Dateline Jerusalem — The election for Prime Minister allegedly is over and it is being called a “mahapach,” loosely translated as a “turnaround” or “upheaval” or “revolution” because Likud was trailing in the polls in the preceding days. Despite the claims of victory and success by Likud (Bibi Netanyahu), the election process is not over. Just beginning. The decision as to whom will be Prime Minister and the ruling party is up to one man, the non-elected President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, a political rival of Bibi.
The position of President of Israel is mainly a ceremonial role. The Prime Minister leads the country. Although Israelis flocked to the polls in unprecedented numbers with over a 70 percent voter turnout, freely expressing to the world that the safety and security of the nation are of prime importance and that they resented the U.S. administration’s blatant interference in the Israeli electoral process, only one man will determine the winner. He already has stated he wants a “unity” government, with both Bibi and Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) ruling.
Because there are 26 political parties on the Israeli ballot, no one party could get a majority. Therefore, the scrambling for support from other parties leads to alliances and coalitions to form a government. That means if Bibi is unable to enter into a coalition that will consist of at least 61 seats, Mr. Herzog well could be the next Prime Minister — and a leftist government will come to power. Even if Bibi could get a coalition together, Mr. Rivlin can force a national unity government instead. So whatever the outcome of the vote, one man controls the destiny of Israel.
This year for the first time in their history, the various small Arab parties joined together and became one large party, the Joint Arab List. Arabs make up 20 percent of the Israeli population. In previous elections many stayed home. They did not vote. This time they voted in massive numbers, coming in third, only Likud and Zionist Union getting more seats in the Knesset. It is a fact of life that a strong Arab bloc is a threat to a right-wing government, especially since they will join the left wing Herzog/Tzipi Livni coalition. Because Bibi mentioned that the Joint Arab List could be a threat to a right- wing government coming to power, Bibi has been called a “racist” by the U.S.-based J-Street that claims to be pro-Israel but supports everything that is pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel, and by the Huffington Post. Interesting to note, however, that they are closely aligned because there are those in J Street writing for the Huffington Post. It is absurd to accuse Bibi of being racist when he only stated how important it is for right-wing voters to get out the vote to stop the Joint Arab List and a left- wing government. Interesting to note that although the Joint Arab List is an Israeli political party, on election night they flew the Palestinian flag. That is not a surprise since some of the former Arab parties that make up the new Joint Arab List party have called for the destruction of Israel and the Jews. Why isn’t that considered racist?
The European Union congratulated Bibi on his party’s win. The U.S. administration did not at first, though President Obama finally called much later. No surprise there. Mr. Obama did everything he could to overthrow Bibi. It backfired. With Mr. Obama sending a team of his personal campaign managers to Israel, and the U.S. State Dept. funding to elect Bibi’s opposition, probably did more to elect Bibi than almost anything else. Israeli voters do not like to be manipulated by anyone, especially a foreign government that has shown no respect for Israeli elected leaders and who constantly puts Israel’s security in jeopardy.
Although I should be celebrating, I am not. I am cautiously awaiting President Rivlin’s determination of the next Prime Minister of Israel. I can only hope it is Bibi. It is definitely a frightening thought that a left-wing government could come to power, divide Jerusalem and cede Judea and Samaria.
L’hitraot. Shachar
