Likud members hustled into Jerusalem’s International Convention Center on Monday afternoon, passing by a dense network of stands distributing campaign literature in support of individual candidates on their way to cast ballots in the party’s primary, one of the few being held in advance of Israel’s general election on October 27.

As campaign jingles blared on loudspeakers and activists handed out stickers, lawmakers and ministers circulated, shaking hands with voters and fielding questions from political reporters. Standing outside the convention center, one young woman wearing shiny blue and white pants walked on stilts, waving a flyer backing Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

With internal party reforms giving party leader Benjamin Netanyahu increased control of the Likud slate, this year’s primary, the first in four years, is both less significant and more hotly contested than in the past.

The changes gave Netanyahu control of nearly one-third of the first 30 slots on the party list, plus his own spot at No. 1 and a reserved place for Defense Minister Israel Katz; with polls showing Likud garnering 22 to 24 seats in the general election, down from its current 32, dozens of candidates have now found themselves in a game of musical chairs in which there are suddenly just a handful of seats left to grab. Even with few newcomers expected to crack the leaderboard, many of those currently in the Knesset are facing the very real possibility of having no realistic shot to return.

Yet despite fierce opposition from some elements of the party, those present had little to say against Netanyahu’s increasing domination of the party slate, rising from only two reservations in 2015 when the practice began — even as these changes have decreased some of their own chances of reelection.

Asked if he thought giving the party leader so much control over its list harms its democratic nature, Energy Minister Eli Cohen told The Times of Israel that “these are eight reserved spots out of the top 32 positions, meaning 75% were chosen democratically.”

Likewise, MK Amit Halevi described the day as “a celebration of democracy” while MK........

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