New Likud Knesset member Moshe Feiglin is one of the symbols of the far right in Judea and Samaria. For years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to great lengths to prevent Feiglin from getting into the Knesset. The prime minister viewed Feiglin and his coterie, disparagingly called the “Feigliners,” as aliens trying to take over the Likud.

Netanyahu was concerned that Feiglin’s name on the Likud list would infuse the entire list with an extremist tinge and drive voters away from the party. Thus, the prime minister blocked Feiglin from every direction. But Netanyahu’s powers deserted him in the latest primaries, and Feiglin succeeded in being voted into a viable spot on the party’s Knesset list. The Likud’s dismal showing in the January elections proved that Netanyahu’s fears were justified. Voters fled from Likud in droves, causing it to contract as a result. Feiglin, meanwhile, became a Knesset member.

Now, as if he had not fought for years to exclude Feiglin from the Likud, Netanyahu appointed him as deputy Knesset chairperson on March 18. This position has great symbolic power and brought a smile to Feiglin’s face. Netanyahu believes that this is the way to silence the internal opposition. In his new capacity, Feiglin is most likely to conduct himself as would befit a non-partisan statesman and refrain from rushing to call for a boycott of President Barack Obama’s speech [on March 21] so long as Jonathan Pollard remains behind bars – which is exactly what he said two weeks ago in his first Knesset speech. The big question is, how long will this statesmanlike behavior last?

Other Likud Knesset members who, like Feiglin, are viewed as representatives of the settlers, also got appointments. Word is circulating in the Likud that the prime minister is preparing for a serious diplomatic blitz with the Palestinians, therefore, he is taking pains to put his party’s political opposition to sleep.