[1]Logo


Last month, divisions within the Israeli governing coalition --
exacerbated by an ongoing pressure campaign from Benjamin Netanyahu's
right-wing opposition -- pushed two right-wing MKs to defect,
splintering the unity coalition between the camps of Naftali Bennett
and Yair Lapid, and triggering the government’s collapse. While Lapid
has taken over as caretaker prime minister, the stage is now set for
new Israeli elections on November 1, 2022.

As Israelis prepare for yet another protracted election campaign, J
Street’s Election Updates will help keep you up to date on everything
you need to know about the state of the race.

[ [link removed] ]Click here to opt-in to receive these regular updates
Gantz and Sa'ar, A Center/Right Merger
[2]Gantz and Sa'ar, A Center/Right Merger
While Israel has a highly diverse political landscape, with 13 parties
in the current Knesset, modern Israeli politics has often been
primarily a battle over the perceived median voter -- or what
commentators call the "[ [link removed] ]soft right."

This cycle looks to be no different, with Defense Minister Benny Gantz,
Chairman of the centrist 'Blue and White' Party, and Minister of
Justice and Chairman of the soft right 'New Hope' Party Gideon Sa'ar
recently [ [link removed] ]announcing that their parties would run together in the
upcoming elections. Together, they hope to capture support from both
the political center and what Gantz defined as "the statesmanlike
right" -- a term that refers to right-wingers who don't support
Netanyahu. As a former senior Likud official himself, Sa’ar continues
to hope to peel current and former Likud members away from Netanyahu’s
camp. According to polls, the decision to merge puts them in a strong
position as the third most popular political party after Likud and Yair
Lapid’s Yesh Atid.

The merger was the first unification of parties so far this election
cycle -- but could set the stage for more to come. Religious Zionism
party chair Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit chair MK Itamar Ben-Gvir
-- two Jewish supremacists and some of the most extreme and dangerous
figures in Israeli politics -- [ [link removed] ]are reportedly likely to run on a
joint slate, though the decision is not yet final.
Galon or Golan? Meretz Picks A New Leader
[6]Galon or Golan Meretz Picks A New Leader
Nitzan Horowitz, Minister of Health and current leader of Meretz,
recently [ [link removed] ]announced that he would not seek another term as leader of
the progressive party -- though he still plans to run for the party's
slate for the Knesset. Following his announcement, two potential
candidates emerged to replace him -- [ [link removed] ]Former Meretz Chair Zehava
Galon will face off against Deputy Minister and former IDF Deputy Chief
of Staff Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yair Golan in the August 23 primary
elections.

The leadership race comes at a time when many fear Meretz could fall
short of the electoral threshold needed to enter the next Knesset -- a
development that would be deeply harmful to the left, as well as to the
prospects for keeping Netanyahu out of the prime minister’s office.

Zehava Galon has stated that she intends to bring back the Meretz base
that had previously abandoned the party and prevent the re-emergence of
Netanyahu. MK Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yair Golan's says his vision for Meretz
is a future within a strong Zionist left that fights for Israel's moral
character and future.

Galon has said that if elected leader, [ [link removed] ]she’ll seek an electoral
merger for Meretz with the more ascendant Labor Party, in a bid to
ensure that the party makes it into the Knesset and that none of its
votes are wasted. Labor recently held its own leadership elections --
with the current leader, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli,
emerging as the clear winner and securing a second term. Michaeli
defeated the party's secretary general Eran Hermoni by an overwhelming
majority, winning over eighty percent of the vote. Michaeli said her
goal for the party is "to bring as many seats to Labor as I possibly
can”, and she is expected to compete for some of the center-left voters
that may have flocked in recent years to Lapid’s Yesh Atid.
Pledging Loyalty to Netanyahu
[10]Pledging Loyalty to Netanyahu
Last week, [ [link removed] ]a gold medallion necklace with an etching of right-wing
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu's face next to a Star of David was
offered to attendees of a private political event in Givat Ze'ev -- an
Israeli settlement outside of Jerusalem in the West Bank. A video
circulated on social media showed Likud primary candidate Heidi Mozes
putting the necklace around another MK’s neck, saying: "This is a
declaration of loyalty."

While Netanyahu responded by stating that no medallion of loyalty is
necessary, the necklace is gaining widespread popularity among the
Israeli right. The website where they are being sold reads, "The more
people who wear the necklace, the more the left will understand that we
are still here and do not intend to give up."

Critics of the Israeli right have pointed out how this hero-worship and
idolization of Netanyahu reflects a trend toward more authoritarian
practices. Whatever the significance of the necklaces, there’s no doubt
that a potential return to power by Netanyahu would spell further
danger for Israeli democratic institutions and values.
Further reading
* [ [link removed] ]The Israeli Left's Beloved Leader Is Back. Now She Faces Her
Biggest Challenge Yet, Haaretz
* [ [link removed] ]Lapid: ‘Extremist’ Netanyahu and Ben Gvir ‘Dragging Us in
Dangerous Directions’, The Times of Israel
* [ [link removed] ]Israelis Show Little Voter Fatigue Despite Frequent Elections,
The Jerusalem Post

[ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Twitter
© 2022 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who
want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community,
we advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as
well as Jewish and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]