Free Republic

The Central Elections Committee announced that the counting of "double envelope" votes has been completed. In the elections for the 26th Knesset, a total of 5,564,764 valid votes and 25,072 invalid votes were received. The Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to lead and has risen to 27 seats, followed by Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 21 seats. Together, led by Naftali Bennett, has 12 seats, while the Joint List has 11 seats. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, and Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, each have eight seats. Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism and each have...

No clear winner emerged in Israel’s election, according to exit polls published by Channels 11, 12, and 13 on Tuesday night, all of which showed both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc seeking to replace him falling short of a 61-seat Knesset majority. The opposition bloc, comprising Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats, was projected to win 50-53 seats, compared with some 50 for Netanyahu’s bloc. Neither side appeared to have a clear path to forming a coalition. The Joint List and Ra’am were projected to win a combined 17-18 seats, potentially making Arab parties pivotal...

Churchill quipped that, “democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Our system has plenty of flaws, but parliamentary democracy is so much worse, and the Israeli flavor of it, party parliamentary democracy untethered from regional representation, and controlled by an all-powerful judiciary is even worse. The way the Israeli system currently works is that the two old dominant parties, the conservative Likud and the leftist Labor, disagree on two fundamental issues… 1. Labor wants to destroy the economy by controlling it at every level. Likud wants to...

Final results could be dramatic with official counts showing the highest voter turnout since 1999As polls closed on yet another election day in Israel, millions of Israelis waited anxiously to see if, after five rounds of voting in less than four years, they would be able to finally choose a clear winner and produce a stable government to successfully run the country. Early exit polls predicted that former prime minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu might very well be that winner this time around. His bloc of right-wing, religious parties was slated to draw up to 62 seats, the...

Politics in the state of Israel has never been more complex. One coalition is held together by the slimmest of reeds: opposition to one man — Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s a collection of liberal, conservative, and Arab parties that was formed primarily to defeat Netanyahu last year with Yair Lapid as its leader. Some oppose the two-time former prime minister for his alleged corruption. Others blanch at his policies in the Palestinian territories. But because the only real unifying factor for the opposition is hatred of Netanyahu, the governing coalition lasted only a few months. Netanyahu’s Likud coalition is a mish-mash...

The State of Israel will be going to vote on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. This will be the fifth election in less than four years. The near parity is between the competing political blocs: the Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-of-center on one hand, and the anti-Netanyahu left-of-center bloc led by Yair Lapid. Netanyahu’s Likud bloc has nevertheless a noticeable advantage; it has a reliable bloc of 60 mandates in the polls, and it may have an even higher number in the real poll – on Election Day. Netanyahu has only to find a single defector to form a narrow coalition government of...

Israel’s political structure is a mystery to most Americans. They vote for parties instead of candidates. Thirteen parties received enough votes in last month’s elections to earn seats in the Knesset. A coalition must be formed with over 50% of Knesset Members backing a Prime Minister. The President is not like our President and has very little power other than helping to form the government. And these are just a few of the things that differ from our own electoral process. With that in mind, it’s understandable that supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including me, are not excited that...

Do you have your scorecards ready? We’re going to do our best to sort out the results of this week’s elections in Israel, the fourth in a period of just two years (can you imagine that?). But first, a disclaimer: by the time you read this article, the outcome may have changed. That’s how inconclusive the final voting turned out to be. A shift in affiliation by one of the many parties receiving votes could change things overnight. Plus, on Friday, 450,000 double-sealed votes will be counted (including military votes, votes from abroad, and votes sent in because of COVID)....

JERUSALEM — For the fourth time in less than two years, Israelis are voting Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to maintain his grip on power after a record-breaking 12 consecutive years in office. Indicted for alleged bribery and fraud, he has refused to resign, polarizing the country between diehard supporters and enraged opponents, and sparking a political gridlock that has led Israel to hold elections more frequently than any other major democracy. Netanyahu no longer has former President Donald Trump's policy gifts and pre-election boosts. Instead, a world-leading COVID-19 vaccination drive and a quick reopening of the economy...

False narratives about the holding of Grace Meyer against her will at the Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington Friday with allegations that her daughter refused to enter the hospital without a mask. The Clark County, Washington Sheriff's Department claiming that the people supporting Grace Meyer outside the hospital were heavily armed and wearing gas masks. There is no evidence of that on videos of the situation as it unfolded Friday evening... Another day of protests in Russia supporting the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny... Its Monday in Myanmar(Burma) where the military has again taken power after almost a...

Americans, and indeed all people of goodwill, should be pleased to see that Israel finally has broken its 15-month political impasse. Amidst a global pandemic, jihadists might have misinterpreted instability in Israel as providing them with a chance to spark a conflagration without fearing effective repercussions from a stricken and distracted Western world. But now that three-time challenger Bennie Gantz has agreed to let Benjamin Netanyahu continue for 18 months as prime minister in a “unity government,” there will be no doubt that Israel itself can act against any aggression with solidarity and dispatch. Gantz and some but not all...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in winning 60 seats for his bloc of right-wing and religious parties in Monday’s election, one less than he needed for a majority in the Knesset, according to exit polls on the three television networks. The first polls indicated that Netanyahu’s Likud won 36-37 seats. Its allies in Shas, UTJ and Yamina won 9, 7-8 and 6-7 respectively. The polls showed Blue and White with 33 seats, its ally Labor-Gesher-Meretz 6-7, the Joint List 14-15 and Yisrael Beytenu 6-8. When Channel 13 updated its numbers at around 1 a.m. Israel time, Gantz gained one seat...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is set to become Israel’s largest party, according to exit polls published shortly after voting ended in the country’s third election in a year. However, neither Netanyahu nor his chief rival Benny Gantz are projected a clear Knesset majority. Voting ended at 10 P.M., and official results are expected as early as Monday overnight.

Some Israeli celebrities took to social media on Monday to post about the unprecedented third round of elections in Israel, but many chose not to rock the vote so much as ignore it. Among those who did acknowledge the day were actress/model Yuval Scharf, who posted a picture of herself on Instagram canoodling with her husband, musician Shlomi Shaban, next to the message, "Choose right ♥️ #govote #forabettertomorrow#today"

JERUSALEM - Concerns of a widening threat from coronavirus spiked just as millions of Israelis are preparing to gather at polling places for national elections next week, following reports that a group of South Koreans who had visited some of the country’s most popular religious and tourist spots tested positive for the infection. Dozens of school students who may have been in proximity to the South Korean tourists were directed to stay in home-based quarantine for two weeks, as were hotel housekeepers and employees of Masada, Tel Ber Sheeva and other national parks. Officials, who had previously expressed cautious optimism...

Israel headed on Wednesday towards a third national election in less than a year with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing the fight of his life for political survival after a criminal indictment. After giving its preliminary approval, and barring last-minute progress in deadlocked efforts to form a new government, parliament was set to vote for its dissolution later in the day and approve a March 2 election date already agreed by the two major parties.

Video Blue and White leader Benny Gantz returned the mandate to form the government to President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday evening, signalling the end of his attempts to form a coalition. Both Gantz and incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have failed to form a government more than two months after the last elections. Members of the Knesset will now have the opportunity to recommend a candidate for prime minister over the next three weeks, However, a third round of elections appears likely. "Gantz told the president that he is also committed in the remaining 21 days to continue to make every...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suffered a serious defeat in his bid to stay on as premier by failing to form a new coalition government, but his rival faced similar difficulties as he set about the same task on Tuesday. Ex-military chief Benny Gantz will now be given the chance to try to negotiate a coalition, but a deadlock following polls held on September 17 remains -- and yet another election cannot be ruled out. It would be Israel's third vote within a year, after Netanyahu also failed to form a coalition following April polls. His decision to inform...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned the mandate to form a government to President Reuven Rivlin minutes after the end of the Simhat Torah holiday Monday night. President Reuven Rivlin received the message from Netanyahu. He will hold consultations with faction representatives and by law has three days to give the mandate to another candidate.

Netanyahu "will make a last effort to realise the possibility of forming a government at this stage, before returning the mandate to the president," Likud said in a statement. It called the latest round of negotiations a "big disappointment Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Benny Gantz (left). Pic/AFP Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz traded blame Sunday over the failure so far of efforts to reach a unity government deal following deadlocked elections. A new round of negotiations between Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Gantz's centrist Blue and White broke down Sunday and the...