Buckle up for the ugliest election Israel has ever known - analysis
Two big differences from the previous elections will set the tone for the rhetoric we are going to hear over the next few months.
Here is one thing that should be immediately clear: The next three months are going to be some of the ugliest in Israel’s history.
It is true that the last two years were no picnic. Israel went through three election campaigns and two years of mudslinging and fighting between political parties that constantly failed to find a way to work together for the benefit of the true sovereign power in this country – the Israeli people.
It is also true that Israel is divided like never before in recent history. The old Sephardi-Ashkenazi ethnicity card is thrown around once again, the Right continues to look down on the Left, and the Left continues to mock the Right. There is the pro-Bibi camp and the anti-Bibi camp just like there was in the last three elections.
This time, though, there are two big differences that will set the tone for the rhetoric we are going to hear over the next few months.
The first difference is that Benjamin Netanyahu is facing for the first time two strong adversaries to his right. While Benny Gantz put up a formidable fight over the last three elections, it was mostly from the Center-Left. He had very few right-wing voters, and it was fairly easy for Netanyahu to depict him as weak and as a “leftist,” messages that played well with his own Likud voter base.
This time, though, not only has Naftali Bennett built up a strong following – mostly due to his championing of small businesses during the coronavirus crisis – but there is now a party led by former longtime Likudnik Gideon Sa’ar that is looking more and more like a newer and cleaner version of Likud.
According to polls, the two parties could bring in as many as 33 seats in a future Knesset, more than the Likud’s 28. Matched with partners from the Center, that could be enough to deny Netanyahu a return to the Prime Minister’s Office. ...
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politi...analysis-652926
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