The Likud party announced that businessman Oren Dobronsky will join its Knesset slate as the first reserved candidate appointed by party leadership. Dubronsky is slated to occupy the 11th position on the electoral list.
The appointment comes from among eight reserved slots that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received for positions up to number 30 on the list. These reserved positions—which allow party leaders to bypass primary elections—are located at slots 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, and 29.
In its official statement, Likud welcomed Dobronsky's addition, describing him as "a successful businessman, one of the founders of Israel's high-tech sector, and a right-wing figure." The party said that he "joins the Likud team and after the elections will lead artificial intelligence initiatives in the economy, education, healthcare, and all branches of the state." Many Israelis recognize Dobronsky from his past appearance on "Sharks," the Israeli version of the reality TV investment show.
During the ongoing war, Dobronsky published a Facebook post addressing the hostage situation. He wrote that the captives are "almost certainly being held in tunnels as the most valuable card for Hamas leadership's security, so there is no concern about harming them from above ground." He argued that Israel should "act with full force as if we have no hostages there. This war must be won at any cost and Hamas must be destroyed down to its last commanders and soldiers, even at the risk that some of the hostages will not return. There's nothing to be done. It's terribly painful but that's how it is in war. Hamas's defeat is the supreme objective."
Notably, less than two months ago, he referred to U.S. President Donald Trump as a "morally corrupt" individual using profane language. He further wrote that Trump and his team of what he called incompetents were responsible for a "colossal failure" regarding Iran that was even worse than "Biden's failure in Afghanistan."
