Israel elections April 2019, September 2019, March 2020, March 2021.

[sumskilz]

I'm no expert in jewish religion, but is passover not all about breaking bread after fasting?

There's no fasting. It's just that eating leavened bread (or any food with leaning agents) is forbidden, so more specifically it was ḥametz (leavened food) that the Israeli supreme court said hospitals have to allow.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

I'm no expert in jewish religion, but is passover not all about breaking bread after fasting?

No, you're mixing it up with something else. Passover is the celebration of exodus from Egypt, no fasting is involved. Yom Kippur is the holiday that includes fasting, and it takes place several months before Passover
That's not to say it's the only fast in Judaism, but none are related to passover, and moreover fasts in Judaism only last 1 day.

For all these elections does any real basic bits of either Domestic or Foreign policy actually change?

For all previous ones, no, because no coalition formed. For this one, mostly no, because this coalition is a big tent of left wing, centrist, right wing and an Islamist party who could rarely agree with each other on anything. Some changes did happen in terms of limiting the power of religious organisations and more economic investment in Arab majority areas, as well as a budget finally being passed. I expect that if Netanyahu manages to form a coalition (either before or after elections) much of that will be undone.

[Cyclops]

Hope you find a path to stability there, these hung parliament/gridlock situations seem to favour corruption in nooks and crannies.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Dread it. Run from it. The Israeli election still arrives.

With the coalition dropping to just 59 members after Nir Orbach left it last week, and 3 of those members being unreliable, Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have today announced the end of the coalition, and that an election will be held once more.
The coalition lasted a little over a year, but after Idit Silman quit it over.. bread.. the final blow came last week when Orbach, also a member of Bennet's Yamina, left the coalition.

First of all, why did Orbach leave? Bread? Maybe cookies? Well no, he left for an actual reason: the coalition cannot function without a majority. When it was time to vote on extending a temporary law that puts Israeli citizens in Judea and Samaria under Israeli civil law, the opposition led by supposedly right-wing Netanyahu voted against. This law has existed since 1967 and has to be extended every 5 years, and has been by all governments, and was supported by all parties in the past (apart from the Arab parties), and without it Israeli police cannot be in Judea and Samaria, Israeli citizens there commiting crimes will have to go to a military, rather than civil, court. Israeli citizens there won't even be able to vote (unless they go vote somewhere in Israel, which itself would be a mess as they'd have to be registered to vote somewhere). Ironically, citizens in those regions largely vote for parties currently in the opposition, but Netanyahu decided it would be fine to sacrifice them. Said law expires at the end of June.

But the law didn't fail at a 60-60 vote. Worse for the coalition, 2 of its members voted against the law, one from Meretz and one from Ra'am. This, for Orbach, was the final straw. And Bennet, after a week of finding no way to pass the law, has now decided that it's over, and has to happen this month. Why? Because then the temporary law will be automatically extended as there's no coalition to vote on it. Israeli law is.. interesting.


So what happens now?
First of all, a vote still needs to be held on disbanding the current Knesset, but seeing as both coalition and opposition support that it won't be an issue, barring any shocking surprises.
Next, Naftali Bennet declared he will pass the mantle of Prime Minister to Yair Lapid. This is because of an agreement they made stating that if the party that disbands the coalition is from the right-wing bloc, the PM will be Lapid, while if it's from the left-wing bloc it'll be Bennet. Lapid will remain in this position until someone else creates a coalition.
Only time will tell what shenanigans will happen before the election. I expect several mergers, most plausible and probable one being between Yamina and New Hope as both are right-wing coalition members that have been polling not too well. It will also be interesting to see what happens with the Yamina members who left the coalition. The first of them, Shikli (who left the day the coalition formed), was declared a defecting member of parliament, which means he is forbidden from joining an existing party, so we might see him create a new one. Silman will probably join the Likud, but Orbach can still stay in Yamina.

[PointOfViewGun]

I guess we can say now that Netanyahu recognizes that Israel has no legitimate sovereignty over West Bank...

[nhytgbvfeco2]

What we can say is that Netanyahu isn’t right-wing, he’s Netanyahu-wing.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Welp, not the news I wanted to give: Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, head of Yamina (and for whom I've voted) has announced that he will not run in the next election. Bennet has not yet stated what specifically led him to do this, but he has been the target of a vile hate campaign led by Netanyahu ever since he formed a coalition with Lapid. It isn't fully clear what will happen to his party, although he passed the reigns to Ayelet Shaked. Shaked meanwhile hasn't yet stated if she's intending to run with Yamina or not, but if not then I expect the party to vanish. A shame.

Personally I believe Bennet was a great prime minister, and a very brave one for have done what he did. A lot of his voters were frustrated by him forming a coalition with Lapid (even though he stated repeatedly he's running for Prime Minister and won't pledge to only form a government with Netanyahu), and polls have not been looking great (although they did show him passing the minimum vote threshold). Personally, I now have no idea who to vote for.

[conon394]

Seems like time to bump this. So return of Netanyahu?

[Heathen Hammer]

So it seems, so it seems. He is basically Israeli Belrusconi.

[conon394]

So it seems, so it seems. He is basically Israeli Belrusconi.

Seeming better than since if the numbers hold up I don't think he is at risk of any conviction.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Seems like time to bump this. So return of Netanyahu?

Yeah.. unfortunately so.
The counting isn't finished yet, but i doubt the results will change at this point.

Btw the winner of this thread's poll, Meretz, as of now does not even have enough votes to get seats in the parliament, for the first time since its creation. They're 0.08% short.

[conon394]

So assuming Netanyahu - policy shifts anything major. I don't follow internal politics in Israel much.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Well, for one a Kahanist will for the first time be part of the government, from the party "Otzma Yehudit" (literally Jewish power).
While Netanyahu himself has denied it, his coalition partners desire to change the law so that Netanyahu would have immunity, anulling his trial.
With the Ultra-orthodox back in the coalition you can expect a freeze on all progress in matters of separation of "church" and state, and a repeal of what was already done.


This election was won by Netanyahu by the ego of a few individuals. His coalition's share of the vote was, as of last count, 0.01% greater than that of the rest of parliament. However, Meretz and Labour, instead of merging as they were pressured to, did not, because the leader of labour refused to. Labour is now the smallest party in the parliament, Meretz isn't even in the parliament. This is the worst ever result of the Israeli left wing - 4 seats. Lapid should have pressed on them to merge - he did not.
The second failure was the split in the Arab joint list. Balad, last moment, left the joint list and ran separately from it. It did not pass the minimum vote threshold. Lapid should have helped bridge over the disagreements - he did not.
The hands off approach of the prime minister cost him his post.

[conon394]

Well, for one a Kahanist will for the first time be part of the government, from the party "Otzma Yehudit" (literally Jewish power).
While Netanyahu himself has denied it, his coalition partners desire to change the law so that Netanyahu would have immunity, anulling his trial.
With the Ultra-orthodox back in the coalition you can expect a freeze on all progress in matters of separation of "church" and state, and a repeal of what was already done.


This election was won by Netanyahu by the ego of a few individuals. His coalition's share of the vote was, as of last count, 0.01% greater than that of the rest of parliament. However, Meretz and Labour, instead of merging as they were pressured to, did not, because the leader of labour refused to. Labour is now the smallest party in the parliament, Meretz isn't even in the parliament. This is the worst ever result of the Israeli left wing - 4 seats. Lapid should have pressed on them to merge - he did not.
The second failure was the split in the Arab joint list. Balad, last moment, left the joint list and ran separately from it. It did not pass the minimum vote threshold. Lapid should have helped bridge over the disagreements - he did not.
The hands off approach of the prime minister cost him his post.

Interesting Thanks

So if I understand on one side to much individual either ego or indecisiveness vs Netanyahu cuts a clear deal on his legal issues for giving his partners what they want? Is that going to be a solid deal for team N? Or would think it could crack and we can see another round in a few months

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Honestly this coalition could even last the full 4 years. They're all Netanyahu loyalists, and all largely tow the same line.

[conon394]

Honestly this coalition could even last the full 4 years. They're all Netanyahu loyalists, and all largely tow the same line.

If that happens does he get special recognition in the UN or something for being the Teflon PM/Politician above all others in the current era (with note he is still winning contested fair elections).

[Nebaki]

Guess who's back?

...he’s Netanyahu-wing.

Back again

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Bibi´s back.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Not sure why you’re happy about him being elected Nebaki. Had he remained in power Israel wouldn’t have reconciled with Turkey, he’s not exactly an ally to your cause.

[Ludicus]

I don't follow internal politics in Israel much.

Likud +Jewish Power+Religious Zionist+Shas+United Torah Judaism = ethnic, homophobic religious theocracy

Far-Right Party Will Push Anti-Arab Agenda in New Israeli- FP

Religious Zionism is an alliance of three far-right factions, representing hard-line settlers, ultranationalists, and anti-LGBTQ religious activists. Its most prominent leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is a disciple of the anti-Arab ideologue Meir Kahane. In the past, Ben-Gvir has been convicted of incitement to racism. For years, he proudly displayed a photo on his living room wall of a notorious Jewish terrorist responsible for the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians in the West Bank.
“This may be a tipping point in terms of taking a hatchet to Israel’s democratic system,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a political strategist and fellow at the Century Foundation think tank. “It’s an almost proto-totalitarian insistence that the judiciary is the enemy of the people, and that in the name of ‘effective governance,’ these checks and balances must be removed.”
Scheindlin said these policy proposals go hand in hand with the “Jewish supremacism” advocated by Ben-Gvir and others, especially as it relates to Palestinians in both the West Bank and inside Israel.

Israel vote cements rise of extreme right - France 24

For Shlomo Fischer, a sociologist at Jerusalem's Jewish People Policy Institute, the poll results follow a long-term phenomenon. "Israeli society is becoming more right-wing and in certain ways more traditional, more ethno-religious, nationalist," he said.
"The expected scenario is that there will be more laws issued, more violence and humiliation of people in the West Bank and the occupied (Palestinian) territories," she told AFP.

Israel Election: Rise Of 'extremist' Ben-Gvir Sends Shockwaves

Many pointed out the links tying Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to the ideology of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane. The then fringe-rabbi's movement was outlawed in Israel in the 1980s, yet has retained a powerful grip over the hard-right.
Kahane, an extremist calling to establish a theocratic Jewish state and expanding its territory through conquest, was assassinated in 1990 in the US, where his movement was put on a terrorism blacklist.

There you go.

[Nebaki]

Not sure why you’re happy about him being elected Nebaki. Had he remained in power Israel wouldn’t have reconciled with Turkey, he’s not exactly an ally to your cause.

Israel and Turkey were never Allies only had a few interets in same direction. Do you think that Israel is going to reconcile with Turkey because of they want it? they must. If you think different in that case then please enlight me