By Josh Block, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Josh Block is CEO & president of the Israel Project, a 501c3 nonpartisan organization based in Washington D.C. A former Clinton administration official at USAID, Block was also a member of the senior staff at AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby. You can follow him @JoshBlockDC. The views expressed are his own.
The months leading up to yesterday’s Israeli election were filled with confident forecasting. Israeli voters, analysts told us, were turning rightward and even losing confidence in the Jewish state's democratic institutions. Voter turnout would slouch toward all-time lows, and remaining voters would empower a government that was, depending on a pundit’s particular verve, “hardline,” “extremist,” “ultra-nationalist,” – or even worse.
Israeli voters, however, had other ideas. And now many of those pundits are expressing surprise at the turnout and composition of Israel’s 19th Knesset.
By the time polls closed last night, two-thirds of Israeli voters had cast their ballots, exceeding the last election's turnout after inching toward levels not seen in over a decade and a half. The Israeli public – caricatured on the eve of the election by one far-left voice as "sleepy, complacent and apathetic" – turned out to be far more engaged than many had imagined. Admirers of Israel’s boisterous democratic culture had every reason to feel buoyed.
And if Israeli voters spoke loudly, they also spoke clearly.
The night’s big winner was the centrist Yesh Atid party, which garnered 19 seats, far outrunning election-eve polls to become Israel's second-largest party. Founded and led by Israeli TV personality Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid offers a post-ideological pragmatism. The party couples an emphasis on tough national security with an explicit endorsement of a two-state solution, and promotes free market policies while insisting on the need to bolster the middle class. Meanwhile, Yesh Atid’s avowedly secularist agenda, its core brand, is expressed in terms of the need to integrate Israel’s ultra-orthodox and Arab minorities into the state's civil and military institutions.
Lapid himself is a secular icon in Israel. Though yesterday marked his first election night as a candidate, he is no stranger to politics. His father, Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, headed Israel's top secular liberal party, Shinui (Change), for seven years at the beginning of the last decade. While Yesh Atid is not strictly modeled on Shinui, it is in many ways its modern reincarnation.
Lapid and his party seem to reflect the current mood of the Israeli electorate: skeptical of Palestinian intentions but willing to take risks for peace, averse to old-style Israeli socialism but opposed to shredding Israel's social safety net, and socially liberal while respectful of religious expression.
As expected, the Likud-Beitenu list of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to anchor a ruling coalition majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, landing 31 seats. It should surprise no one that Netanyahu's first coalition-building phone call after polls closed was to Lapid. Netanyahu has shown a strong predictive preference for broad centrist coalitions to those including religious parties and those to his right. He has repeatedly endeavored to forge coalition governments with Israel’s center-left parties, as with Labor and Kadima after the last election.
Netanyahu – like Ariel Sharon before him, who in his second political incarnation proved a pragmatist rather than an ideologue – is today the leading centrist among his Likud colleagues. And he appears already hard at work on building a center-right coalition – much like Sharon and Lapid the Father teamed up to do ten years ago. Given the little distance between the two on key issues – both are free-market-oriented, both are committed to a two-state solution including an undivided Jerusalem – it is highly likely that they will sit together in Israel's next government.
More from CNN: Don't expect Obama-Netanyahu blowup
Last night's third-place party, and the one likely to lead Israel's Opposition in the next Knesset, is Shelly Yachimovich's Labor party. On foreign policy, Labor hews to the country’s consensus, sharing widely held skepticism of Palestinian intentions, while remaining committed to a negotiated solution. Domestically, Yachimovich has oriented the party to the left, moving to slow and even reverse Israel's economic liberalization. The party is projected to receive 15 seats in the incoming Knesset.
While doomsday predictions of Israel’s illiberalism, endless caricatures of a country being transformed by some emerging ultra-orthodox monopoly, and threats of a radical shift to the right may have been en vogue for pundits (and useful for those whose political agendas are served by such misleading portrayals) they stand in stark contrast to reality – and to the real State of Israel. Although it may confound Israel’s critics, the distribution of votes makes it overwhelmingly likely that, once again, both Israel’s next government and its opposition will be led by parties that back the two-state solution.
Israelis woke up on Wednesday to a new political configuration, but a largely unchanged political reality. The country’s center-right and center-left blocs, within which different parties compete for and cannibalize each other's votes, have been roughly stable for over a decade.
Last night, a centrist country, rooted in liberal, Western values identical to our own, gave its vote to parties clustered around the political center. Those who predicted a different outcome will now have to ask themselves which of their assumptions, or their agendas, led them so far astray.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Towels Heads to the left of me............Hajis to my right............Here I am, stuck in the middle with Jew.
When are you going to attack Iran? Or are you a p_u_s_s_y?
IIsrael will only use force against Iran as a last resort in case there will be no other way to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. As long as there is a possibility that other ways of doing it (like sanctions and diplomacy) may work force will not be used.
You see, "Song Writer", unlike YOU Israeli leaders are grown up adults.
No really. Hahahahahahahhaah
Netanyahu misculated. Last October, teamed with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, he called early general election, hoping to build a stronger coalition, to avoid a damaging defeat over a proposed austerity budget and to give him a renewed and potentially increased mandate for military action against Iran. Now it appeared to have had the opposite effect.
well said, Thinker23!
Yair Lapid had struck a chord with the voters. Leading a low-profile campaign, he focussed on economic and secular – rather than territorial – issues. His overtures to Netanyahu, calling for the formation of a broad-based government, one which would "bring about real change", will no doubt be heeded.
Israelis adults?!! More like a spoiled, half-witted child that's hooked on drugs. Israel society is a very sick on.
Thinker23: have you done any thinking lately? Your post shows otherwise....
Netanyahu is a gown up adult? He is really a Russian, like many current "citizens" of Israel. God's chosen people are NOT Russians.
Song writer: What's wrong with you? You sound like you ran out on your lithium.
Why don't YOU attack Iran? Leave us out of it.
Perhaps it has something to do with your president telling Israel not to go alone.
The subject of Iran barely featured during election campaigning and was not an issue determining the way Israelis voted.
Israel will deal with Iran if and when she feels it is necessary.
Yes they will draw another cartoon!!!!!!!
jesus h8ing joos to the left of me.. zyo nist pigs to my right... here I am stuck in between a couple fools.
Then apparently you are between your mother and father, because only a pair of fools would raise their child to be anti-semetic.
Learn how to spell first before making written comments.........
You need to move out of your mothers basement
What is it about "HISTORY" that Americans just don't get?
In order to create and consolidate a Jewish State in 1948, Zionists expelled 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and never allowed them or their descendants to return. In addition, Israeli forces destroyed over 400 Palestinian villages and perpetrated about three dozen massacres.
President Eisenhower, along with the USSR, forced Israel to abandon its gains after its victory in the Sinai Campaign of 1956. He thus established a tradition for the world to follow: Israel would not be allowed to benefit from its military victories. Eisenhower forced Israel to withdraw immediately and unilaterally.
Make no mistake ... the Israelis wrote the book on TERRORISM, just ask any graduate of West Point or Annapolis. The Irgun bombed the British embassy in Rome. They killed many British people in terrorist attacks even on British soil. They committed the Deir Yassin massacre. They bombed the King David Hotel building in Jerusalem killing 91 people of various nationalities. They would "booby-trap" the bodies of dead British Soldiers so that when the Red Cross came to pick the bodies up, they would explode killing the Red Cross workers ... IT'S CALLED TERRORISM! They machine-gunned 37 sailors from the U.S.S. Liberty during the so-called 6 day war.
Now for those Americans who don't know, Israel has sold weapons and sent advisers to Venezuela, El Salvador and Iran! ~ (reference: "Israel Foreign Policy: Weapons Manufacturing Industry" at Third World Traveler dot com)
The part being left out of this revisionist crap is that Ben Gurion and the Hagganah went against the splinter groups, irgun and the stern gang while fighting for the survival of Israel. Jews were shedding other Jews blood over the atrocities, which pale in comparison to atrocities committed by Israel's Arab foes to this day. Further, Israel evicted no one, Arabs were invited to stay in their homes in Haifa, Jaffa and other places, the residents were convinced by militant Arabs that Israel would be eliminated and to leave. Didn't work out that way did it ? Crybaby diplomacy and vicious terrorism, THAT is why the Palestinians have such a hard time. Meanwhile in Syria, Muslims slaughter other Muslims. Whats new ?
to Marcus: The History you are not telling: On November 1947, UN adopted a resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan as Resolution #181. Arab regimes rejected that Resolution, by started aggression war in 1948. They were promise to expel all Jews in 2 weeks, since than they could not keep their promise. After Arab-Israeli war 1948 Arab regimes expelled 850 000 Jews from Arab countries, most of them resign in Israel. They didn’t spend a single day in a refugee camps.
Did they kill the kids at sandy point?
Arabs were invited ???? Ari . I wish you change your name because someone that is smart and brilliant and I know has the name Ari.
If you love that miserable armpit of the world so much, fly over there and join the Israeli Occupation Forces. Won't it be fun arresting children, bulldozing homes and orchards? You can be a part of the "only democracy in the Middle East." Oh wait, you can't be a democracy and a Jewish state at the same time. Oh well, you'll have fun beating up "towel heads" anyway.
If that is what you expect from a trip to Israel then you"ll be majorly disappointed.
The Jewish people and their state have no conflict with modern, liberal, secular democracy.
Jews can't have a democracy...? Sounds pretty anti-Semitic to me.
Oh, and false.
It's so refreshing to witness the peacful continuity of the only democratic society in the Middle East. Leaving valid critcism aside, it behooves many countries in the region to take note and emulate the civility and prosperity of a secular democracy. The falacy is to simply write-off Israeli success as a society to "American largess". That's bull. Jewish culture has a milenial tradiation of secularism and intellectualism, and democratic values run deep in their culture. I so wish that a new Syrian government will emulate and partner with a pragmatic, secular Israel and that the Palistinians also follow this example. Theocracies are nothing more than people's credulity hijacked by opportunist dictators.
Fingers crossed.
There are many democracies in the middle east. Thats a lie that izreel is the only democracy.
Why don't you NAME the other democracies in the Middle East?
An election doesn't make a democracy. Syria has had elections for decades under the rule of both Assad The First and the Second. A democracy is nation with a free press, multiple parties, and respect for the rule of law. That being said, please tell us which exactly are the other, non Israeli, middle eastern democracies?
Name them. I challenge you right here and now to name the other democracies in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia? Monarchy. Jordan? Monarchy. UAE? Monarchy. Bahrain? Monarchy. Kuwait? Monarchy. Qatar? Monarchy. Oman? Monarchy. Iran? Theocracy. Syria? Fascist Dictatorship. Lebanon? Almost, kind of resembles what might be a democracy one day, but no. Egypt? We'll see what happens, but it's not looking good. Sudan? Dictator. Somalia? Chaos. Yemen? Chaos/Dictator. Iraq? Completely broken and dysfunctional sort of, kind of democracy imposed by a foreign power.
Thinker23, Palestinians held free elections. In fact, it has been said that the election of Hamas was more transparent and democratic, with fewer scandles, than most Western elections.... oh, I forgot, that doesn't count because they elected guys we don't like
According to Freedom House's 2013 report, Israel is the only free country in the Middle East. Its neighbors, on the other hand, are some of the worst offenders of freedom in the world.
Thinker, they voted for Hamas b\c the elections are organized by Hamas, i.e. a terrorist group.
Right now I am doing research on how "joyous" the Baltic States were in being annexed to the Soviet Union at the beginnin of WWII. They were so happy they "voted" to join on their own. Do you see how this works?
Palestinians should have the same rights as Israelis, but until they accept some responsible leadership who is more interested in the needs of their people than they are in asserting their power it simply will not happen. A good start would be selecting leaders who don't use schools and hosptals as military sites so they later claim Isreal sought out these havens for military strikes.
apologies to "thinker" my reply was to "kevin"
How long would Israel last with the USA taxpayer pumping billions of borrowed Chinese dollars into their economy?
Far longer than Egypt which gets the same amount and gets it mostly cash. As for Israel, most US aid comes in the form of military aid, which means dollars that get spent right back in the good old USA buying American weapons.
Very well said. If other countries in the middle east could have a free press and fair democratic elections like Israel, the region would be a much more stable place.
War is only death, destruction, disease, and horror. War with Iran would be suicide, a country of 80 million people. The USA could not handle the 29 million people of Iraq with a suicide attack every day against the occupation. How can only 6 million Israelis handle Iran. Israel needs to find a solution to the Palestinian problem. Israel is losing the demographic war with 6 million Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories plus the exiled Palestinians. Bush II promised a Palestinian state by 2005 and lied. Inferfaith dialogue, multiculturalism, and intermarriage between Jews and Arabs is the future. Don't even think about another failed war. Give peace a chance and make love.
John, no one can "promise" a Palestinian state. Either Palestinians will accept the need to renounce violence and compromise or they will continue to embrace extremism and maximalist fantasies. The only question is whether the world will encourage their religious fueled dreams of getting everything or insist that they return to the negotiating table and hammer out a deal.
The only way that it will ever get done is to do it in the exact same way that Israel came into existence. Simply declare that there IS the State of Palestine and then deal with the aftermath. Exactly the actions that brought Israel int existence. UN troops at the 1967 borders to enforce it, with enough resources to do the job.
Isreal is not a religious, extremist state? Come on, Israel has no desire to live peacefully with its neighbors. Israel depends on bought and paid for US congressmen to maintain their existance. Sure, let's go attack Iran for Israel's benefit. How many Israeli troops will die for this? None – it will be a US adventure only! Israel will sit back and laugh!
John... A sovereign independent state was offered to Palestinian Arabs in 1948, 1967, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009 and they've REJECTED it every single time declaring that nothing short of destruction of the Jewish state would satisfy the. Israel can OFFER them peace and a state but it can not SHOVE it into the Palestinian collective throat against their will. Further, one side can start and maintain a war but BOTH sides are necessary to make peace. This means that in case Iran will start a war against the Jewish state Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.
That's ridiculous. You're saying that as early as 3 years ago the two-state solution was actively being offered to Palestine? That's just an outright lie. They've been fighting for their own land for decades (while Israel continues to build new settlements further into their territory) and recently got the UN to acknowledge them as a state (to the great dismay of Israel...which them decided to collectively punish the people of Palestine)... but really, you say, they could have had their own country any time they wanted. Just a blatant, outright lie.
Don, he's off by exactly six months. Just google "Olmert offer" and you can even read the text of the offer on that pro-Israel bastion (NOT) the Guardian. It was made in August of 2008. Olmert's proposal was a Palestinian state on 98% of the West Bank and Gaza (with land swaps) and a shared Jerusalem. The answer from the Palestinians was the usual: NO.
Iran has NEVER threatened to attack Israel. The only statements that people keep quoting to advance that ridiculous assertion were misinterpretations from people who have absolutely no power to initiate ANYthing. Israel has had how many wars in its short existence? And in how many of them has Iran fielded an army? If Iran really wanted to they could take out Israel like swatting a fly so don't tell us that Iran poses and existential threat to Israel. It's just politically advantageous for those in power to keep Israel on a constant war footing so they need to have an enemy to point to.
The President of Iran has, on several occasions, called for Israel to be wiped off the earth. That sounds rather like a threat. What subtle racism to pretend that some people, just because they're darker skinned, don't mean what they say? By the by, you might want to consider that lots of folks interpret these words to mean exactly what they say, such as those war mongering Canadians.
Let us hope: Two religions, one people. Either everyone wins, or they will all lose together.
It's likely that if Israel is forced into a war with Iran, as I believe Barack Obama's policy will lead to, it will likely be nuclear. Not even 80,000,000 Iranians can survive that.
These so called Jewish secularists better take heed of Malachi 3:6-7
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
Shudaaap
This offends you? There is much wisdom in this saying.
This sounds like something straight out of Children of the Corn.
He wants you too....Malachi.
Now let's hope that the cetrist parties stay together and Bibi cleans up his image with the West.
If it ends up with the final results that the move back towards the center grows bigger between now and the end of counting tomorrow morning, it bodes better for Israel. However, still saddened Netanyahu would still be Prime Minister. He's a cold-hearted, arrogant, and stiff-minded leader. He's been the main reason why tensions are growing between us in America and them, as well as for the failure of peace talks with the Palestinians. He's done some good things, but overall he's been bad news for Israel, as well as his enitre Likud Party and other right wing parties. Glad the elections have gone the way I hoped they would
Netanyahu's hurt Israel's position in the world
YOu don't like Netanyahu? Don't vote for him...
Not a single seat for Eretz Chadasha.
That's sad.
I went to a rally last thursday night. They had some good ideas.
Like in the USA the pundits talk to other pundits, mainly to those who agree with their conviction, an CNN show could only confirm that it is true. All networks, including many in the Israeli media, were wrong, because they were simply talking to their buddies. Any one who by accident looks at Pierce Morgan or Wolf Blizter, can see another reality show, highly paid, clueless "journalists" dishing out gossip, inaccurate data, distorted accounts of developments and mostly lefty propaganda. is there any reason why most media " commentators" were wrong.
Hey buddy, only one network was way out in RIGHT field during our last election. So far out that they were into a different universe and had real trouble trying to reenter ours. They even had commentators denying the evidence in front of their eyes! Everyone else, CNN included pretty much has reality pegged.
There are 4 articles on CNN's front page about elections in a country of 7.5 million people. Seriously. Think about that. Why does the media have to obsess over everything that tiny little country does? There is more coverage of this tiny little country's elections than probably every other nation on Earth combined (except our own of course). There are more articles on CNN right now about Israel's elections than the war against Al Qaeda in Mali. Amazing.
You are certainly correct. The focus on Israel - from a news perspective - is just silly. Of course, I suspect it has something to do with the fact that many more journalists would like to spend time in Tel Aviv or Haifa, then Mali or Cairo or Moscow, for example. Moreover, while Israel is given such overwhelming scrutiny, the media would rather not point out that it is exactly because Israel is a democracy that journalists can practice their profession without fear. There aren't really that many places in the world about which that can be said.
Actually what is has to do with is the fact that all of our major networks as well as a large majority of our other online and magazine media are owned and dominated by Jewish americans. Add that to the fact that they have 2 of the strongest lobbies in our country and a disproportionate percentage of representation in our house and senate and you have a recipe for disproportionate coverage in the media. Question why we care so much about a country the size of Missouri with little resources and a penchant for stirring up crap in its region and you will be marginalized an horrible anti-semite-wake up Americans –if Muslims had 25% as much influence in this country as this other minority people would scream bloody murder.–And why is it a problem you ask? Well when any minority population has the power to swing public policy making to war, to blind pork barrelling, to god knows what next its certainly frightening-except that we've all been conditioned to the poor forsaken Jewish myth so long that we fail to question the expensive and dangerous realities
Yes, Dave, it is so obvious. If someone disagrees with me, it must be due to a nefarious plot! What a simple world.
So...Netanyahu is a centrist who is actively supporting the two state solution? Have i fallen unconscious and awoken in bizarro world? Seriously. This guy is a right-winger and maybe he supports two state in his rhetoric...but he compared the german abstaining from voting for Palestinia in the UN to the behavior of the Chamberlain Administration in Munich 1938...and you're telling me with a straight face he's a centrist? He could care less about Palestinia. He only cares about being in power.
A politician interested in power. Shocking. By the by, there is gambling at Rick's. Of course, we'll never know if he's a centerist, because the Palestinians continue to refuse to sit down and negotiate. Netanyahu's asked dozens of times, but the Palestinians basically demand that Israel accept the Palestinian negotiating positions before they'll negotiate (which makes you wonder why you'd negotiate in the first place).
There is a difference between wanting to stay in power to do things and power being your only objective. Netanyahu is not a centrist. And I'm sorry, but who oppresses who? The Palestinians are the ones being oppressed and some Israelians are building settlements in a place there they have no business being there...So this can go one of three ways: One state and the Palestinians can vote, one state and the Palestinians being disenfranchised (aka Apartheid) or two states. And if Netanyahu is interested in two states why not do the simplest thing? Recognise a Palestinian state with the areas that have been agreed on a long time ago and negotiate over Jerusalem? Because he could care less about two state-solution. Calling him a centrist is ridicoulus. He's a hardliner, a right-winger, whatever you wanna call it.
Why should Bibi care about Pal? There are 22 Arab states, they should care, but not keeping them in refugee camps!
to Noah: Why should Bibi care about Pal. There are 22 Arab states, total 320 mil population, but they still keeping Pal in refugee camps.
Palestinians do not belong in other countries, they belong in Palestine....just like Israelis believe in zionism (that all jews should one day be in Israel)...Palestinians like Israelis both deserve their own country!!
to 77victor: Arab-Palestinian don't belong to Israel, they just occupied.
Calling Netanyahu a centrist is like calling Fidel Castro a capitalist...this writer can't be serious!! Netanyahu is way to the right in Israeli politics...hopefully the new government will include some folks who are serious about real peace and the Palestinians can come to an understanding among themselves that Israel is here to stay and they MUST accept its existence and negotiate a lasting peace....but history tells me this will never happen, the divide is too wide and too deep...no Israeli govt will agree to give back the lands captured in 1967 in any peace deal and no Palestinian govt can accept a peace deal that does not include a return of said lands!!! sad to say, some problems just cannot be solved...
to 77victor: Will US agree to give back Texas to Mexico? "but history tells me that will never happen"
Yeah, just as soon as Mexico gives up...uh, Mexico... to the surviving Mayans.
I think i speak on behalf of all the USA when i say: I'd be only too happy to give Texas back to Mexico if that would bring peace for Israel. Really. Even a Cold Peace. Even if it were like REALLY cold! Give me a reason, any reason.
Solve this Problem: (Follow the Covenant of God)
There is a group of System Administrators of a Global Corporation with a Global Network with many child companies with child networks and many people and computers. Is it allowed for System Administrators to play games and create contests with System Administration Policies and Servers?
* After you have that answer, what does that mean for politics?
Netanyahu a "centrist?" The aggressive right-wing radical who continues to push for and fund new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is a centrist? The cynical, power-hungry politician whose political future depends on his maintaining a state of conflict, hot and/or cold, with the Palestinians is a centrist? Sure! Like Ahmadinijad is a an open-minded and tolerant democratic leader. Netanyahu and Israel's right is that country's worst enemy. Just because some creep like Bennett comes along who is even worse does not make Bebe even slightly better. He is a vile creature who continues to hurt the Israeli people.
Not one new settlement has been built in the last 20 years.
Netanyahu has been re-elected by the Israeli people in free democratic elections.
He will put together a coalition and together they will decide on policy that reflects the Israeli people who are living the reality of life in the ME in the 21st century.
Good for you Israel!
I was not surprised that the center left gained so much support. In fact, I was surprised they did not recieve more support/votes. Under Netanyahu and the right, the country has become more internationaly isolated and the populus standard of living has declined. Should be interesting to see if these new electorates will change this.
Netantyahu's "right-wing" leanings are responsible for Israel's "isolation" even though for half of his term in office the left-wing Labour party were in the coalition?
Any perceived "isolation" is due to Arab noise and in reality Israel is joining international organizations and signing agreements with more and more countries.
Name any country where the standard of living hasn't been challenged in the last few years.
It has nothing to do with Netanyahu and Israel has, in fact, faired better than most.
Why is there no news on CNN about USA giving 20 of our best fighter jets and 200 of our tanks to Egypt ?? It's on other news stations. I thought CNN was on top of things.
Bloggers' are the best informants than the paid Journalists.
Here, in America, Congresses are arguing, Gun control while they are blindly supplying High-Tech, fast and mass killer heavy Weapons to Muslim Brother hoods in Egypt.
Not only these, US had a few Weeks Military training with Egypt, few Months ago. It was not reported on CNN, but it was reported on some Middle EAST news network.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
These few war lovers, they go after against the interests of the Majority of Americans, to invite and recruit more enemies. Who are these (veiled) Americans?
Was it the interests of the Majority of Americans, to share secrets with Al-Qaeda and Taliban, during Soviet vs Afghan war?
Did we got hunted by our own Tools in Sep 9 2001?
For these few idiots, supplying Weapons to Two of unkind is like entertaining Two Heavy Weight fighters in the non-winners Circle.
Then, the Majority of Americans and the rest of the World will suffer a lot.
Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East. The election results show that Israelis want moderation and negotiation. By the way, 12 Arabs were elected to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. One of the five members of the Israeli Supreme Court is an Israeli Arab. The election demonstrates that Israel is a mature and moderate democracy and is dedicated to peace. Israel is the only country in that area of the world that provides for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom from fear.
1 more reason why 1 cannot rely on CNN for news
inferior team reporting from Israel
biased and utterly preconceived ideas of
how the results must look like
CNN serves to bolster Obama talking points
preferring to portray Israel as a bunch of right wing lunatics
suddenly the real Israeli center shows its ferocity and the
anti-semitic CNN star team is out of the picture
they closed the bureau to save money
sending the B team to cover it,
yes, they got it wrong
so did most media, for more check the Russel Meade blogs on the failure of the MSM.
This author (Josh Block) ability to convey his thoughts in a breif and concise manner is pathetic. He is all over the place. Either his cognition is disorganized or his ability to present such is disorganized or both are impaired. He is all over the place and he needs to practice his writting in a brief and concise manner
There is little chance of anybody being able to analyse Israeli elections in a brief and conscience manner.
Should say "concise".
Why do Israel elections matter at all to the global audience. It is a tiny, inconsequential state that is sustainable only tby the backing of the US.
This is what a hijacked election looks like: unexpectedly high voter participation, unexpected results strongly favoring one party, results that contradict multiple sophisticated survey methods.
Well done!
Hijacked by who?!? The ruling party LOST seats.
israel confounds us too. we have a hard time figuring why we must be sending 3bils a year to this rich country of israel when we have a huge deficit that threatens to sink our economy, very high unemployment, and when the republicans are stuck on demanding cuts in govt programs and pretty much stalling the govt business on that account.
Probably has something to do with the fact hat the US sends billions more to Israel's enemies, who also hate the US and its values and don't pay 80% of the aid back into the US economy.
We don't really spend $3b a year in the first place. Unlike Egypt - which gets much of its aid in direct cash - Israel's military aid gets spent in the USA. The aid goes to buy American weapons, built by American workers, though often developed with the assistance of Israeli technical expertise. Speaking as someone who worries about our troops stationed abroad, I'd be much happier if those brave men and women slept under an Iron Dome.
The people have voted and spoken and are telling their leaders to compromise for peace and prosperity,lets hope someone listens to them.
The Israeli people have been voting for peace for decades and the elected leaders have listened and agreed and taken action by compromising again and again.
Unfortunately, compromise usually requires reciprocal steps from a second party but the Palestinians haven't been forthcoming.
70+% of Israelis favor a two state solution. However, until the Palestinians show a willingness to come to the table - they've been refusing every offer to negotiate now for half a decade - there isn't really any one to compromise with.
The US news media does not employ intelligent people. Intelligent people get a job in the public sector and make money for their employer. US news journalists are probably the least educated people in the world. No math, no science – only how to use innuendo to create a headline that is a lie.
This is good news as maybe the intolerant religious right won't start armageddon. Most of the world's problems come from religious nuts, whether they be Hindu, Muslim, Christians, Jews or some other backward and primitve line of thinking.
Now that the UN General Assembly has declared Palestine to be a state, when will the UN declare statehood for the Kurds and Tuaregs? There are almost five times as many Kurds as Palestinians in the world. Not sure on the population of the Tuaregs, but they are certainly more "indigenous" to their lands than the Palestinians. (The word Palestine, after all, was a Roman word which the Romans applied to the former Kingdom of Israel and the Romans described the Jewish inhabitants as Palestinians.) Ban Ki Moon, it's time you and the rest of the UN grant statehood to the Kurds and Tuaregs!
UN is a branch of Arab League. Arab dictators are using conflict to cover their brutality.
AIPAC runs Washington DC's foreign policy in the Middle East. A majority of the previous administration's senior officials happen to be dual Israeli-US citizens. Many current influential policy makers are also dual Israeli-US citizens. One guess as to which country they are more loyal....
Name one of the previous administation's officials who has dual US-Israeli citizenship?
Not manyJews have dual citizenship but the fact they serve in the administration of their country suggests that they have unquestionable loyalty to the US.
Israel's election confounds everyone including Israili politicians. It 's awesome warching real democracy in action!
falafl for sale!! call....
Liberals are just grumpy that Hamas didn't take over. Or the Nazis, either one.
The Nazis were funded by the Bush Family (remember Prescott?). That would be the GOP.
Interesting how the same "expert" pollsters and pundits that got it all so wrong, now want to tell us they know what is next?[they dont],..This election result is a clear message that old days and old ways are no longer the only! way,,,"something new" is coming there, It will take time to grow, but it will happen, is happening,..The past is past, it is usefull as a lesson in what not! to do, and thats all it is,..it is the now and perhaps maybe? tommorrow? that is the new deal,,nice to see this change, we will be watching with very real interest,..
So refreshing to see peaceful yet vibrant democracy functioning well in the Middle East. Naturally, our freshly re-elected president has never gone there and has no plans to go. Obama would rather spend time going to talk to Russia, Saudis and Egypt...
Where is a democracy speech from the only democratic part in the entire region?
The 'experts' were wrong because they wanted to be wrong. They promised an outcome THEY WANTED not one that actually reflected what the voters wanted. CNN was hoping that Hamas neo Nazis would pull out a sudden victory and declare a new Holocaust. But somehow, Israeli voters didn't get that order. Generally speaking though you can safely ignore almost everything CNN has to say about Israel and about Jews in general. CNN stands for the destruction of Israel at all costs. It stands for the ethnic cleansing of Jews and some kind politically digestible genocide and anything that contradicts that is ignored. Just like their swearing literally every day for the last 15 years that the evil Jews were going to bomb Iran tomorrow morning. Wrong every day every time because it doesn't reflect reality it reflects their own desire to see Iran exterminate all the Jews. So if CNN is simply howling what it wants to happen and not what has happened or is happening, then there's no point in bothering to listen to anything they have to say on the subject at all.
get off the plant an or earth jews mow.signed the so called meek an pnm,.
take the nazis to we could give 2 f ,s,.pnm,.
Netanyahu is an idiot! No Western country has any trust in this idiot! His primary goal was to get the US to attack Iran for him, he could not do this himself. Thank God Obama refused his demand. We, the USA, cannot afford another "shock and awe" campaign. lsrael needs to "grow up" and become a member of the free world. Every "settlement" announced when dissed by the US does nothing but forment more violence. Netanyahu has dissed us on numerous occassions. His control over our Congress only goes so far.
Unless you are the officially elected representative and spokesman for Western countries, your claim is false.
Any honest democratic leader should respect the vote of another democracy, especially when its electorate has chosen to re-elect its leader.
It is well known that it is the US who would prefer that Israel did not act alone against Iran, despite the fact that it is Israel who is threatened with annihilation by Iranian leaders and who are located closer to Iran than other Western countries, all of whom, along with the Arabs, are afraid.
Netanyahu is the leader of the freest country in the region and freer than many Western states.
He and his electorate know what is best for Israel.
I think it is a great picture of Mr. Natanyahu with him holding a voting ticket , I think. I am sure he is smiling because he knows it is all b.s.
Israel is between the rock and the hard place, and fear is rampant.