Politics and Knesset
“This was a great victory for the right-wing camp, and first and foremost for us Likudnikim,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the third round of elections within the course of a year.
Avot Ge’im (“Proud Fathers”) called it a “dramatic and exciting day in which Israel at long last strides toward the family of the world’s most advanced nations when it comes to LGBT rights.”
A fourth election, a right-wing-bloc victory, a minority government or Likud rebellion against Benjamin Netanyahu ... some of the possible scenarios as Israelis head to the polls yet again.
Poll projects ruling party and its challenger will secure 33 Knesset seats each, gives right-haredim bloc 57 seats, center-left and Arab parties 56 mandates. Some 49 percent believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is best-suited to continue to lead Israel.
The Israeli prime minister has tried to convince Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir to drop out of the race, as the potential loss of votes if the party doesn’t cross the 3.25 percent electoral threshold could be enough to swing a close contest in favor of Blue and White.
With just a week to go until Israel’s elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party is projected to garner 33 Knesset seats, compared to 32 for challenger Blue and White.
“We are working hard to make sure that these elections will be the last in this cycle,” Knesset member Boaz Toporovksy told JNS as the March 2 elections approach.
“Jews from around the world will be able to land at Ben-Gurion and in a short amount of time be at the Western Wall to be spiritually uplifted. It’s the perfect blend of modern technology and ancient spirituality,” said Rabbi Steve Burg, CEO of Aish HaTorah.
While the new U.S. Mideast proposal “is better than previous plans of previous administrations—anything we have seen over the last decades—a Palestinian state just a few miles from Israeli population centers is not part of my vision,” said Likud Knesset member Gideon Sa’ar.
The project would involve the construction of two new stations and an 1.8-mile-long tunnel under downtown Jerusalem and the Old City.
The ultra-Orthodox party believes that it stands to benefit from frustration and voter fatigue among the supporters of the New Right, National Union and Jewish Home parties.
In 2019, 45 members were expelled from the party for Jew-hatred, an increase from the 10 expulsions in 2018.
