Likud supporters gathered on Jan. 11 in the southern town of Eilat for the third annual Likudiada weekend happening. Though unofficial, the event attracted much media attention. And it was one of those media reports that exposed the essence of the gathering. In fact, one moment during the Channel 2 Friday night show report really clarified what the Likud base is all about.

The Likud base constitutes that hardcore group of voters who are convinced that all of the corruption scandals surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are part of a larger campaign by the left and the media to attack Netanyahu and ultimately bring him down. This voter base will always slip the MaHaL (letters representing the Likud list) ballot into the ballot box. Those letters are their way of expressing a wide range of intense emotions, a sense of persecution, pride, identity and a common fate.

This revealing moment, exposing the inner workings of that voter base, was offered by journalist Danny Kushmaro, who interviewed Daniel Katz, the chairman of the Founders' Secretariat of the Likud. Like thousands of other Likud supporters, Katz went to Eilat for the Likud Party event. The interview started with Katz offering a spirited defense of the prime minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, and his infamous visit to strip clubs, which was exposed the previous week. "A 23-year-old kid did something stupid two years ago," Katz reacted, "and people are acting as if the whole country just collapsed." In a moment of enlightened insight, Kushmaro responded to Katz: "All of a sudden, it clicks. You and your friends treat the Likud like a soccer team. No matter what."

"It's much more than that," Katz reacted. "It's family."