose visa restrictions. One of the signatories was quoted in Haaretz as saying the four leaders were chosen because they "were particularly dismissive of Secretary of State Kerry's peace-making efforts, and explicitly call for and work towards the formal annexation of the West Bank or part of it, and thereby push Israel in the direction of violating international law. They are the ones who cross particularly sharp red lines." The group of mainly Jewish academics blasted Feiglin for his "straightforward and undisguised extremism" and "annexationist" agenda.

Comments following the 2020 Beirut explosion

Celebrating the 2020 Beirut explosions, which killed at least 220 people and injured thousands more, Feiglin referred to the explosion as "a spectacular pyrotechnics show", and wrote:

You don’t actually believe this was some disorganized fuel depot, right? You do realize that this inferno was supposed to land on us as a rain of rockets? [...] Today is Tu B'Av, a day of joy, and a true and huge thank you to G-d and all the geniuses and heroes really (!) who organized for us this wonderful celebration in honor of the day of love.

The Times of Israel reported that the post was subsequently removed by Facebook. Explaining the removal, Facebook stated: “The post was removed because its content mocks the victims, which goes against our policy." Feiglin confirmed the removal of his post via his official Facebook account, claiming to "stand behind every word"

Comments during the Gaza war

On 12 October 2023, speaking on Israeli TV Channel 14, Feiglin stated of the Gaza war, "If the goal of this operation is not destruction, occupation, expulsion, and settlement, then we have accomplished nothing."

Haaretz reported that while being interviewed by Channel 12 about the Gaza war in June 2024, Feiglin quoted Adolf Hitler stating that Israelis "cannot live in this land if one Islamo-Nazi remains in Gaza." He continued stating that he wanted to "turn Gaza Hebrew" as Jews were "not guests in our own land; it is entirely ours."

In May 2025, during an appearance on Channel 14, Feiglin defended Israel from claims that too many children had been killed in collateral damage, saying: "The enemy is not Hamas, nor is it the military wing of Hamas... Every child in Gaza is the enemy. We need to occupy Gaza and settle it, and not a single Gazan child will be left there. There is no other victory."

In a 2026 interview on the Knesset Channel, Feiglin called for Gaza's entire population to be expelled by force, proposing that Israel should cut off food and water supplies and allow all Palestinians who refused to leave to "die of thirst".