Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins the 2019 Israeli legislative election
On April 9 some 6.34 million voters were asked to cast their vote in the 2019 Israeli legislative election. Voter turnout reached 67.9% (in 2015: 71.8%). With roughly 97% of the votes counted (absentee ballots still missing), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party came in first with 26.27% and probably 35 parliamentarians (+5!) in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition, the newly formed Blue and White alliance led by former IDF-chief Benny Gantz came in second with 25.95% and also 35 seats.
However, because Netanyahu’s current coalition allies fared better than Gantz’s potential coalition partners, Prime Minister Netanyahu is pretty certain to stay in office for another term. Therefore, on July 17, 2019 he will most likely become the longest serving PM in Israel’s history.
The third largest party in the 21st Knesset will be the ultra-Orthodox Shas party with 6.1% of the vote and 8 seats. Shas is like the equally ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism alliance, which came in fourth with 5.91% and 8 seats, a Netanyahu coalition partner. The secular-nationalist, right-wing party of the Russian-speaking Israeli, Yisrael Beiteinu (created by the shady Avigdor Lieberman), won 4.14% and 5 seats. The United Right alliance won 3.66% and 5 seats (-3). The more centrist pary Kulanu led by Moshe Kahlon finished tenth strongest party with 3.56% and 4 seats (-6!).
Currently, Netanyahu’s coalition government only controls 61 of the 120 seats in parliament. In the 21st Knesset, together with his potential allies, he could end up with a more comfortable 65 seats. This despite the fact that the New Right, recently formed by Netanyahu’s justice minister Ayelet Shaked and education minister Naftali Bennett, did not make it over the 3.25% hurdle: 3.14% of the vote would give them no seats. The same happened to Moshe Feiglin. His Zehut party, with an ultra-nationalist, anti-Arab and at the same time pseudo-libertarian and pro-Cannabis agenda won only 2.51% and no seats. Even worse fared the more centrist Gesher party, established at the end of 2018 by Orly Levy. She split from Yisrael Beiteinu after the last election because she did not become a minister in Netanyahu’s government. At first, she officially remained a member of her party, the ended up as and as an independent before creating her own party.
When it comes to the potential allies of Benny Gantz, one first has to mention the once powerful Labor Party aka HaAvoda. It lost 13 seats (!) and ended up with 4.46% and 6 seats only. The more left-wing and green party Meretz won 3.64% and 4 seats (-1).
Two Arab parties made it into the Knesset: Hadash-Taal won on the far-left 4.63% and 6 seats. The United Arab List-Balad alliance ended up with 3.46% and 4 seats. In the last legislative elections, the Arab parties had formed an alliance and won more seats. Divided they lost votes and seats, but nevertheless made it into the Knesset. The Arab parties were/are potential allies of White and Blue, although Gantz and others excluded an alliance with them. But Netanyahu went much further and declared that Israel was a state for Jews and not Arabs.
The Prime Minister played the nationalist and anti-Arab card all along. In July 2018, his coalition pushed through a Nationality Bill which declares that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, leaving Muslims, Christians, secularist and others in the cold. Netanyahu got prime support from US President Trump who not only moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, but also withdrew US support for the nuclear deal with Iran and, most recently, on March 25, through a presidential proclamation, recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
Despite all of this, Bibi felt the heat. He was running against three former IDF chiefs as Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) leaders, their fourthy ally being the centrist, middle-class Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, a former journalist. It became clear that, with more or less credible figures, the center and left could unseat Netanyahu.
In short, Bibi did it again. However, he may still end up in jail (one day). His documented shady discussions with publishers (advantages for their media in return for more favorable media coverage of him) alone should have disqualified the PM in the eyes of the voters. Unfortunately, Netanyahu’s supporters don’t care about favors, fraud, breach of trust, bribery and corruption. Attorney General Mandelblit is looking into several of Bibi’s affairs. He may come to a different conclusion.
Books by and about Benjamin Netanyahu at Amazon US
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. Photo: US State Department. This photo is in the public domain.
Article added on April 10, 2019 at 15:49 Berlin time.
