Posted on 04/09/2019 10:06:13 AM PDT by Red Badger
Netanyahu urged everyone at home and at the beach to vote for the Likud using the slip that reads "Mahal," which represents Netanyahu's party.
Warning of the rise of the Left, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned campaign event in Ashdod on Tuesday and returned to Jerusalem, where he said he was going to work to "save the Right" and ensure that a right-wing government comes to power following the elections.
"I received a dramatic update that there is low turnout in Likud strongholds but that there is high turnout in left-wing strongholds," Netanyahu said. "We have to save the Right. There are only a few more hours." It is unclear if Netanyahu's warning is genuine or is part of his week-long campaign to get people to fear that he will lose in order to increase voter turnout among right-wing voters.
It is referred to in Israel as the “gevald" campaign, a Yiddish expression of alarm.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu, went to the Netanya beach and warned people there that if they do not vote, Likud will lose.
Netanyahu did not don his swimming suit and join the thousands who flocked the beaches of Israel, but rather came to meet them.
"I am here at the beach, and there are a lot of people here," Netanyahu said. "But if they stay at the beach and not go an vote, they will wake up tomorrow with Yair Lapid heading a left-wing government."
Netanyahu urged everyone at home and at the beach to vote for the Likud using the slip that reads "Mahal," which represents Netanyahu's party.
The Prime Minister also claimed that "supporters of the Blue and White mark the Mahal slips from behind, which makes the slip not count." Netanyahu then told the voters to "look at the slips carefully before voting."
In 2015, Netanyahu launched his gevald in the final days of the campaign, and stirred controversy when, on election day, he warned that Arabs were coming out in droves to vote. Even though he later apologized for the racist remark, it had the desired effect – Netanyahu pulled ahead of the Zionist Union and won the election.
His internal polling must be pretty grim then. Hope this last second plea works in his favor.
I heard the polls had him well ahead!
Election day in Israel is a day off. A large number of Israelis are enjoying a day out. Turn out looks like is going to fall below 50%.
JP does its usual hatchet job on Bibi.
Most of what they print are re-prints of the NYT and WP
I don't know, the final round of polling had him comfortably ahead, I think it just might be a drive to get supporters out that might not vote because they think the election is "in the bag", the old canard, "Always run like you are 10 points behind."
It can be a double-edged sword. A plea like this might motivate his opposition supporters too. If Netanyahu had been confident of winning it would have been better if he kept his mouth shut. I think he's got some concerns and I hope they turn out to be unfounded.
FNC just said turnout looking bad but who really knows for sure.
I hope he can pull it out.
I think he's assuming that the opposition plan was to disgust his supporters enough to just stay home, since there are so few voters altogether, and most of them are already in their camps.
-PJ
Netanyahu did the same stunt last election. Went hysterical about huge turnout in Arab areas when nothing of the sort was going on.
He trails slightly in the polls, but his natural coalition partners make him a pretty strong favorite to win. It helped that Gantz ran a poor campaign and partnered with wimpy Lapide.
It will again take weeks to put together the governing coalition.
JP reporting Gantz 37 seats, Netanyahu 33 seats.
THat might be enough to give Gantz first chance at forming government.
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