Published: August 30, 2026 · Tedros Editorial
32 kessim sign a letter to Netanyahu: reserve a slot for the community on the Likud list
Background
About two weeks ago we reported on MK Tsega Melaku's withdrawal from the Likud primaries, after she said "the immigrant-reserved seat is blocked". It now turns out the fight over the community's place on the list is not over.
The letter
According to a report by Anna Barsky in The Jerusalem Post (August 18, 2026), 32 kessim — spiritual leaders of the Ethiopian-Israeli community — signed a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to guarantee MK Melaku a reserved slot on Likud's list for the next Knesset.
The numbers behind the request
Per the same report, internal Likud polling estimates Melaku could bring the party support worth roughly half a Knesset seat from the Ethiopian-Israeli community.
Where it stands
Netanyahu reportedly holds eight reserved slots to shape the list after the primaries, but party officials estimate he will ultimately use only one or two more, prioritizing candidates with clear electoral appeal. Also mentioned in the reserved-slot context: former finance minister Moshe Kahlon, who has not yet decided whether to return to politics.
Tedros reports this as political fact and takes no position.