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Israel went to the polls on Tuesday, and while Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list was the single biggest bloc with 31 seats, a new center-left party, Yesh Atid came in second with 19 seats. The overall counts shifted to 61 for right leaning parties and 59 for left leaning parties — in Israeli election terms of the last decade or so, a big shift toward the center. Israeli pundits by and large attribute the shift to more emphasis on economic and internal issues vs. peace and security — the major issues since Oslo and Rabin’s assassination in 1996.
Bibi is likely to get the first shot at forming the new government, but he claims he will go broad, rather than a narrow, right-only coalition that would give him only a 1-seat majority. It remains to be seen which center and left parties will be willing to team with Likud-Yisrael Beitenu and at what price.
Here are some links to Israeli election coverage. Read a few, and then tell us what YOU think in the comments section below, or, if your opinion is longer-form, please submit your own post on the topic.
JTA Analysis: Consequences of Israel’s Vote
Jerusalem Post Election Coverage
