But now he took a position I strongly agree with and have said the same in the past.

Amsalem referred to the issue of appointing dayanim and said the Likud needs to be a part of any arrangement for appointing dayanim, or the Likud will not allow it to be passed. Amsalem said, "the days of dividing up the available positions between Shas, UTJ, and Mafdal are over. There is also the Likud! If the Likud is not part of the deal, there will not be any appointments of any dayanim!"

I have complained in the past about the Likud and other parties that they do not care about the issues that matter to religion and to the religious sectors and outsource issues of Judaism to the Haredi and DL parties. In my opinion, they should all have positions regarding the office of the Chief Rabbinate, in the appointment of dayanim, in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and in the various religious laws that get passed, and should not just be doing whatever UTJ/Shas/DL want like a rubber stamp for them.

I like that the Likud is finally starting to get involved. We'll see if this turns into one big nothing, just a way for Amsalem to make some noise, and maybe he wants something else and is using this to horse-trade, or if the Likud will really be pushing itself in on these issues. The Likud represents a sizeable, and growing, religious public.