The die is cast:
Israel is headed for its 3rd election in a year!
We don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t know what the future holds in store. However, when we examine what has transpired in recent months, and in spite of the fact that the election results in September were comparable to those in April, the pictures following these two rounds were substantially different. This may point to a potential breakthrough in the third round.
Uri Regev 12/12/2019 18:59
Tags: 2019 elections · coalition · Yisrael Beiteinu · Blue and White · Likud
Many with whom we speak in North America throw their hands up in despair, turning their backs on the struggle for the future and soul of Israel. They see what’s happening now as “more of the same” and cannot understand why a third round may be different than the first two. Cynics in Israel are already calculating when the fourth, fifth, etc., rounds will take place. We don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t know what the future holds in store. However, when we examine what has transpired in recent months, and in spite of the fact that the election results in September were comparable to those in April, the pictures following these two rounds were substantially different. This may point to a potential breakthrough in the third round:
1) Following the September elections, Liberman’s increased hold on the political balance of power was a direct outcome of his choice to focus his party’s campaign on issues of religious freedom and equality of civic burden. 2) Blue & White’s ascending star, which is now glowing as brightly as the Likud’s (and perhaps even more so), is linked not only to the fact that many voters were seeking an alternative to Netanyahu, but also to its platform, rich with revolutionary religion & state changes. Shortly before the September elections, Blue & White internalized the significance of Liberman’s maneuvers and added a last minute commitment to a “secular unity government”.
If you read Hiddush's recent survey findings, following our most recent survey, you will easily see that Yisrael Beiteinu and Blue & White (as well as Labor-Gesher and the Democratic Camp) sought to base their campaigns on a clear-eyed reading of a political map similar to the ones that emerges from Hiddush’s surveys.
There is no doubt that the campaign in the coming third round will greatly focus on Netanyahu’s saga, which has already resulted with unprecedented attacks on Israel’s legal system and rule of law. This divisive and dangerous matter is tearing apart the Israeli public, but at this stage is does not seem to be enough to decide the outcome of the elections. Religion & state issues, rising and fall like a pendulum, which have fallen victim to politician’s cynical manipulations and the misleading label of “status quo”, represent an arena rich with potential and significance. Unlike the battle over personalities that threatens Israel’s rule of law, issues of religion & state unify a wide spectrum of the public spanning from right to left and from secular to traditional. This is very unlike the issues of security, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Territories, which divide Israelis.
On the face of it, one could have put together a wide, stable coalition that reflected the fact that the majority of Israel’s Jewish population defines itself as being on the political right. It would have been a coalition based on Likud, Blue & White, and Yisrael Beiteinu.
On the face of it, one could have put together a wide, stable coalition that reflected the fact that the majority of Israel’s Jewish population defines itself as being on the political right. It would have been a coalition based on Likud, Blue & White, and Yisrael Beiteinu. Such a coalition could have brought about a historic transformation in relations between religion and state, for it would not have been dependent upon any religious party’s dictates (usually – religiously-based prohibitions). However, instead, the Likud chose to latch on to its pact with the religious parties and prevent the establishment of a coalition based on religious freedom and equality of civic burden.
However, what transpired in September may not replicate itself in March. It’s interesting to note that voices of soul searching and deliberation are being heard among the political and religious leadership of the ultra-Orthodox community in the face of Netanyahu’s inability to assemble a majority, raising questions on whether they shouldn’t free themselves from this bear hug and attend to their own needs. Undoubtedly, parallel questions may also arise within the Likud, especially if reality forces a change of leadership and a realization that only collaboration between Likud and Blue & White can provide a stable foundation for a civil coalition that would preclude the need for further election tournaments.
The more the public is exposed to new facts (for example, the drugging of homosexual yeshiva students) and to open, bold discourse on the threats to Israel’s economy and security, as well as the harm to civil liberties and human dignity and the destabilization of Israel’s partnership with world Jewry, etc., etc., which are linked to the perpetuation of the “status quo”, the greater the pressure on politicians to listen to their voters, heed the majority, and bring Israel onto a path that will ensure its future and strengthen the state and its society.
Organizations such as Hiddush hold great importance in exposing the facts and encouraging public discourse. Our role is particularly significant, for we uniquely represent a unified struggle for religious freedom and equality, which cuts through religious and political camps. We have done much, and we can do even more in these critical months leading up to March. For this we need your help – please contribute to Hiddush now, before the end of the year, to enable us to continue (y)our struggle for the Israeli of our shared values.