Posted on 03/15/2015 10:11:06 AM PDT by Star Traveler
JERUSALEM (AP) — As Israelis prepare to vote in parliament elections on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself at a fateful crossroads: Make history or become history.
If Netanyahu can lead his Likud Party to victory and secure a fourth term in office, he will move closer to overtaking the nation's iconic founding father, David Ben-Gurion, as the longest-ever serving premier — and cementing a status as the dominant Israeli politician of the past two decades.
But if Likud stumbles and finds itself in the opposition — a real possibility, according to recent polls — the Netanyahu era could end with a resounding thud, concluding a career that many would say brought few major accomplishments beyond longevity. Iran and the international community seem headed toward a nuclear deal that Netanyahu abhors, and a resolution to the Palestinian issue seems as distant as ever.
"If he leaves office, he won't leave any dramatic changes," said Yoaz Hendel, a former aide to Netanyahu. In a turbulent region, one could say "this is the best thing to do," Hendel said.
The Israeli campaign is widely seen as a choice between two world views: Netanyahu's focus on Israel's many security challenges — he has long been a voice calling for zero tolerance of terrorism — or his opponents' focus on Israel's social problems and high cost of living. It also touches on his support for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the opposition and the outside world detest.
But on a basic level, the campaign is simply a referendum on Netanyahu, a polarizing character who is adored as "King Bibi" by his supporters and reviled by his detractors.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
If the leftists in Israel are anything like the leftists in the west and the US, those nihilistic leftist idiots will sow the seeds of their own destruction, along with dragging the rest of us down with them.
I was 100% in support of Netanyahu - his policies and his actions - during that Gaza war ... even though other posters here were against my support of Netanyahu. I’ve clearly posted that DURING the time it was going on and anyone can find my comments ... :-) ...
Bibi couldn't do that without also barring or kicking out the Republican pollsters and strategists helping his campaign.
There were no barriers between the US and Israel in this election--on either side.
I did wonder why he wanted to call an election now. Perhaps he knew of things we didn’t know about in calling for elections.
Agree. I simply do not understand Netanyahu's logic in dissolving his coalition government.
Yes, you were.
Somehow I don’t think we’re that close to it, so that another leader, right now, will sign it ... but ... it could be one of the “steps” in getting there.
Thanks for confirming that (even though others can look it up). I think that some others think that merely recognizing an existing situation of opposition growing ... is somehow indicating a lack of support on my part.
I just think that people should “be aware of it all” even if it’s bad news ... and if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to lose, it would not be a good outcome, in my mind! That’s what “I think” ... but I can’t control the actual facts on the ground.
I really don’t know. But then again, I’m not as close to the real politics there as Netanyahu is. I can only guess that he is acting on things I don’t know about and don’t understand.
I do want to see him succeed, but it doesn’t look like the numbers of seats in the Knesset is going to come out ahead for him, although (as others have said) he might be the one to put together the governing coalition.
I just don’t have the answers for “why”.
The only one trolling here is you ... LOL ...
Amen. And the idea that God removes the righteous to allow evil to triumph is Calvinism in its most extreme form. He may not always intervene to save the righteous because doing so would curtail the free will of the evil, but ultimately, the evil will war against each other and the righteous will prevail.
The righteous will prevail because the Mesdiah of Israel returns to earth and destroys all those opposed to him ... :-) ...
Lots of FReepers have you pegged.
Yeah ... you and those other voices in your head ... LOL ...
We here sure hope you’re right about Bibi knowing something... (like, that he can win!)
We didn’t understand Bibi calling for elections while O is in the WHouse, either
it was so obvious elections now would give O a real chance at undermining the government in Jerusalem
so obvious!
but maybe Bibi knows something we don’t know from a distance?
Sure hope so!!!
If the Zionist Union wins ,Obama will control Israel
He called an election because he was forced to. His coalition collapsed.
I thought it was on the edge, but not collapsed ... perhaps I misread it.
“Unlike its predecessor, the current government, from the day of its inception, was a contrarian government,” he [Netanyahu] said. “It was forced on me because the results of the election [of 2013] – a simple reason – meant that a ruling government under my leadership did not receive enough seats. Maybe because of other reasons, this government had friction and directional differences. It behaved under threats and ultimatums.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.629648
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