T. Belman. What is not being discussed is the possibility of Bibi forming a minority government by excluding Liberman’s party. He would still have their support except on votes pertaining to the draft. Such a government would remain in power at least for a year.
New poll shows right-wing – religious bloc would gain seats if second election held this year, with Likud leading Blue and White.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would be reelected – again – if Knesset elections were held this year for a second time, a new poll shows.
With coalition talks stalled due to a dispute between haredi lawmakers and Yisrael Beytenu over the future of the draft deferment program for yeshiva students, the Likud is pushing to dissolve the 21st Knesset less than two months after it was elected.
The Knesset is expected to hold the initial vote on a measure to dissolve the Knesset Monday, with a final vote slated for Wednesday – the deadline for Netanyahu to form a new government.
According to a new poll conducted by Panels Politics on behalf of Maariv, Netanyahu would benefit from new elections, which would increase the right-wing – haredi bloc’s margin in the Knesset from 65 seats to 68, while the left-wing – Arab bloc would fall from 55 to 52 mandates.
The Likud itself would retain the 35 seats it won in April, while the center-left Blue and White party would fall from 35 to 34 seats.
The haredi factions Shas and United Torah Judaism would retain their eight seats each, while the Union of Right-Wing Parties would rise from five seats to six. Yisrael Beytenu would also rise from five seats to six.
The New Right party of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked would pass the electoral threshold this time around, winning five seats, while the Kulanu faction of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon would not.
With 68 mandates for the right-wing – haredi bloc, Netanyahu would no longer be dependent on Yisrael Beytenu to form a majority coalition of 61 MKs.
On the left, the Labor party would retain its current six mandates, while Meretz would gain one seat, rising to five. The joint ticket of the Arab parties Hadash and Ta’al would gain one seat, rising to seven mandates, while the second Arab joint ticket of Balad and the United Arab List would fail to cross the threshold.
Have just read that Bibi’s last-ditch efforts to form a majority coalition have failed, and the Knesset has dissolved itself and decided to hold new elections on September 17. Leiberman refused all compromise until the every end. Even the haredim agreed to a compromise, but Leiberman wouldn’t budge.
This is an absolute disaster that will leave the “Supremes” in absolute control at least until September 17 if not longer. The plans of Bazalel Smotrich of United Right and Levy (can’t remember his first name) of Likud to curb the powers of the Supreme Court, which Bibi had agreed to in principle have thwarted, perhaps for good.
Since Leiberman had absolutely no rational reason for playing spoiler, I have to assume that he was either bribed or blackmailed, or probably both, by supporters of the ruling lawyers’ clique. They have been threatening him with indictment on one or another trumped up charge for the past twenty years. Maybe now they offered him a lot of money. I have a hunch he will soon be on a plane back to his native Russia and will set up as a private businessman there, and also become one of Putin’s confidential “oligarch” advisors.
@ Bear Klein:
Yes I agree with what you say…They should meet the quota that they agreed to. .A UTJ (“) spokesman said the other day that they DID meet the required quota as set out by agreement. It’s hard to know who to believe in Israel even at normal times (which in Israel are NEVER “normal”) but at election time….Oy Veh…!!
But what do you think of Hugo’s exposure of the true facts..
The jokes on all the Israelis who voted in the last erection. Nutunyahoo is now asking the white house to solve its problem of how to form a government. How about digging up sharon, peres, rabin
and arafart, appoint abbarse as the white queen & and the mad hatter as transgender in waiting . Maybe allow Israelis 1.5 votes each. Doubt if tthose named could do any worse.
@ Edgar G.:Lieberman is demanding that it be law that Haredim meet the quota of enlistment in the IDF. All the Haredi parties had actually previously agreed to the wording. One UTJ rabbi objected in the end. Now they have played game and come back saying they will not agree to this in law but as the government sees fit (will be acceptable). This then allows them to threaten to pull out of government if they start getting drafted.
So they are making Lieberman the bad guy. It is simple have the Haredi share the burden of responsibility for defending the country, agree to what they have previously agreed which was then a fair compromise. This was largely written by the IDF to make sure they get their enlistment needs met but with lots of outs for service for lots of the Black Hatted Boys.
They certainly get more than share of the government funds, they should actually help the country. In the end it is also good for them as they get into the real world and learn trades and become employable and stop living off of the dole.
@ Frank Adam:
I recall when the law was passed some years ago, but it slipped my mind until I saw a Haredi announcement today. According to the law regulating Haredi enlistment, they agreed to meet any quota, and that’s exactly what they have been doing. So those deeply immersed scholars can be exempt for a certain time, -I think 18 months or 2 years- but the numbers the IDF required have always been met
It seems that the supply is greater than the need. I can be corrected on this, but I believe this is what has been happening.. Lieberman doesn’t like the idea of anyone being exempt for 10 minutes. He wasn’t always like that but since he openly opposed the Haredim on Shabbat buses, stores opening on Shbbat, and I think also something to do with certain stores selling Chazar which his Russians ate..etc.etc. the bad blood between them was solidified.
Being some years ago and at different times, I’m not sure of the details that I only causally absorbed, and can be corrected on this also..
Just goes to show the flawed electoral system Israel has. 120 seat parliament with a population of 600,000 1948 about 350,000 allowed to vote. Today with about 3.5 to 4 million eligible voters should be about 250 seats.
If Israel had an electoral system as u k and Canada non of this who shags who would be going on.
3 weeks Trump and co. Will be putting out a plan that could either benefit or damage Israel with no captain on the bridge, Charlie’s aunt is a much better farce.
This review does not grasp that the nub of the failure to form a government is in the internal fight between the right’s secular and religious wings. It is just possible that the like Liebermann others – Bennet and Shaked and the New Right who are Zionist and do military service unlike the Haredim, might also be fed up with the way the Haredim behave like the pre-revolutionary French nobility refusing to pay taxes. Only this time the tax is time and blood to defend the country and its economy on which a few too many of our perpetual students sponge, featherbed and are teeth gratingly self righteously patronisng about ritual and do little to either teach it or support themselves beyond charity abuse.
Gil Hoffman @Gil_Hoffman
on Twitter
They should really try harder to form a government because NO ONE knows what would happen with new elections. Also Blue-White could end up getting the call to form a government and have Bibi pushed aside by the Likud and form a unity government with the Likud, Labor, Yisrael Betenyu, Kulanu and no Haredi or Jewish Home parties.
I question the poll! Will the “New Right” even run again? This was the party I preferred but now believe it has more or less dissolved and many of its voters will either vote for Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) or for the Likud.
I also wonder if some Likud voters might be disenchanted. All do not agree that an immunity law should be passed. Bibi had claimed no such thing would happen but this appears to be false. Will some of these voters simply not vote or vote Blue and White?