DOCSLIB.ORG

Israeli Elections Bulletin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Israeli Elections Bulletin Israeli Elections Bulletin Be sure to check our election page featuring the most up to date polling and analysis. The Next Israeli Government? The newly created Blue and White party is currently predicted to win more seats than Likud but would not be able to form a governing coalition. How the parties and their leaders are shaping up Netanyahu's favourability vs Gantz Result of head to head polling asking the question "who is most suited for Prime Minister?' Spotlight: Gantz-Lapid merge to create Blue White party In a picture posted on Instagram, Benny Gantz stands with Yair Lapid, Moshe Yaalon and Gabi Ashkenazi, who announced that he will join the list. The caption reads “United. Yair, Bogie, Gabi. For us, Israel before everything.” A joint statement read: "“From a feeling of national responsibility, it was decided by Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and (Moshe) Ya’alon to create a united list that will become the new governing party of Israel” BICOM Poll of Polls [before Gantz-Lapid merger] Our aggregate polling from February 7-20 suggested Likud would emerge as the largest party and able to form a government. But if small right wing parties fail to pass the electoral threshold of 3.25% (equivalent to 4 seats) and the Attorney General decides to indict the Prime Minister his overall support could decrease. Kulanu initially refused to join the coalition in such a scenario but have since backtracked. Polls suggest Likud is still reliant on Kulanu to reach a 61 seat majority or more required to form a government. How the parties and their leaders are shaping up [before the Gantz-Lapid merger] Latest News Stories from BICOM Gantz and Lapid launch Blue and White party // February 22 Israeli Left fail to agree merger // February 22 Gantz and Lapid join forces // February 21 Jewish Home merges with Jewish Power // February 21 Gantz launches personal attack on Netanyahu // February 20 Livni retires from politics // February 19 Kahlon would join Netanyahu Government // February 13 Young leaders top Israel’s Labor Party list // February 12 Gantz says Israel is ‘not looking to control anyone else’ // February 7 Gideon Saar comes third in Likud Primaries // February 6 Likud holds primary elections // February 5 Odeh elected Hadash leader // February 4 Polls show surge in support for Gantz // January 31 Gantz launches campaign with focus on unity // January 30 Gantz to launch campaign with attack on Netanyahu // 29 January Bennett attacks Gantz's military record // January 24 Spotlight: party lists Blue-White: The merger of Likud: The Likud list, chosen the Resilience Party and Yesh in primaries by its members, is Atid is led by former Chief of led by PM Netanyahu and also Staff Benny Gantz (2011-2015), includes Knesset speaker Yuli followed by Yair Lapid and Edelstein, now Foreign Minister former Chiefs of Staff Moshe Israel Katz, Public Security Yaalon (2002-2005), and Gabi Minister Gilad Erdan and Ashkenazi (2007-2011). The returning Likud politician current head of the Histadrut Gideon Saar in its top 5. All of Labor Union Chairman Avi these MKs may consider Nissenkorn is 5th on the list. themselves successors to Netanyahu. Labour: Itzik Shmuli and Stav Shaffir, veterans of the 2011 New Right: The New Right, popular social protest Arab parties: The Joint Arab formed by Education Minister movement, won first and List which was comprised of Naftali Bennett and Justice second place in the Labour Taal (Arab Renewal), Raam Minister Ayelet Shaked are Party primary elections, and are (Islamist Party), Hadash joined by Alona Barkat, owner placed 3rd and 4th on the list (Jewish/Arab-Communist) and of the Hapoel Beer Sheva soccer behind Party Chairman Avi Balad (Arab-Palestinian team, Matan Kahane, a former Gabbay and former IDF General nationalist) will not be running Israel Air Force pilot and Tal Russo. Two former party as a joint ticket but rather two Colonel and MK Shuli Muallem, chairpersons, Shelly separate lists – Taal/Hadash led and Jerusalem Post journalist Yachimovich and former by Ayman Odeh and Caroline Glick. Defence Minister Amir Peretz Raam/Balad. are 5th and 6th on the list. Best Cartoons A cartoon from Haaretz shows the winners and losers of the last few days. Yair Lapid and 3 former IDF Chiefs of Staff rejoice after forming their new party while Netanyahu and leaders of a far right party hold a photo of Meir Kahane, whose Kach party is illegal in Israel and is an illegal terrorist organisation in the US and Europe. Labour and Meretz failed to merge which might harm Meretz prospects, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni – who left politics –share a joint (Barak has an interest in a medical marijuana company); and Gesher’s leader Orly Levy – whose support has decreased, is packing her bags. A cartoon from Yediot Ahronot shows students Gantz and Netanyahu writing out the word Iran but Netanyahu complaining to the teacher that Gantz is copying him. Gantz told the Munich Security Conference there was no daylight between him and Netanyahu on the issue. Worst campaign ad Yisrael Beitenu's latest campaign video shows Or Ansbacher's rapist and murderer and then points out that Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, and Benjamin Netanyahu did not support Yisrael Beitenu's proposed death penalty for terrorist bill. Watch here More election videos In a video arguing that most Israelis want to In a video published days before Tzipi Livni live in a ‘normal state’, senior Labour party resigned from politics, her party published a MKs argue that while its ‘normal to be right dystopian video where, as a dark version of wing’ or ‘to want a secure way to separate from Hatikva plays, Netanyahu has had the airport the Palestinians’ it is not normal support the and main motorway named after him, and the release of Rabin’s murderer Yigal Amir or to Knesset has been turned into a museum believe if the Palestinian issue is ignored it will simply go away. Watch here Watch here Spotlight: Jewish Home merges with Jewish Power The Jewish Power party (Otzma Yehudit) has merged into a joint list with the Jewish Home and National Union parties, and will receive the 5th and 8th slots on their joint list. Established in 2012, Jewish Power is led by former National Union MK Michael Ben Ari and far right activists Itamar Ben Gvir, Baruch Marzel and Benti Gopstein. They are followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was a Knesset member from 1984-88 before his Kach Party was made illegal. Kach was declared an illegal terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and many other Western countries. The organisation has a history of incitement to violence, racism and involvement in violent attacks on Palestinians. Kach activists openly supported Baruch Goldstein after he murdered 29 Palestinians in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in 1994. Otzma Yehudit’s policy platform includes a proposal that non-Jews should be encouraged to emigrate from Israel and that Palestinians and Israeli Arabs who refuse to declare loyalty to a Jewish state, which they consider to include all of the West Bank, should be expelled. In a video from the National Union, leader Betzalel Smotrich explains that without a merger, some right wing votes would ‘go in the dustbin’ and lead to the left wing taking power He gives the example of the 1992 election in which the loss of right wing parties that did not cross the threshold paved the way to a left-wing government that signed the Oslo Accords. Watch here The Labour party released a campaign ad featuring the leaders of the Jewish Power party with the caption 'thanks to the Likud, [the ideology of] Kahane lives' Our latest podcast Episode 42 | Israeli elections special – What are the Israeli public thinking? This week, in the first of our Israeli election specials, BICOM CEO James Sorene interviews polling guru and star of the Tel Aviv Review podcast Dahlia Scheindlin to discuss what the Israeli public are thinking ahead of the elections and how we can interpret the latest opinion polls. Fathoming the Israeli Election Over the next few weeks, the Fathom Journal will be publishing articles about the elections. In its first article, Shany Mor defends Israel’s much aligned electoral system.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Israel's National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
    Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict Middle East Report N°147 | 21 November 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iv I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Religious Zionism: From Ascendance to Fragmentation ................................................ 5 A. 1973: A Turning Point ................................................................................................ 5 B. 1980s and 1990s: Polarisation ................................................................................... 7 C. The Gaza Disengagement and its Aftermath ............................................................. 11 III. Settling the Land .............................................................................................................. 14 A. Bargaining with the State: The Kookists ................................................................... 15 B. Defying the State: The Hilltop Youth ........................................................................ 17 IV. From the Hills to the State ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Lost Decade of the Israeli Peace Camp
    The Lost Decade of the Israeli Peace Camp By Ksenia Svetlova Now that Israeli annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is a commonplace notion, it seems almost impossible that just twelve years ago, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) were making significant progress in the US-sponsored bilateral peace negotiations. Since then, the stalemate in the talks has become the new normal, under three consecutive governments headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinians, led by Mahmoud Abbas and his government, have been cast as “diplomatic terrorists” for asking the international community for help. The Israeli peace camp has been subjected to a vicious smear campaign that has shaken its self-esteem and ruined its chances of winning over the public. This systematic smearing of Israeli and Palestinian two-staters has paid off. In the April 2019 elections, Israel’s progressive Meretz party teetered on the edge of the electoral barrier while Labor, once the ruling party, gained only six mandates (5% of the votes). The centrist Blue and White, a party led by ex-army chief Benny Gantz, carefully avoided any mention of loaded terms such as “the two-state solution” or “evacuation of settlements”, only calling vaguely to “advance peace” – as part of Israel’s new political vocabulary, which no longer includes “occupation” or even “the West Bank”. Despite offering no clear alternative to the peace option it managed to successfully derail, the Israeli right under Netanyahu has been in power for over a decade in a row, since 2009. Israel’s left-wing parties are fighting to survive; the Palestinians are continuing their fruitless efforts to engage the international community; and the horrid reality of a single state, in which different groups have different political and civil rights, seems just around the corner.
    [Show full text]
  • How Palestinians Can Burst Israel's Political Bubble
    Al-Shabaka Policy Brief Policy Al-Shabaka March 2018 WHEN LEFT IS RIGHT: HOW PALESTINIANS CAN BURST ISRAEL’S POLITICAL BUBBLE By Amjad Iraqi Overview the allies holding up his fragile rule, from the ultra- orthodox Jewish parties to his personal rivals within Although no indictments have been issued yet, Israelis Likud. “King Bibi,” however, survived them all. A are speculating whether the latest developments in skilled politician, he has been adept at managing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption Israel’s notoriously volatile coalition system, and [email protected] scandals finally mark the beginning of his political has remained in power with three consecutive demise. The second-longest serving prime minister governments over nine years – each more right wing after David Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu has had a than the last.2 profound impact on Israel’s political scene since the 1990s. It is therefore troubling, especially to Netanyahu directly influenced the country’s media Palestinians, that if these corruption cases are the landscape by shaping the editorial stance of Israel harbinger of Netanyahu’s downfall, they will have Hayom (the nation’s gratis, most-read newspaper, had nothing to do with the more egregious crimes for funded by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson), which he is responsible, and for which he – and future and used the Communications Ministry to threaten Israeli leaders – have yet to be held accountable. and harass media outlets that were critical of him. Despite crises and condemnations throughout This policy brief analyzes Israel’s political his career – including mass Israeli protests for transformations under Netanyahu and maps out the socioeconomic justice in 2011 and, more recently, current leadership contenders from a Palestinian weekly protests against widespread government perspective.1 It argues that Israel’s insular political corruption – Netanyahu withstood public pressures discourse, and the increasing alignment of Israeli to step down.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016 Annual Report
    Research. Debate. Impact. 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Table of Contents Message from the President and the Chairman of the Board 4 Sixth Meeting of IDI's International Advisory Council 8 The Center for Democratic Values and Institutions 11 The Center for Religion, Nation and State 23 The Center for Governance and the Economy 29 The Center for Security and Democracy 35 The Guttman Center for Surveys and Public Policy Research 41 IDI in the Media 47 Our Team 50 Our Leaders 51 Our Partners 52 Financials 53 Message from the President and the Chairman of the Board Dear Friends, 2016 was a year of change and upheaval throughout the jobs available to Haredim. The government adopted most of democratic world. Set against the tumult of Brexit and the the recommendations and is now in the process of allocating US elections, Israel seemed at times like an island of stability. a half-billion-shekel budget in line with these proposals. This However, under the surface, Israeli society is changing, and IDI success story illustrates the potential of turning relatively small took on a leading role in identifying those changes and working philanthropic investments into large-scale transformational with policymakers to address them. change by affecting policy and legislation on the basis of outstanding applied research. As the report that follows lays out, 2016 was a year rich in activity and achievements. In this letter, we have chosen to single Several new scholars joined our team in 2016. Ms. Daphna out the impact one program had on government policy in the Aviram-Nitzan, former director of research for the Israel employment area.
    [Show full text]
  • Privatizing Religion: the Transformation of Israel's
    Privatizing religion: The transformation of Israel’s Religious- Zionist community BY Yair ETTINGER The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. This paper is part of a series on Imagining Israel’s Future, made possible by support from the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of its author and do not represent the views of the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund, their officers, or employees. Copyright © 2017 Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 U.S.A. www.brookings.edu Table of Contents 1 The Author 2 Acknowlegements 3 Introduction 4 The Religious Zionist tribe 5 Bennett, the Jewish Home, and religious privatization 7 New disputes 10 Implications 12 Conclusion: The Bennett era 14 The Center for Middle East Policy 1 | Privatizing religion: The transformation of Israel’s Religious-Zionist community The Author air Ettinger has served as a journalist with Haaretz since 1997. His work primarily fo- cuses on the internal dynamics and process- Yes within Haredi communities. Previously, he cov- ered issues relating to Palestinian citizens of Israel and was a foreign affairs correspondent in Paris. Et- tinger studied Middle Eastern affairs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is currently writing a book on Jewish Modern Orthodoxy.
    [Show full text]
  • Return of Private Foundation
    l efile GRAPHIC p rint - DO NOT PROCESS As Filed Data - DLN: 93491015004014 Return of Private Foundation OMB No 1545-0052 Form 990 -PF or Section 4947( a)(1) Nonexempt Charitable Trust Treated as a Private Foundation Department of the Treasury 2012 Note . The foundation may be able to use a copy of this return to satisfy state reporting requirements Internal Revenue Service • . For calendar year 2012 , or tax year beginning 06 - 01-2012 , and ending 05-31-2013 Name of foundation A Employer identification number CENTURY 21 ASSOCIATES FOUNDATION INC 22-2412138 O/o RAYMOND GINDI ieiepnone number (see instructions) Number and street (or P 0 box number if mail is not delivered to street address) Room/suite U 22 CORTLANDT STREET Suite City or town, state, and ZIP code C If exemption application is pending, check here F NEW YORK, NY 10007 G Check all that apply r'Initial return r'Initial return of a former public charity D 1. Foreign organizations, check here (- r-Final return r'Amended return 2. Foreign organizations meeting the 85% test, r Address change r'Name change check here and attach computation H Check type of organization FSection 501(c)(3) exempt private foundation r'Section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust r'Other taxable private foundation J Accounting method F Cash F Accrual E If private foundation status was terminated I Fair market value of all assets at end und er section 507 ( b )( 1 )( A ), c hec k here F of y e a r (from Part 77, col. (c), Other (specify) _ F If the foundation is in a 60-month termination line 16)x$ 4,783,143
    [Show full text]
  • Strateg Ic a Ssessmen T
    Strategic Assessment Assessment Strategic Volume 19 | No. 4 | January 2017 Volume 19 Volume The Prime Minister and “Smart Power”: The Role of the Israeli Prime Minister in the 21st Century Yair Lapid The Israeli-Palestinian Political Process: Back to the Process Approach | No. 4 No. Udi Dekel and Emma Petrack Who’s Afraid of BDS? Economic and Academic Boycotts and the Threat to Israel | January 2017 Amit Efrati Israel’s Warming Ties with Regional Powers: Is Turkey Next? Ari Heistein Hezbollah as an Army Yiftah S. Shapir The Modi Government’s Policy on Israel: The Rhetoric and Reality of De-hyphenation Vinay Kaura India-Israel Relations: Perceptions and Prospects Manoj Kumar The Trump Effect in Eastern Europe: Heightened Risks of NATO-Russia Miscalculations Sarah Fainberg Negotiating Global Nuclear Disarmament: Between “Fairness” and Strategic Realities Emily B. Landau and Ephraim Asculai Strategic ASSESSMENT Volume 19 | No. 4 | January 2017 Abstracts | 3 The Prime Minister and “Smart Power”: The Role of the Israeli Prime Minister in the 21st Century | 9 Yair Lapid The Israeli-Palestinian Political Process: Back to the Process Approach | 29 Udi Dekel and Emma Petrack Who’s Afraid of BDS? Economic and Academic Boycotts and the Threat to Israel | 43 Amit Efrati Israel’s Warming Ties with Regional Powers: Is Turkey Next? | 57 Ari Heistein Hezbollah as an Army | 67 Yiftah S. Shapir The Modi Government’s Policy on Israel: The Rhetoric and Reality of De-hyphenation | 79 Vinay Kaura India-Israel Relations: Perceptions and Prospects | 93 Manoj Kumar The Trump Effect in Eastern Europe: Heightened Risks of NATO-Russia Miscalculations | 103 Sarah Fainberg Negotiating Global Nuclear Disarmament: Between “Fairness” and Strategic Realities | 117 Emily B.
    [Show full text]
  • Opinion New Government, New President, New Israel?
    Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 20, ISSUE 3 Studies Opinion New Government, New President, New Israel? Melanie Carina Schmoll, PhD Israel in summer 2021 – the end of the pandemic seems to be near. Israel opens up, almost all mask requirements are cancelled, international travel groups are welcome and even the individual guests are allowed to travel to the Holy Land with almost no restrictions. It seems Israel is back in pre-pandemic times. But it is not the same country anymore. Some fundamental changes have happened over the last few weeks. When, in March 2021, the Israelis had to vote again for the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, it was for the fourth time within two and a half years. The outcome was almost the same as the three times before. Benjamin Nethanyahu, Israel´s long-time prime minister, won most of the seats with his Likud party. As the State of Israel is a parlamentary democracy the executive branch or the government draws its authority from the Parliament (the legislative branch) and needs its confidence. Therefore, the prime minister is not decided directly by the voters but depends instead on a process of bargaining among the various fractions elected to parliament. In Israel, no single party holds most of the seats in Parliament and thus the process of forming a government is long and complicated.1 Israel also has an extreme proportional system of government, 1 For more information see Melanie Carina Schmoll, “Israel and the permanent siege: The people have spoken - who will find an answer to the needs of the voters?” Journal of Military and Strategic Studies 20, 1 (2019).
    [Show full text]
  • Czech-Israeli Intergovernmental Consultations Joint Statement Prague, May 17, 2012 Today, May 17, 2012, the Government of the C
    Czech-Israeli Intergovernmental Consultations Joint Statement Prague, May 17, 2012 Today, May 17, 2012, the Government of the Czech Republic and the Israeli Government are holding their intergovernmental consultations in Prague. The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Ne čas, and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, note with satisfaction the friendship and the historical partnership between the two countries, the unrelenting reciprocal support, the mutual respect for each other's sovereign status and the joint recognition in the political, defense and economic requirements of the two countries. The Prime Ministers emphasize their aspiration to further strengthen the close relations between the two Governments and the unique ties between the two peoples, based on a thousand-year-old affinity between the Czech people and the Jewish people. The Prime Ministers wish to thank all those who work tirelessly to advance the ties between the two countries. The following are the Government members participating in the consultations: On the Czech Republic side: Prime Minister Petr Ne čas First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs , Karel Schwarzenberg Minister of Industry and Trade, Martin Kuba Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Petr Fiala Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Jaromír Drábek Minister of Transport, Pavel Dobeš Minister for Regional Development, Kamil Jankovský Minister of Culture, Alena Hanáková On the Israeli side: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Deputy Prime Minister
    [Show full text]
  • David Abrams, Attorney at Law August 21, 2019 To
    David Abrams, Attorney at Law P.O. Box 3353 Church Street Station, New York NY 10008 Tel. 212-897-5821 Fax 212-897-5811 August 21, 2019 To: Internal Revenue Service (by FedEx) Whistleblower Office - ICE 1973 N. Rulon White Blvd. M/S 4110 Ogden, UT 84404 Re: Whistleblower Complaint Against New Israel Fund Dear Sir / Madam: I am the whistleblower in connection with the above-referenced Complaint. Enclosed please find a completed IRS Form 211.. Further, I am respectfully submitting this memorandum to elaborate on the factual and legal aspects of the enclosed IRS whistleblower complaint. In addition, I am enclosing a CD which contains the full, unannotated versions of the documents attached as Exhibits hereto. 1. Who is New Israel Fund? New Israel Fund (“NIF”) is a District of Columbia non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation with its principal place of business in the State of New York, county of New York. NIF financially supports many companies that work to undermine the state of Israel. As set forth in more detail below, NIF has crossed the line from permissible advocacy to unlawful "electioneering." Put another way, NIF is violating the tax codes by attempting to influence the outcome of elections. As stated on its own web site, NIF works on its “concerted campaign to equip Israel’s pro-democracy and progressive forces with the tools to fight Israel’s regressive right-and win.” As set forth in more detail below, NIF's activities are flagrant and unlawful electioneering in violation of the tax code. 2. Who is the Whistleblower? I am a New York attorney and political activist who regularly engages in pro- Israel litigation in state and federal Court.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenomenon, Vigilantism, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh's
    ‘THE SIMPLE JEW’: THE ‘PRICE TAG’ PHENOMENON, VIGILANTISM, AND RABBI YITZCHAK GINSBURGH’S POLITICAL KABBALAH Tessa Satherley* ABSTRACT: This paper explores the Kabbalistic theosophy of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, and allegations of links between his yeshiva and violent political activism and vigilantism. Ginsburgh is head of the yeshiva Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) in Samaria/the northern West Bank. His students and colleagues have been accused by the authorities of violence and vandalism against Arabs in the context of ‘price tag’ actions and vigilante attacks, while publications by Ginsburgh and his yeshiva colleagues such as Barukh HaGever (Barukh the Man/Blessed is the Man) and Torat HaMelekh (The King’s Torah) have been accused of inciting racist violence. This paper sketches the yeshiva’s history in the public spotlight and describes the esoteric, Kabbalistic framework behind Ginsburgh’s politics, focusing on his political readings of Zoharic Kabbalah and teachings about the mystical value of spontaneous revenge attacks by ‘the simple Jew’, who acts upon his feelings of righteous indignation without prior reflection. The conclusion explores and attempts to delimit the explanatory power of such mystical teachings in light of the sociological characteristics of the Hilltop Youth most often implicated as price tag ‘operatives’ and existing scholarly models of vigilantism. It also points to aspects of the mystical teachings with potential for special potency in this context. Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh (1944-) is a Chabad rabbi and head of the Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, near the major Palestinian population centre of Nablus (biblical Shechem). The yeshiva occupies an unusual discursive space – neither mainstream religious Zionist (though some of its teaching staff were educated in this tradition) nor formally affiliated with the Hasidic movement, despite Ginsburgh’s own affiliation with Chabad and despite his teachings being steeped in its Kabbalistic inheritance.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel Elections 2019 Update
    Israel Elections 2019 Update September 10, 2019 With no party succeeding in forming a government following the elections that took place in Israel in April, 2019, a brand new election will now take place next week, on September 17. JFNA is pleased to present the following backgrounder summarizing what has occurred, and what may happen in the coming weeks and months. JFNA has also prepared a background briefing on why a second round of elections are taking place – which can be seen here, as well as a paper on how Israeli elections work. Elections: Round Two Perhaps the most crucial take away from the backgrounder papers (linked above) is that in practice, Israeli elections have two “stages.” The first - the actual elections - occurs when the population elects the 120-members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Those are the national elections, but once the results of these elections are known, we don’t always have a clear picture of who will lead the country. This only occurs during what we can call a “second stage” when a potential prime minister seeks to form a governing majority coalition of at least 61, from among those 120 newly elected MKs (represented through their parties). September 2019’s theme: Mergers In the months that have passed since second elections were called, there has been little, if any, debate about policy or major issues of substance; or even discussions about personality. Instead, the focus has been on tactics, strategy and coalition building. So, in many ways, the September 2019 look like a redo of the elections that took place in April.
    [Show full text]