The 37th Government of Israel was sworn in on Thursday afternoon in a 63-54 vote, the sixth of its already longest-serving prime minister, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.

The government includes 30 ministers including Netanyahu, just four of whom are women.

16 out of the ministers are from the Likud, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-726094

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The post Ohana becomes first gay Knesset Speaker as Netanyahu retakes office first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Knesset voted before dawn Tuesday morning to back legislation dissolving the 24th Knesset and sending Israel to new elections.

The bills, voted on concurrently, were backed by 50 MKs, with no dissentions.

Lawmakers are scheduled to hold the final vote in the Knesset plenum by Wednesday night.

The vote was held early Tuesday morning after Coalition and Opposition lawmakers reached an agreement on state funding for political campaigns during the upcoming election, increasing the funding per Member of Knesset from 1.4 million shekels to 1.66 million, amounting to a total of extra 30 million shekels for campaign funds, raising to total to 200 million shekels.

Late Monday night, the two sides agreed to pass the dissolution bills by midnight between Wednesday and Thursday, following an extended period of time wrangling over when the elections would take place and argued over procedural issues.

The Coalition and Opposition parties have narrowed the possible election dates down to October 25 and November 1.

The sides also agreed that a proposal to ban an individual under indictment from becoming prime minister, a measure aimed at barring Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a new government, will not be put to a vote during the current session.

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/355641

The post Bill dissolving the Knesset passes first reading first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israel is plagued by an electoral system that gives disproportionate influence to small parties, which usually are needed to get to the minimum threshold of 61 Knesset members to form a government. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so unfortunate if Israel didn’t have to deal with aggression by Iran and its proxy, Hamas. As Anna Ahronheim writes in the Jerusalem Post, “Israel cannot have both security and political instability. Israel’s enemies, be it in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, or the West Bank, are wide awake looking for an opportunity to strike.”

Israel’s behind-the-scenes wars with Iran in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and with Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank, are off the radar for most Americans. In the north, Israel has been conducting the “War Between the Wars” to thwart Iranian entrenchment in Syria, stop the transfer of game-changing, precision-guided weapons and drones, and target Iranian-supported missile and drone factories. These operations potentially could spin out of control with a miscalculation, causing regional instability that affects American security interests.

With the resurgence of Hamas-instigated terror operations in the West Bank, Israel has been preemptively conducting its “Break the Wave” operation to counter terrorist activity. But Hamas may see this time of Israeli political uncertainty as an opportunity to increase its attacks.

The political chaos is unfolding as President Biden plans to visit Israel in July. A few days ago, he thought he would be meeting with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, but now he likely will be meeting with foreign minister Yair Lapid as Bennett’s replacement. There is even a possibility that Defense Minister Benny Gantz could defect from the current coalition, swallow hard and rejoin former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he had a falling out, in a new government to avoid elections. Biden has said that his mid-July trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel will be an attempt to bring “more stability and peace to the Middle East.”

Bennett comes from the Israeli right and Lapid from the center-left. The expectation is that Lapid may be more accepting of the Biden administration’s requests regarding the Palestinian Authority, the “two states for two peoples” solution, limiting settlement expansion, and America’s desire to reopen a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. However, the Israeli electorate has leaned right since the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000, and likely would see such concessions as a betrayal. Most Israelis view the Palestinian Authority as a corrupt, unreliable partner, with a history of fomenting anti-Semitic ideology in textbooks, mosques and media. If Lapid makes concessions, he could be savaged by Israeli media and political opponents.

The good news is that Israel’s military and security apparatus is apolitical and has decades of experience coordinating its tactical operations with the United States, even when its government has interim leadership. However, on a more significant geostrategic level, it is hard to make major decisions when you are a temporary prime minister. Israel’s moderate allies — the Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan — who are developing an American-initiated defense plan with Israel in response to Iran’s escalation, most assuredly would feel better if Israel’s political system were more stable.

The messy Israeli democracy is hard for authoritarians to understand. To advance American policy interests, we need the Arab nations to deepen their relationships with Israel — as some have done with the Abraham Accords — as a counterweight to Iranian expansionism.

As Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, points out, U.S. officials “are used to conducting relations with Israel during political crises and election campaigns. The main principle is: Don’t interfere while Israel’s domestic political processes play out. Most normal business, particularly in security cooperation, can continue. While a minority government in Israel is fully empowered, in the case of elections, there may be some decisions a transition government in Israel cannot make.”

The Biden administration reportedly is still trying to salvage an Iran nuclear deal — a reworking of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) forged under President Obama — and is keeping Israel abreast of the negotiations. However, Lapid’s political weakness may force him to take a tougher line with the U.S. Iran, as an enemy to the U.S., Israel and the West in general, seems in no hurry to rejoin the deal now, while U.S. sanctions against it are not fully enforced and the Iranian economy can stay afloat by selling oil to China — though competition with Russian oil exports recently has stepped up.

Without secondary sanctions levied against China, Iran can continue to play hardball and undermine U.S. regional interests. Iran interpreted the U.S. not fully enforcing its sanctions not as a conciliatory gesture but as American weakness to be exploited. Expect Lapid or any Israeli prime minister to ask the U.S. to increase sanctions if Iran continues to develop its nuclear weapons program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently sanctioned Iran because it refuses to explain uranium found in undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran has removed cameras that were monitoring its nuclear facilities. If Iran reneges on its nuclear program commitments, only snap-back sanctions, as promised in the JCPOA, could possibly pressure Iran to change its behavior. Iran knows that America has no credible military threat, making the Iranians more stubborn in negotiations.

There is broad support across the Israeli political spectrum for confronting Iran if it crosses the nuclear threshold — and it will be challenging for the Biden administration if Israel moves towards a significant military response.

American interests are also affected by Israel’s new confrontation with Russia in Syria. Until recently, Israel coordinated its air campaign against Iranian interests in Syria with Russia to avoid any Israeli-Russian conflict. Russia was working with Israel because it was in Russia’s interest to suppress Iranian entrenchment in Syria, since that could threaten Syrian stability. Last week, however, Israel bombed the Damascus Airport where Iran was transiting weapons, infuriating Russia. Taken to the worst extreme, this could escalate to an Israeli attack on Russian anti-missile systems if they were to be used against Israel, setting the region on fire. And with America’s plate full with the Russia-Ukraine war, the last thing Washington needs is a kinetic conflict between its primary ally in the Middle East and the Russian bear.

The U.S.-Israel relationship will survive this political melodrama; the two democracies have navigated through similar challenges before and continued to coordinate their joint security approach to the region. But the situation is not ideal, by far — especially if an interim Israeli prime minister must make a significant decision that affects American national security interests in the coming months.

Dr. Eric R. Mandel is the director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political Information Network. He regularly briefs members of Congress and their foreign policy aides. He is the senior security editor for the Jerusalem Report. Follow him on Twitter @MepinOrg.

Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3532125-israels-government-collapses-again-so-what-now/

The post Israel’s government collapses — again. So, what now? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

For the first time in more than a decade, Israel has welcomed a new prime minister. Naftali Bennett was sworn in on Sunday after a new coalition unseated longtime Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

The newly elected prime minister was appointed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in a 60-59 vote, with one minister abstaining.

Newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett shakes hands with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. –Ariel Schalit/AP

Shortly after the votes were tallied, the now former-Prime Minister Netanyahu approached his opponent and the two shook hands. Not long after that, he took to Twitter, instructing his supporters to hold their heads high and keep the faith; vowing to return.

“I ask you: do not let your spirit fall,” he said. “We’ll be back – and faster than you think.”

President Joe Biden released a statement congratulating Bennett and the new Israeli government. “Israel has no better friend than the United States. The bond that unites our people is evidence of our shared values and decades of close cooperation and as we continue to strengthen our partnership, the United States remains unwavering in its support for Israel’s security,” he said.

“I look forward to working with you to strengthen the ties between our two nations,” Prime Minister Bennett responded via Twitter.

The ejection of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister was made possible by a band of unlikely allies from across the political spectrum, brought together by the shared belief that Netanyahu had to go. The new coalition government is made up of eight parties, all of whom have agreed to hold off on major decisions surrounding controversial issues, like the future of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry in Ramallah said it expected to see “no difference, or perhaps even worse” policies under the new Israeli government. In Gaza, Hamas said Israel continues to be “a settler occupier entity that must be resisted by all forms of resistance, foremost of which is the armed resistance.”

Netanyahu, 71, was first elected prime minister in the late 1990s and then again in 2009. Over the last 12 years, he has used his time in office to allow the growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, frustrated Palestinian aspirations for statehood and aligned Israel with right-wing leaders internationally.

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. He served 12 consecutive years before being ousted by an opposition coalition. –Ariel Schalit/AP

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Among his loyal supporters — he’s seen as a strong defender of Israel who made the country an economic success and oversaw an effective battle against the coronavirus. But the former prime minister also faces corruption charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust — allegations Netanyahu denies. A trial is already underway.

Over the last two years, Netanyahu’s support waned and he struggled to stay in power by prompting repeated elections, leading to inconclusive votes.

But earlier this month, Netanyahu’s opposition came to a complicated agreement to form a majority. Yair Lapid, former finance minister and head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, led the charge against Netanyahu and joined with the right-wing Bennett.

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid will serve the latter half of the four-year prime minister term. Although his party held more seats in the Knesset, he agreed to let Naftali Bennett serve the first two years. –Oded Balilty/AP

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Bennett is Netanyahu’s former chief of staff. Under the coalition agreement, he will serve for two years before passing the torch to Lapid for the latter half of the 4-year term. Despite Lapid’s party holding more than double the seats in the Knesset, he agreed to let Bennett take the first term to maintain political solidarity. Together they helped bring together a diverse government body, including a party representing Arab citizens for the first time in the nation’s history.

Netanyahu took to Twitter in the days leading up to Sunday’s vote in hopes of eroding trust in his opposition. “Bennett has broken all his commitments to his constituents to become prime minister at all costs,” he tweeted Thursday. “This is the scam of the century!”

הליכוד@Likud_Party

When PM Netanyahu speaks about “election fraud” he isn’t referring to the vote counting process in Israel in which he has complete confidence. There is also no question about the peaceful transition of power.

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With some of the former prime minister’s words echoing that of former President Donald Trump — a close ally of Netanyahu’s while in office — the Likud party also took to social media and tried to pressure members of the new coalition. But, the coalition held its small majority.

Israel also elected a new president last week, Isaac Herzog, following in his late father’s footsteps. He is the first son of an Israeli president to be elected president. But the presidential role is primarily ceremonial and formal in nature. He is still the head of state, however, the prime minister is the head of the executive branch.

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Source: https://www.npr.org/2021/06/13/1005724415/netanyahu-is-out-naftali-bennett-will-be-installed-as-israels-new-prime-minister

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The post Netanyahu Is Out: Naftali Bennett Sworn In As Israel’s New Prime Minister first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Screen capture from video of Likud MK Miki Zohar chairing a meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, April 19, 2021. (Knesset Channel)

Hours after his Likud party suffered a stinging surprise defeat in a Knesset vote on forming a key committee, the party’s faction chief, MK Miki Zohar, said that the party now realizes that it will be heading into the opposition, rather than forming a government.

As he chaired a first meeting of the Arrangements Committee, Zohar said, “We understand and internalize that we are on the way to the opposition.”

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will lead the opposition,” he said. “We will go with our heads held high.”

Directing his remarks at opposition lawmakers, Zohar added, “Believe me, you won’t have an easy time with us.”

MK Ze’ev Elkin, a former confidant of Netanyahu who nonetheless left the party ahead of the March elections to join the rival New Hope, which is committed to replacing the prime minister, responded by questioning whether Netanyahu was of the same opinion as Zohar.

“It is interesting to know what they will say at Balfour,” he tweeted, referring to the Jerusalem street where the prime minister’s official residence is located. “It seems to me that this will not be Miki Zohar’s day.”

Some Likud figures have suggested to Netanyahu that he already tell President Reuven Rivlin he is giving up efforts to form a coalition, despite having another 15 days to complete the task, Channel 12 reported.

It was during a Knesset vote earlier in the evening on forming the Arrangements Committee that the ruling Likud suffered defeat after its proposal for the makeup of the committee was rejected in favor of a counter-proposal from the anti-Netanyahu bloc of parties.

As a result, though Zohar chairs the committee, the bloc of parties seeking to replace Netanyahu has more seats than those allied with the prime minister.

The Arrangements Committee, the first Knesset committee to be formed after an election, controls the legislative agenda in the new parliament until a new government is formed. This includes determining what other parliamentary committees will be formed and who will serve on them. With an ongoing political deadlock complicating the formation of a coalition, the influence of the Arrangements Committee could be amplified.

Immediately after the vote to approve its formation, the committee set to work, though it quickly ran into a dispute, as Zohar refused to bring to a vote proposals coming from the anti-Netanyahu bloc.

Zohar also suffered a setback when his suggestion that there be two deputy Knesset speakers was voted down.

Likud’s defeat on building the Arrangements Committee came after Ra’am, an Arab Islamist party, voted against its proposal and backed the alternative, suggested by MK Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.

Ra’am’s cooperation with Lapid came after the party had been courting both Knesset blocs during negotiations to form a government. Netanyahu is hoping to build a government based on outside support from Ra’am, but the idea has been rejected outright by the far-right Religious Zionism party, which has repeatedly said it will not stay in a coalition that relies on cooperation with Arab Israeli parties.

To form a majority in the Knesset, Netanyahu would need to have Religious Zionism and the right-wing Yamina party on board, as well as outside support from Ra’am.

In the wake of Ra’am voting to stop the Likud proposal, Religious Zionism lawmakers remarked that it further strengthened their view that a government cannot in any way be dependent on Ra’am, even for outside support.

Yamina chief Naftali Bennett, who wants to be prime minister himself, has not yet committed to either the pro- or anti-Netanyahu blocs, but has vowed to do everything he can to prevent a fifth round of elections, following four inconclusive votes in the past two years.

With Ra’am openly cooperating with the opposition on such a significant development and said to have received assurances from Lapid that it will be given key legislative positions if he is given the chance to form a government, Netanyahu’s hopes of cobbling together a coalition appeared to be fading.

If Netanyahu fails to form a government or returns his mandate to do so, Rivlin can offer the mandate to Lapid, who is next in line in terms of the number of MKs who recommended him for the task, or ask the Knesset to choose another lawmaker.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-defeat-in-key-vote-likud-whip-concedes-netanyahu-wont-form-government/

The post After defeat in key vote, Likud whip concedes Netanyahu won’t form government first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Knesset votes 61-54 with 15 members not present to approve an opposition bill to dissolve the house.

Israel’s parliament voted 61-54 Wednesday in favor of an opposition bill that called for the Knesset to dissolve itself, paving the way to new elections if a national budget cannot be agreed on by next week.

The decision does not automatically mean the country will head to its fourth national election in the past two years, as the legislation now goes to a parliamentary committee for discussion and possible modification before coming back to the house for the required second and third readings expected next week.

Before then, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister and alternate prime minister Benny Gantz still have time to hammer out an agreement on the national budget that might keep their unity government in office.

On Tuesday evening, Gantz announced he would support an opposition call to dissolve the 120-seat Knesset over Netanyahu’s failure to fulfill a coalition agreement to pass a national budget for 2021. It is widely believed that Netanyahu does not want to pass the 2021 budget, as it would stabilize the unity government and pave the way for Gantz to take over as prime minister next November according to their agreement.

A few hours before the vote, Gantz repeated his offer to Netanyahu to avoid elections.

“Anything that prevents elections is a desirable thing. If Netanyahu transfers a budget, everything will work out,” Gantz told the Knesset television channel.

Neither Netanyahu nor Gantz made any statement immediately following the vote, but opposition Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid said the vote opened the door to changing the government.

“Dispersing the Knesset is not a victory, it is the first step towards another government, which will take care of corona and take care of the economy and not make the people of Israel hate each other,” Lapid tweeted.

Although the predominantly Arab Joint List voted for the dissolving of the Knesset, the four members of the Ra’am faction decided to abstain by not showing up for the vote, despite hinting previously that they might be prepared to support keeping Netanyahu in power because their supporters did not want elections at this time.

Adding to the pressure on Netanyahu will be the two religious parties in his coalition, Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), with a combined 16 seats between them in the 120-seat Knesset. In early November the High Court of Justice ordered the coalition government to pass a new law by Februarybefore ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students start getting army call-up notices beginning that month.

Should the Knesset dissolve and go to elections, a new military draft law granting exemptions to yeshiva students would be delayed. To prevent their supporters from being forced into military service, Shas and UTJ are expected to work overtime to push Netanyahu and Gantz to agree to a budget and keep the Knesset in session.

According to Kan News, should the law pass the third reading next week, the government has up to five months to set an election date, meaning the elections might not happen until next summer.

By then, President-elect Joe Biden will be well into his first half-year in office, with expectations that his administration will be much less sympathetic to Netanyahu than was President Donald Trump. As well, by the summer, the expected mass vaccination of millions of Israelis could help ease the economic crisis and get Israel’s once robust economy back on track.

Source: https://worldisraelnews.com/knesset-votes-to-dissolve-itself-new-elections-unless-budget-compromise-reached/

The post Knesset votes to dissolve itself; new elections unless budget compromise reached first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

People walk next to election campaign billboards for Likud Party, shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and the Blue and White party, the opposition party led by Benny Gantz, left, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March. 1, 2020. Israel heads into its third election in less than a year on Monday, March 2nd. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is holding its third election in less than a year on Monday, with over 6.4 million eligible voters set to cast their ballots for the 23rd Knesset, or parliament. With the actors all the same as the last round in September and pre-election opinion polls predicting similar results, weary Israelis are still hoping to see an end to the year-long deadlock that has paralyzed national politics.

Here is a closer look at what to expect:

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

The March 2 vote is Israel’s third parliamentary election in under a year, an unprecedented situation for the 71-year-old country. The third election was called after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival, former army chief Benny Gantz, succeeded in forming a governing coalition following the Sept. 17 election. The Knesset voted to dissolve itself and send the country to yet another election. A similar deadlock followed elections last April.

THE BIG NAMES

Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for over a decade, is seeking what would be his fifth term overall, including an earlier stint in the 1990s. In July, Netanyahu secured a place in history as the country’s longest-serving prime minister, surpassing Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion. He faces tough opposition from Gantz, whose Blue and White party seeks to replace Netanyahu’s long-dominant Likud.

VETERAN VS. CLEAN SHEET

For the third time running, the main contenders remain Netanyahu and Gantz. Netanyahu has campaigned on his experience and diplomatic accomplishments, pointing to his opponent’s inexperience. Gantz has stumped on Netanyahu’s inability to serve under the shadow of a looming trial on corruption charges.

Netanyahu was indicted on fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges in November. He had sought immunity from prosecution from parliament but later rescinded his request. His trial is scheduled to begin on March 17, just two weeks after election day.

Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing and says he’s the victim of a witch hunt by police, prosecutors and the media. The election is widely seen as a referendum on his character and ability to govern while facing criminal charges.

THE CONTENDERS

All 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, are up for grabs. Twenty-nine parties are competing, including the large front-runners, ultra-Orthodox religious parties, Arab factions and fringe movements.

But only a handful are expected to garner the 3.25% of the vote necessary to break the electoral threshold and earn the minimum four seats in parliament.

TURNOUT AND FATIGUE

Israeli elections tend to have robust turnout. Election day is a national holiday, a measure aimed at encouraging participation.

In both of last year’s elections, turnout was about 69%, slightly below the 72% figure in the 2015 vote.

But with voter fatigue high after the repeat elections, it remains to be seen whether parties’ efforts to get out the vote will succeed.

ROUND FOUR?

No Israeli party has ever won an outright majority, which forces the larger parties to form blocs with smaller allies.

After the election, Israel’s president will meet with party heads and select the party he believes is most capable of forming a coalition. That party, which is usually but not always the largest faction, then has four weeks to form a coalition. A new government will be given a four-year term, but disagreements between coalition parties often result in early elections.

Preelection polls point to a similar outcome as September’s election, suggesting Likud and Blue and White could both struggle to form a coalition. Whether the two parties can agree to form a unity government — something they couldn’t do after the last election — remains a remote possibility to break the year-long political deadlock.

Recent opinion polls have indicated softening support for Blue and White, giving Netanyahu a remote chance of claiming victory.

Another key player could be the secular, ultranationalist party Yisrael Beitenu, whose leader, Avigdor Lieberman, has refused to commit to either side. The predominantly Arab Joint List is also expected to make a strong showing. While an Arab-led party has never served in a government, the Joint List could provide external support to push Gantz over the top.

Another possible outcome is that there is once again no clear winner and Israelis will head to the polls for an unprecedented fourth vote.

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Follow Ilan Ben Zion on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IlanBenZion

Source: https://apnews.com/2445d92222cc13de54c55cc64d5376eb

The post AP Explains: Israel’s upcoming vote, its 3rd in under a year first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

As the Jewish Voice meets its weekly publication deadline on Tuesday evening in New York City, it has been reported that the results of the much anticipated Israel elections have once again concluded in a stalemate of sorts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to secure a ruling majority in Israel’s second election of 2019, according to exit polls released by Israeli television channels on Tuesday.

According to a report on the Haaretz web site, exit polls currently indicate that Netanyahu’s Likud party will gain approximately 56 seats. The polls indicate that the largest party is Benny Gantz’s, Kachol v’Lavan. The Haaretz report indicates that since neither Netanyahu nor Gantz appear to have gained a 61-seat majority, the two are likely to enter into deliberations with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin who will determine which of them will receive the mandate to try and cobble together a governing coalition.

According to two of the polls, Kahol Lavan is leading with 32-34 Knesset seats, while Likud is projected to garner 33-30 seats.

Haaretz reported that in all three polls, the Joint List of Arab parties is projected to have garnered 15 seats, making it the third-largest party in the Knesset, while Yamina, led by Ayelet Shaked, is currently projected to win 6-7 seats, and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu is expected to receive 8-9 seats, as of the time of publication on Tuesday evening.

Amongst the religious parties, the polls indicate that the Shas party is projected to win nine seats. United Torah Judaism is projected to win 7-8 seats, according to the Haaretz report.

All three exit polls have said that the Democratic Union party is projected to win 5-6 seats, whereas Labor-Gesher, which teetered on the edge of the electoral threshold in polls leading up to the vote, is projected to win six seats in all three exit polls, according to the Haaretz report.

As of 2:07 am Israel time, Channel 12 in Israel have updated their exit polls that show that Kahol Lavan and Likud are tied.

Kahol Lavan: 32

Likud: 32

Joint List: 13

Yisrael Beiteinu: 9

Shas: 9

United Torah Judaism: 7

Yamina: 7

Labor: 6

Democratic Union: 5

The leaders of the Blue and White Party including its leader, former IDF chief Benny Gantz as well as Yair Lapid, Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Ya’alon on Tuesday night arrived at party headquarters at the Tel Aviv Port, according to an INN report.

INN reported that Gantz said in his remarks, “We will wait for the true results, but it seems as though we have accomplished the mission, and no less important–we accomplished it in our way. Blue and White was and remains a major and central force in the Israeli political arena.”

“As we said, we will now patiently wait for the real results. However, we can say that it appears as though Netanyahu was unsuccessful in his mission. We, on the other hand, proved that the idea called ‘Blue and White’–a venture we started a little over six months ago–has succeeded, in a big way, and is here to stay.”

Some Netanyahu supporters gathered at the Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night. They reacted to the initial exit polls by waving banners emblazoned not with “Netanyahu,” but instead with “Trump.”

Throughout his campaign, the Prime Minister boasted about his tight relationship with President Trump, who is quite popular in Israel. And billboards across the country are plastered with photographs of the two of them together.

Neither Likud nor Kachol v’Lavan appears able to form a majority coalition without the support of Avigdor Liberman, leader of the midsize Yisrael Beitenu party, according to a report on World Israel News.

In a speech to his supporters, Liberman said the only choice is for the two large parties to join him in a broad, secular coalition that would not be subject to the demands of Charedi parties such as Shas and United Torah Judaism.

Liberman’s call would set the stage for complicated negotiations, according to the WIN report.

In the closing days of his campaign, Netanyahu vowed to annex large parts of Judea and Samaria, which Israel liberated in the aftermath of defeating four Arab armies in 1967’s Six-Day War. The Palestinians, who in over 70 years have yet to create a viable independent state, demand that Israel cede large swaths of that territory, as was reported on the WIN web site.

No serious peace talks have taken place since 2009, with Palestinian rejectionism remaining the hallmark of Mahmoud Abbas’ regime.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s office said Tuesday that his nomination of a candidate to form the next government would be guided in part by the need to avoid a third election, after two votes in five months, as was reported by World Israel News. Rivlin said he would meet with party leaders “after he receives a clear picture of the results, and as soon as possible.”

Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Arab Joint List, told Israeli media that if the final results match the exit polls, Arab voters will have “prevented Netanyahu from forming a government.”

Tazpit Press Service reported earlier on Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Facebook chatbot was suspended on election day after it published poll results. Publishing polling results in the days prior to elections day is illegal in Israel.

A Netanyahu bot was suspended last week after it published “incitement.”

“We work with election committees around the world to help maintain the purity of elections. Our policy specifically states that developers are required to comply with all applicable laws in the country where their app is available. Therefore, we have suspended the bot activity in violation of local law until the polls close,” Facebook stated. Netanyahu accused Facebook of buckling to left-wing pressure, according to the TPS report.

Several parties claimed they have documented attempts at elections fraud at various locations across the country, and a few voting stations were shut down following scuffles at the site, as was reported by TPS.

Political parties across the spectrum on Tuesday submitted several complaints to the police and the Central Elections Committee following claims that they have exposed attempts to influence the outcome of the elections in a fraudulent fashion.

TPS reported that in Jerusalem, a 17-year-old was arrested after it was reported that he attempted to vote using an ID card that did not belong to him. The voting age in Israel is 18.

The police were alerted to the Arab town of Yarka in the north after a voter was caught trying to cast several votes at once when he was entitled to only one. At other locations, parties claimed that representatives of other political bodies attempted to limit the votes for them by hiding the ballots with their party name, as was reported by TPS.

All parties are claiming that the turnout of their supporters is low in comparison to their political rivals, a ploy to motivate their supports to go out and vote.

The voting turnout at 2 o’clock was 36.5%, compared to the slightly lower 35.8% at the same time of day in the April elections.

Some 130,000 chose to spend the day hiking and visiting nature reserves throughout the country. Malls reported they were full of shoppers who took the day to shop for the upcoming holiday. Many others chose to soak in the last rays of sun at the beach, before the summer ends, according to the TPS report.

(TPS, INN, WIN)

Source: http://thejewishvoice.com/2019/09/19/israeli-election-too-close-to-call-again-will-unity-govt-emerge-2/

The post Israeli Election Too Close to Call–AGAIN! Will Unity Gov’t Emerge? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Exactly one month after the 21st Knesset was sworn in, a majority of the Knesset voted late Wednesday night to disperse and initiate an unprecedented repeat election on September 17.

It was the first time in Israeli history that a candidate for prime minister failed to form a coalition after being given the task by the president after an election.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Likud faction ahead of the vote that he had not succeeded in reaching a compromise with Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman on the controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription bill, and that he had also tried unsuccessfully to woo MKs from the opposition to join his government.

“The State of Israel is going to elections because of the Likud’s refusal to accept our proposal,” Liberman said as he entered the Knesset plenum. “This is a complete surrender of the Likud to the ultra-Orthodox. We will not be partners in a government of Jewish law.”

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, head of the Likud’s negotiating team, told reporters “it’s over,” as he arrived at the Likud meeting after his last negotiation had failed.

Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin said that there was no choice but to hold new elections, due to Liberman’s intransigence and refusal to accept “1,000 compromises” that had been offered throughout the last week.

The vote – taken just after the midnight deadline by which Netanyahu needed to tell President Reuven Rivlin whether he had been able to form a governing coalition – was 74 to 45 in favor of dispersing.

Opposition MKs shouted “shame, shame, shame” in unison ahead of the vote.

The Likud initiated the bill to dissolve the Knesset rather than give Rivlin a chance to appoint someone other than Netanyahu to form a government.

In presenting the bill to the Knesset, Likud MK Miki Zohar said that he is “disappointed by the situation, but we were forced into it.” He admitted that the decision “would not be remembered positively in our history.”

“The Left asks us why we didn’t give [Blue and White leader] Benny Gantz a chance to form the coalition,” Zohar said. “Two and a half million people voted as if they had two votes, for their party and for [Netanyahu]… despite knowing about the [pre-indictment] hearing [for the prime minister on corruption charges]. They didn’t want Gantz.”

According to Zohar, those calling to let Gantz form the government are “saying to give the opportunity to the minority to form the government at the expense of the majority. The majority rules, while the minority has rights. That is the meaning of democracy.”

The bill called the election for September 17, but there were several other options the coalition was set to vote on in the second reading. Netanyahu asked the other parties to back September 17, because that is what Yisrael Beytenu preferred, and he needed them to have a majority in favor of dissolving the Knesset.

In the unsuccessful coalition talks, the Likud had proposed that as soon as the government would be formed, Liberman’s original conscription law would be presented, as written and in his language, for the approval of the Knesset plenum. After its approval, there would be more negotiations when the law would be prepared for its final readings.

If that agreement is not reached by the end of July, the party said, and in accordance with the decision of the High Court of Justice, the current arrangement that has exempted haredim from being drafted would expire, and the compulsory service law would apply to all. The ultra-Orthodox parties would therefore have to choose between Liberman’s version of the law or a return to the original law, which means full mobilization for haredim, the Likud said.

“The proposal has now been submitted to the parties, and we await their positive response in order to form a right-wing government tonight and prevent unnecessary elections,” the party wrote.

In response, United Torah Judaism said that it would back another party to lead the coalition.

“We won’t retreat beyond what we have agreed to,” UTJ leader Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman said in his initial response to the Likud statement. “I still believe that a government can be formed. I’m on my way to sign on the coalition agreement.”

Liberman also initially rejected the proposal, saying it was not exactly what he had said all along about the conscription bill needing to be passed into law as is.

The proposal was made after the Likud reported that it had secured agreements with 60 MKs from the Likud, Kulanu, UTJ, Shas and the Union of Right-Wing Parties, leaving it only one MK short of a majority coalition.

After Kulanu denied that it had signed any documents and insisted it won’t sign unless the coalition would include 61 MKs, the Likud said the deal with Kulanu was complete and ready to be signed, pending Liberman joining the government.

Hours ahead of the deadline, Liberman stood his ground on the matter of haredi conscription.

“We repeatedly said we want the original [haredi] conscription bill, nothing else,” Liberman said. “People claiming that there’s a compromise, when it was just 10 millimeters of movement, are not familiar with the bill.”

Liberman said that proposed compromises “empty the bill of all content,” and he will not agree to them.

The bill, which the Defense Ministry drafted under Liberman’s leadership, sets rising annual targets for haredi conscription in the IDF.

“The bill is good for the IDF, for the haredim and for Israel,” Liberman stated. “We have to be reasonable. I am appealing to the haredi MKs’ reason…. There is no better bill than this. Let it pass with you abstaining.”

The Likud attacked Liberman fiercely throughout the day.

“Liberman continues to mislead,” the Likud said in an official statement. “He says ‘I will consider’ to every offer and stalls for a few days. His goal is to end Netanyahu’s career and replace him.”

The Likud mocked Liberman for portraying himself as the defender of secular people, after he prevented there being a secular mayor of Jerusalem.

“For a few seats and his hunger for power, he is dragging an entire country to elections,” the Likud concluded.

Yisrael Beytenu responded by condemning the Likud’s tone and reiterating that Liberman’s views on the conscription bill have been consistent.

Earlier, a Likud spokesman confirmed that offers were made to the Labor Party and the Blue and White Party. In talks with Labor head Avi Gabbay, Netanyahu offered him the Defense or Finance ministries and three other ministerial positions, in an effort to convince him to join his government.

A Labor spokesman confirmed that the party received an offer from the Likud that included stopping bills that the party believes would harm democracy, including the Immunity Law. But the spokesman said the offer was considered and rejected.

Labor MKs expressed outrage that Gabbay mulled the offer for a full day before telling them. By contrast, Blue and White said no immediately.

Opposition MKs took advantage of the nearly 12-hour debate to bring up their grievances against the government that was never formed.

Many lamented the estimated NIS 475 million that the election will cost, according to the Finance Ministry, saying that taxpayer money would be better spent elsewhere. In addition, industry experts estimated that the day off for Election Day will cost the economy NIS 2 billion.

“Likud MKs, you also have the option of showing some courage and saying no to Netanyahu,” Blue and White MK Miki Haimovich said.

Another MK from Blue and White, Yoaz Hendel, said: “Have an opinion. If you’re on the Right, then Right; Left, then Left. But say something other than ‘Bibi!’ Is that Right? When it comes to Hamas, you turn into Peace Now. When there are [corruption] allegations, you become defense attorneys. You turned into dishrags.”

Blue and White MK Ram Shefa hosted a trivia game from the Knesset stage, asking who said various quotes from politicians, and offering champagne, cigars and trays of take-out meals – references to Netanyahu’s corruption investigations.

Alon Einhorn and Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Elections-set-for-Sept-17-after-coalition-talks-fail-591044

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Israel passed early Thursday a controversial bill that officially defines Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people and asserts that “the realization of the right to national self-determination in Israel is unique to the Jewish people,” sparking outrage from Israel’s Arab community and provoking concern from the international community.

62 lawmakers in Israel’s Knesset voted in favor of the legislation and 55 opposed it. Two lawmakers, Benny Begin (Likud) and Orly Levy-Abekasis (independent) abstained.

The nation-state law also includes clauses stating that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country’s official language. Another says that “the state sees the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.”

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It passed after a long and stormy debate that began in the afternoon, with lawmakers voting on hundreds of clauses presented by the opposition that objected to different parts of the bill.

Arab lawmakers tear the nation-state bill in protest after it passes in the Knesset.Olivier Fitoussi

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Immediately after the law passed, Arab lawmakers tore copies in protest, and were subsequently removed from the Knesset plenum hall. Lawmaker Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Joint List, released a statement saying that Israel “declared it does not want us here” and that it had “passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citiziens.”

Speaking moments after the bill passed into law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “This is a defining moment – long live the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu further said that “122 years after Herzl made his vision known, with this law we determined the founding principle of our existence. Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, and respects the rights of all of its citizens.”

The prime minister also said that “in the Middle East, only Israel respects [rights]. This is our country, the Jewish state. In recent years there have been those who have tried to undermine that and question the principles of our existence. Today we made it into law: This is the country, the language, the anthem and flag.”

As they left the Knesset plenum, Arab MKs from the Joint List party confronted Netanyahu. MK Ahmad Tibi and MK Ayeda Touma-Souliman yelled at Netanyahu: “You passed an apartheid law, a racist law.”

MK Tibi lashed at Netanyahu: “Why are you afraid of the Arabic language?” The premier retorted by saying: “How dare you talk this way about the only democracy in the Middle East?”

Opposition head Isaac Herzog also spoke up at the plenum, saying that “it’s a little sad to me that the last speech I make will be against this kind of backdrop. The question is whether the law will harm or benefit Israel. History will determine. I really hope that we won’t find the fine balance between a Jewish and democratic state to be hurt.”

The sponsor of the bill, MK Avi Dichter, said during debates that took place prior to the vote that “unlike the disinformation and fake news that were tossed around [regarding the bill], this basic law doesn’t hurt the culture of minorities living in Israel, doesn’t hurt their sabbaticals and holidays and certainly doesn’t hurt the Arabic language, which remains a mother tongue for 1.5 million of Israel’s citizens.”

The draft bill the Knesset voted on is fundamentally different form the version the coalition had sought to advance in the past decade. Its main clauses were moderated following pressure within the coalition ranks and beyond.

Initially, the bill was intended to significantly limit the discretion of Supreme Court justices’ decisions, requiring them to set the state’s Jewish character above its democratic character in rulings where the two clashed. This clause was removed from the bill already in May.

The most controversial clause, which appeared to pave the way for the creation of communities segregated by nationality or religion, was removed from the legislation earlier this week.

The nation-state law establishes as a basic law, or quasi-constitutional law, a set of values, some of which already appear in existing laws. The law stipulates that Israel is the Jewish nation’s historic homeland and that this nation has the singular right to national self-determination in it. The law anchors the flag, menorah, “Hatikva” anthem, Hebrew calendar, Independence Day and Jewish holidays as national symbols.

The law states that the “whole and united” Jerusalem is the state’s capital, which appears today in Basic Law: Jerusalem. The nation-state law further grants the status of an official language only to Hebrew.

Another controversial clause stipulates that the state will invest resources in preserving Israel’s affiliation to world Jewry, but not in Israel. This wording was demanded by the ultra-Orthodox parties to prevent the state from linking up with the Reform and Conservative communities in Israel.

Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, released in response: “The nation-state law is a colonial law with features of apartheid, which is prohibited by international law because it contradicts the international treaty that bans apartheid crimes. It creates various avenues for segregation in land and housing and incentives based on the principle of ‘advancing Jewish settlement’ both in civil life and in obtaining citizenship based on the law of return and in language and in cultural rights in the name of self-definition.”

As part of the protest against the law, Peace Now activists waved a black flag in the Knesset balcony during the debate, until security guards made them leave the room. Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh also raised a black flag during the debate against the legislation.

“As [the 1956 massacre] in Kafr Qassem was a blatantly illegal order, with a black flag over it, so is a black flag hoisted over this evil law,” he said.

J Street’s president and founder, Jeremy Ben-Ami, harshly criticized the nation-state bill and Netanyahu’s government: “It was born in sin, its only purpose is to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel, that they are not and never will be equal citizens. Two months ago we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence, where it was written that the State of Israel ‘will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or gender.’ Today Netanyahu’s government is trying to ignore those words and the values that they represent.”

On Monday, Netanyahu said the bill was “very important to guarantee the foundations of our existence, which is Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people” – though critics say he is mainly keen to drum up support before the next Knesset election, due by November next year.

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-passes-controversial-nation-state-bill-1.6291048

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