Strident Likud MK says she is open to ‘serious offer’ to join another party

Controversial Likud MK Tally Gotliv said Monday that she was open to joining other political parties, following her poor showing in the Likud party primary two weeks ago. “My dedication to the prime minister and to the right-wing government has always been immense,” Gotliv wrote on X. “I literally threw myself on the barbed wire for the prime minister and the right-wing government. I do not expect applause, but I certainly will not agree to be treated as a doormat.” Gotliv is currently slated to be in the 20th spot on the Likud party list after she came 12th in the primary but was pushed down due to a high number of reserved slots granted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The final deadline for parties to submit their electoral lists to the Knesset is September 8. Recent polls have predicted Likud will receive 19-22 seats in the October 27 national election. Gotliv on Monday accused Netanyahu of “accepting the advice of those around him and seeking to politically eliminate me in the primaries.” She said he “excluded me from the Likud campaign” and has “chosen to push me to a hidden corner in the background,” and that the party continues to “portray me as a weakening force within Likud.” Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms “If I were to receive a serious offer from a party that would respect my electoral strength and my clear ability, with God’s help, to serve as a minister in a highly significant position, I would consider it very carefully on behalf of my voters,” Gotliv wrote. “For now, no such offer exists.” MK Tally Gotliv attends a court hearing on the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, April 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) Channel 12 news reported on Monday that Gotliv is threatening to leave the party entirely if Netanyahu does not place her as number 12 on the list, currently one of the prime minister’s unfilled reserve slots. The outspoken MK has at times been a thorn in the side of the prime minister, and has made a name for herself over her past four years in the Knesset for causing controversies and disrupting proceedings. Advertisement Most prominently, Gotliv faces potential prosecution for publicly identifying the partner of anti-government protest leader Shikma Bressler as a security agent while sharing baseless conspiracy theories about Hamas’s October 7 attack. The Knesset voted in June to grant Gotliv immunity after the attorney general announced plans to indict her; such immunity would expire when Gotliv is no longer a member of Knesset. Gotliv, a former lawyer known for defending sex offenders, has called members of the Israeli judicial system “enemies of the government,” accused security forces of “treason,” and advanced the conspiracy theory that the October 7 massacre was enabled from within Israel’s security establishment. Last year she was even disavowed within her own party for calling a court security guard a “Judenrat,” or Holocaust-era Jew deputized by the Nazis, when, due to her incessant interruptions, she was removed from a court hearing. Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. 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Now he’s contemplating ‘sitting home’ 2 US hits Iranian launchers preparing to fire in Hormuz; IRGC targets Jordan, UAE in response 3 16 Givati soldiers sent to prison for refusing to enter APC with female paramedic 4 British activist who was detained by settlers to be deported after UK intervenes 5 Almost all of Israel’s desalination plants shut due to weather; source denies cyberattack 6 Netanyahu warns Winter’s party could ‘bring down’ his bloc; Winter: Need new leaders, untainted by Oct. 7 7 Protest in Thailand’s Phuket targets misbehaving Israelis 8 Ben Gvir posts video mocking Palestinian female inmates’ complaints about conditions read more: Israel Inside Tally Gotliv Likud primaries Likud 2026 Israeli election If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY Already a member? 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