Israeli Arabs Are the Big Winners in Israel’s Election

[mystery-ak]

Israeli Arabs Are the Big Winners in Israel’s Election
Jonathan Feldstein

Posted: Mar 24, 2021 10:57 AM

With most of the votes counted and no decisive outcome as far as who the next Prime Minister will be, or if Israel will be headed to an unprecedented fifth national election in less than three years, one thing is clear, the big winners in Israel’s national election this week were Israeli Arabs.

One might have said that a year ago, after Israel’s third national election in (what was then) a year.  Then, the “Joint Arab List,” a faction made up of four Arab political parties running together, won a striking 15 seats in Israel’s Knesset (parliament).  This made the Joint List Israel’s third largest party, dispelling the libelous notion that Israel is an apartheid state and that there’s some form of state sponsored discrimination.

Of Israel’s 9 million citizens, some 20 percent are Arabs. Most are Moslem, including Bedouin, and smaller percentages are Druze and Christians.   Arabic is one of Israel’s two official languages. Despite being exempt from mandatory military service or optional civilian national service, there’s a growing trend among Israeli Arabs to participate in these national pillars on a voluntary basis. In fact, most Druze and many Bedouin men do serve in the army.

more
https://townhall.com/columnists/jonathanfeldstein/2021/03/24/israeli-arabs-are-the-big-winners-in-israels-election-n2586803

[Right_in_Virginia]

Final vote results show major setback for Israel’s Netanyahu
Associated Press, Mar 25, 2021

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies fell short of winning a parliamentary majority in Israel’s latest election, according to a final vote count released Thursday, leaving a political deadlock that put the long-time leader’s future in question.

The fourth election in just two years brought a stinging rebuke for Netanyahu, the most dominant figure in Israeli politics in a generation. Adding to the pain, he lost ground to former partners who vowed never to sit in a government with him again.

Under Israel’s fragmented political system, Netanyahu could still try to reach across the aisle and cobble together a governing coalition. But the makeup of the new parliament will make that extremely difficult, giving his opponents the upper hand in coalition talks. It’s also quite possible Israel will go into a fifth election later this year.

“It is clear that Netanyahu does not have a majority to form a government under his leadership,” said Gideon Saar, one of the former Netanyahu allies who now oppose him. “Action must now be taken to realize the possibility of forming a government for change.”

In order to form a government, a candidate must work with allied partners to secure a 61-seat majority in the Knesset, or parliament.

According to the final results released by Israel’s election commission, Netanyahu and his allies captured 52 seats, compared to 57 held by his opponents.

In the middle were two undecided parties: Yamina, a seven-seat nationalist party headed by a former Netanyahu lieutenant, and Raam, an Arab Islamist party that won four seats.


More: https://apnews.com/article/israel-parliamentary-elections-benjamin-netanyahu-elections-4cb571e47b2f1d8f7068e4e595777645

[Right_in_Virginia]

Netanyahu will most likely beg, promise and cobble together a messy coalition.

My guess:  Israel goes back to the polls for a fifth time by the end of Fall.