Just 37% of Israelis oppose new government – but Netanyahu holds wide lead over Bennett as top pick for prime minister.
By David Rosenberg, INN Jun 14 , 2021 9:00 AM
Bennett, Sa’ar, Lapid, and other coalition members
A plurality of Israelis support the new national unity government formed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid Sunday night, a new poll shows, even as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains the top pick for the premiership.
According to the poll, which was conducted by Prof. Camil Fuchs and published by Channel 13 after the establishment of the new government Sunday night, 48% of Israelis back the new government, compared to just 37% who oppose it. Among respondents who expressed an opinion on the matter, 56.5% supported the government, compared to 43.5% who oppose it.
But Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, faces a double-digit gap with his predecessor, Netanyahu, who is the preferred candidate for the premiership for 43% of Israelis, compared to just 29% who said they prefer Bennett as premier.
The poll also found that if new elections were held today, the Likud would lose three seats, dropping from its current 30 mandates to 27 seats. That amounts to a two-seat decline compared to the previous poll by Fuchs, released in late May, when the Likud polled at 29 seats.
Yesh Atid, by contrast, is poised to rise to 23 seats, up from its current 17, while Blue and White is projected to rise from eight seats to ten.
Among the haredi factions, Shas would fall to seven seats from its current nine if new elections were held today, while United Torah Judaism would fall from seven seats to six.
Despite previous polls showing a major drop in support for Yamina, the new poll projects the party would win seven seats, the same number it won in the March 2021 election.
The Religious Zionist Party alliance with Noam and Otzma Yehudit is projected to gain two seats, rising to eight mandates.
The New Hope and Yisrael Beytenu both polled at five seats each, down from six and seven mandates respectively.
Labor would retain its seven seats if new elections were held today, while Meretz would barely cross the electoral threshold with four seats.
The Joint Arab List is projected to retain its six seats, while the United Arab List would rise from four seats to five.
The pro-Netanyahu bloc, which won 52 seats in March, would fall to 48 seats if new elections were held today, while the left-wing – Arab bloc is projected to rise from 48 seats to 55 seats. The three right-of-center parties in the new coalition are projected to receive a total of 17 seats.
The poll surveyed 703 respondents from both the Jewish and Arab sectors, and has a margin of error 3.8%
@Edgar
A fascinating tale, Edgar. It is these subtle moments of chance that define and explain much in history. But I also believe that perhaps there is more than chance involved in chance occurrences as your own here. A very delightful tale, indeed.
Your mention of the paddle inspection does remind me that my niece would always check over the paddles that I had at my home when she would visit. She often complained of them and eventually just brought a “more worthy set” as I recall her saying. My niece was very talented in the sport. She seemed to have some potential to go places. But she broke her wrist and fractured her elbow while on a date, a car wreck. She recovered from these injuries well enough, but developed a bit of joint pain that came when she really got into the game, and, so, failed to move forward with her dreams of championship competitions.
It was a sad story, but as she has repeatedly reminded me, the sacrifice was worth it as she found the love of her life in the physician who tended her injuries. She has grown into a really sweet woman, and, though she does make light of her loss, I know the missed opportunity bothered her for many years.
@PELONI..
If you want to see grace and ease in action, like Lenglen on a Tennis Court, Watch an old Youtube video of Victor Barna. We all used to practice his “backhand flick” but could never achieve it. Only Count Lanskoy a deaf and dumb French player was somewhat like, but not nearly as good, just the backhand flick style.
I played like that, (vaguely) but more defensively with a very heavy “chop”, which really bothered attacking plyers because I varied it’s strength, by simulating “strong” when it was “weak”, emitting a “grunt” of effort, resulting in them hitting the ball off the table by overcompensating for my simulated backspin.. I beat some champonship players and played in all the national tournaments, but never quite achieved my goal of being an international player. Just below that level Although when I went to live in Israel, I was for a few years the Northern Champ, but well past my best, being close to 50 or so. The opposition wasn’t very good there…then.
As I said the Japanese rubber, and the Japanese and Chinese players were of wonderful excellence, with VERY heavy topand side spin, aided of course by a wide variety of funny rubber bat coverings, of which there are likely hundreds of variations, today, and since it’s a professional sport now, each player has the right to inspect his opponent’s bat to assess the rubber, and should know the quirks of them all.
I have played 2-3 times against both Barna and Richard Bergman who played doubles together and had good games but alway ultimately lost.
Aloys Erlich who got to 2 World finals in 1938 and 1939, came to my country to coach the international team. He picked me out of a crowd and asked me to become his assistant, which I was overwhelmed by. We used to play after the coaching sometimes for hours. He could give me 12 points start, and mostly, but not always beat me. He told me he gave the top players 10 points start and always won. He was known in world circles as “The KIng of Chiselers” because he could be PURELY defensive, and on one occasion played a SINGLE point for 5 1/2 hours. After this the World Association made a time limit for a game of 21 points, a maximum of 20 minutes. Today the rules are so changed that nobody of my era would recognise the game, except by the same table and the same shape of the bats.
Erlich was a Polish Jew but didn’t advertise it, and was in a concentration Camp, When I saw him, a very tall man he was as thin and bony as a garden rake. But nice.
During his, Barna’s and Bergman’s time all the top world players and champions were Jews. Barna, Bellak, and Szabados, were a famous Hungarian trio., Hungarian and WorldTeam Champions multiple times. Barna was 6 times worlds singles champ, and so beautiful to watch, so perfect in stroke execution.
At parties after the tournaments he was a heavy drinker and woman chaser. I never knew if he was a success at THAT. By then he was not as good but still brilliant, after the War, during which he was injured and had to have a plate riveted into his playing wrist.
As I’ve said…THOSE were the days.
Edgar, your adventures never fail to impress. I have to confess a complete lack of coordination to play in this sport to any effect beyond comedy. I have played with my niece in years past, but the occasional victories I scored with her were always assumed by me to be the result of her great charity. I do still find it an entertaining sport. But to face the Chinese fresh out of thirty years of isolation, that would be a fascinating challenge. It must have been an exciting moment for you.
Reader, your research skills are always an interest to follow. It is true that this was a role that I believe Lapid plays in the mind of the US and perhaps Gantz as well, I am suspicious, though I warned that my concerns are possibly unwarranted regarding Gantz. In any case, the blog you cited has no statement connecting Bennett to Shapiro or any other association other than the accusation I quoted above. If it were true, it would be a calamity.
I don’t believe this to be the case regarding Bennett. I am open to the possibility as the Americans would be desirous of having Bennett on their leash, as it were, but nothing here even attempts to support the accusation lodged against him. I think Bennett’s grand plan is to eventually win the backing of the Right and his support of the Left would just be a means, in stages of course, to remove Netanyahu – just my own thoughts here, but it does seem an obvious goal should he be a good enough 4 dimensional chess player to achieve it.
But if you find anything supporting this claim further regarding Bennett being a tool of the Americans i would be interested in seeing it, but I suspect you will find little support of this beyond wild speculations.
@Edgar
I don’t know where you saw this in my many writings on this page, Edgar, I did review them, but I don’t see this sentiment among my statements. In truth, it has been a great campaign to bring about a great injustice to a man who has brought Israel to a place among the nations that it could never have dreamt of attaining in 2008 prior to his return to power, much less prior to 1996.
I believe it was a move to sideline him as Trump was in power and matters of great significance could be settled, and this could not be allowed further than had been done with the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. Recall that it all began with Lieberman’s odd refusal to sign with him and the Heredi when this was never a point of contention in the election.
And then like so many trendy fads that are unthinkable upon reflection, like the hoolahoop and the Spice Girls, it became popular within the right to make this the standard for those who rejected him. I do not believe it was his doing, as it was not. I do believe he could have maintained the Right in power by his resignation.
As terrible as that scenario would necessarily be for him, it would have been a better path for the nation than where things are now with Meretz on the Security Committee and Abbas holding the kite strings of the gov’t – the horror of this scenario is beyond any language skills I have to properly communicate.
But the work of a backward logic lays this guilt at Netanyahu first and foremost. As everyone looks to Bibi to do the correct thing of resigning after many years of capable service due to the outcry of his many detractors, it can not be overlooked that Saar, Lieberman, or Gantz could have done the really correct thing in forming a Right wing gov’t devoid of the company they now sit, regardless of their obvious, I hope, discomfort in the situation they created.
It is true that Bennett is trying to drop the more unacceptable members from his group, but I am uncertain the Heredi will come to terms with Lieberman – it remains for Lieberman to win their support, I think. And even if he does, this leaves the Left in power of some authority disproportionate to their electoral support for two years, more than likely.
But we could be back in an election soon, who knows. But I do think it would have been a better move for Netanyahu’s resignation for the nation to not be subjected to this gov’t of odd fish, but not due to any merit among the meritless charges that the Left imagined into being and the Right manipulated to first marginalize and then remove Bibi based on a Leftist vision.
But it appears Bibi is not done fighting. I do find the success of this possibility as more remote than likely, but Netanyahu is a dominating political force that should never be discounted completely. It remains to be seen if he can form a third comeback, another record for him should he find the means to do this, but I would put odds against this, Much will be determined by the Heredi and Lieberman.
But, as Bear is quite correct in mentioning often, we will have to wait and see how this all turns out.
Just found something extremely interesting on one of the TOI blogs (I am not responsible for the content, so don’t blame me) [emphasis mine]:
@ Peloni
Well Sun Tzu is regarded as a mythical person, but the dictums attributed to him, are, in the main still very much practiced by the more canny warriors today in the guise of polticians,
By coincidence, and in the context of your mention of NIxon going to China. ….When a reciprocal visit in the form of the Chinese Table Tennis Champions and Trainers came to Canada. The very first appearance they made in a T.T.Club was in the one where I was the President that year, and the #1 player. So I played the first T.T.game with a Chinese champion, whose name I had no idea of. They were wonderful players and very lenient with us, astounding in fact, as the recently invented “funny” rubber on the bats completely changed the game 1000%, to their advantage, because these players had all mastered it’s attributes, and we old stagers hadn’t.. First the Japanese and then the Chinese took over.
Those WERE the days my friend…
@Peloni. Please note that this is a response to your post at the page top, where you accept that Netanyahu is more important in his own eyes than the country. This surprises me-coming from you, aways so painstakingly level headed.
PLEASE, take into account what I have been posting for the past couple of years, and which seems to alway be ignored. It seems too simple, and folks prefer to go into complicated, long, meandering analyses of politic personalities, laced with personal hatred for the “victim”, based on reports in the Israel Times rag.
I mean MANDELBLIT…repeat MANDELBLIT. ALL the PMs problems stemmed precisely from that one person, and his blatantly specious, (and unknown anywhere else) charges of criminality against the PM, at that time exactly…EXACTLY, poised to gain a resounding major election victory……..!!!.
And…to date, no.PUBLIC evidence given, no cases heard, and no convictions announced, quite the contrary, the world wide , highly expert Legal Fraternity has denounced each and every accusation as fake, concocted, and never having appeared in any law court in the civilised world.
…….
This is what I was responding to and you wrote it just earlier today.
Unfortuneately this is a true statement since the past 4 elections were unconclusive due to the Bibi issue only the Bibi issue.
But it is true, nothing can be done about it. We are where we are, but the current issue at hand which is beyond this Bibi conversation, is quite concerning.
@peloni
The obsession with BIBI is YOURS, NOT MINE.
You haven’t responded to anything I wrote, you just keep pounding on the same topic of defending BIBI from my “insults” which don’t exist and are totally imagined by you.
I think if someone kept BIBI’s actual record as a politician in neon letters right in front of your face for 24 hours, it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever.
The rest of it I am not even talking about.
Anyway, obviously for many people BIBI is more important than their own country.
There is nothing I can do about it.
@Edgar
Your comparison between Trump, Bibi and Nixon is an interesting one. Like only Nixon could go to China, I believe that was the thinking that took root with the conversations between Netanyahu with Abbas, of course Bennett showed us all that it was not just Bibi who could approach Abbas. As with Nixon, that was a genie that would have better left in the bottle.
But it is true that they all have a great sense of strategy and timing that leaves lesser players just standing on the tarmac as the planes fly over them. They all mastered the Art of War, I think. Still, strategy has its limit of support in the face of such opposition of groups who would: support a gov’t coup as seen with Nixon and attempted with Trump, support a massive election theft as was seen with Trump; or support the opposition as a means of parlaimentary victory as was seen with Netanyahu. So much to think on with such a comparison.
@Reader
Actually, Reader, my response to you was a response to your statement on Bibi. My focus is elsewhere beyond responding to things I see as unjust as I judged your comment and hence offered my response.
And since you carry on your obsession of him I will again respond. Netanyahu was unable to find a solution to the great intolerance of him to form a Right-wing gov’t.
Such intolerance may likely remain should he gain another election, I am uncertain how this became the issue the helm of state should have turned upon, but it clearly was.
He has now stepped down, without proper etiquette or decorum, but it was a great injustice that was staged by the Left and wielded by the Right to bring him low at a propitious moment and that context should not be disregarded.
So King Bibi is gone. And though he means to return, it will be a harder road than his speech might suggest to you. His best chance of a return lies in the many contradictions that Bennett has sewn into his patchwork quilt of a gov’t where each patch opposes the others.
As odd a puzzle as he has to solve, Bennett does have some advantages, if he can strike a balance between Lieberman and the Heredi.
As difficult as this might be, it is the only way to save his gov’t without Bibi supporting him(yes that was sarcasm, but it is also true). Til this is accomplished, Bennett will be tied at the hip to the Brotherhood and Meretz.
It is unacceptable that anything so unwise as having the likes of Meretz and the Brotherhood in power.
Regardless of what you assail Netanyahu with in your reflection of events as if they occurred in a vacuum or that he designed them just to give the Arabs a state, as Edgar suggests, you ignore or warp the great things he has done for the state and they have been significant.
Your mighty obsession of him is overbearing with your intolerance of him. Such unbalanced disregard of reality undermines the very outlook you hold ademant. Nevertheless, he is no longer in power.
Bennett is and Bennett has a friendly Muslim Brotherhood member supporting the gov’t of the Jewish state. I will remind you that the Brotherhood means to kill the Jews and destroy the state. If Netanyahu were displaced by Bennett, it would be a point of remorse/celebration by his supporters/detractors.
But it is no Right-wing gov’t that holds Bennett in power. This is where your concerns of a Pal state should lie unless you find them less likely to support the land for peace agenda that at least 2/3 of them openly hold to support.
It will be hard to purge your mind of the larger half that you have reserved for your Netanyahu musings, but there are more pertinent issues such as those who are in the gov’t rather than those in opposition. Priorities, just a thought.
@peloni
The greatest threat that Israel is now facing and that everyone should be aware of and focused on is the looming establishment/ the next stage of the establishment of the “Palestinian” state and division of Jerusalem.
This threat was engendered by Israel’s policies enacted since 1993 – Oslo I, Oslo II, the Wye Memorandum, the Hebron giveaway, the disengagement from Gaza, the written assent to the creation of the “Palestinian” Arab state, the freezing of the settlement construction, the de facto division of Jerusalem into the Jewish and the Arab parts, enabling the PA as a “representative of the Palestinian people” including in the UN vs. Hamas as an alleged enemy of the PA, enabling the Arab construction in Area C while demolishing the new Jewish settlements on the state lands in Judea and Samaria at every opportunity, ignoring the growing piles of weapons collected and stored both by Hamas and by the Israeli Arabs.
It was NETANYAHU who did ALL of the above EXCEPT Oslo I, Oslo II, and the disengagement (even though he voted for it, Sharon was the prime mover there).
BOTH NETANYAHU AND GANTZ ARE ALL FOR THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION.
I am not making this up, you can check it on your own.
NEVERTHELESS, instead of focusing on the greatest threat Israel has faced since 1948, everyone is watching the “”poor, innocent BIBI” suffering from the loss of his Prime Minister position with their hearts bleeding for him!
@ PELONI
@READER
Peloni. I particulatly like the phrase “63% for a government that has as yet accomplshed nothing” (paraphrased).And the comments on the fakery of polls and pollsters…using lemming-like crowds.(although I’ve read that lemmings actually do not actually act as “lemmings” are popularly supposed to)
READER.. You have absolutely NO Idea as to what actually Netanyahu is doing, has done, will do, you just see effcts that either -if good- you ignore, or excoriate, without any knowledge of their beginnings. I stone dropped at the headwaters of a river can sometimes result in a flood at the mouth, thousands of miles away and far disconnected from that stone. That’s how Netanyahu’s mind seems to be constructed. (in my opinion only). Even World Leaders don’t really know what he’s thinking, until an unexected result appears, which is nearly always good for Israel…
I mention again a practice that Nixon uttered, and I think Trump and Netanyahu followed. Paraphrased …”I sometimes act hastily (well thought out beforehand) and erratically, which causes other Leaders to be uncertain what I might do next. This give us the advantage”…words to that effect.
Perpetually negative outlook can cause sour stomach, ulcers, and other gastric ailments. impervious to Tums… Be warned.
@peloni
I would much rather have several Likudniks defect to the coalition than the Haredim.
Haredim are contrary and hateful and would sell themselves to the highest bidder.
They will also work to restrict aliyah and anything that would inconvenience them.
If they feel it is advantageous for them to vote with Ra’am, they’ll vote with Ra’am.
Give them their money and let them sit in the opposition.
@Reader
I am not in love with Bibi. I see him warts and all. I do see him as a politician who handled a very large fight with an enemy that is back for more and we could really use someone of his skill to prevent the US from being able to achieve that goal.
I believe this was THE ISSUE in the past election, but the electorate chose to stick to the beauty contest standards and split the Right into a significant pro-Bibi camp and a smaller, but large enough, anti-Bibi camp.
The lack of accommodation between these factions left the Left open to make a strategic move, with the help of the Brotherhood and Meretz, to remove Bibi. So he is gone now, where does that leave us.
Bennett opposes Obama, but he is surrounded by more proponents than not of a return to the policy that you claim to oppose, namely the land for peace agenda.
The Right controls the Security Cabinet, and yet Horowitz sits within the circle of this sensitive group and this fact should give no limit of concern to any who oppose the land for peace agenda.
The time bomb of celebration of national identity is no bomb should the Arabs be restrained by their leadership. And if it is beyond their ability, why pay them for more threats.
With Bennett in power, real changes could be gained, but not without significant changes to the partners he has chosen.
Of course, the only group that would successfully allow the removal of these intolerable members, the Heredi, you oppose. I guess you feel state funds are better placed before the Brotherhood. That is interesting. If this is true, you really aren’t like me, at all.
@Reader
The Heredi are the only hope that Bennet has of removing the Brotherhood from his gov’t. You would keep such non-state supporters as Horowitz and Abbas over a concern of finance? What of the slice of the pie that is placed before the butchering Brotherhood to further secure and radicalize the Arab youth? Is this really your solution to avoid the land for peace agenda? Really?
@Bear Klein
So, the election is over, and the gov’t is formed, but possibly not entirely set. Consequently, yes, I see that all may not remain as bleak as it is at present, and contemplation of this possibility is a happy hope because things will not remain as they are at present.
Either Abbas/Meretz will move to the Right, which of course they won’t, or Bennet/Saar will compromise to maintain the gov’t, which I am trusting they will not, or a third way will result.
One scenario of a third way is as Yamina has planned, or a return to elections. Yamina’s plan for the 5 Likud defectors could not change things meaningfully. It would be great that the Right received such reinforcement to support their ideals, but it would be too little to even remove Abbas’ support.
He controls the Arabs, not just his Raam group. To push his influence from the gov’t would need double the number you suggest, so maybe they will get such a sizeable defection, I doubt it, but Likud can not be happy with what has happened.
As to the challenge to Bibi, I have been watching with interest as Edlestein, Barkat, and others have stated clearly their intent for a leadership challenge, but I suspect the party is still Bibi’s party.
As I say none can be happy with the current situation, so perhaps, your more optimistic view is closer to the pulse of the truth than my concerns perceive to be the case.
We will see shortly if Bibi gets his quick vote or not and a lot will depend upon this, including the number of possible candidates who might defect to Bennett’s call for support should he gain support of changing the law.
I believe the Heredi are in a difficult position. They have much at stake, but the gov’t contains all of their enemies in significant positions of authority.
Their inclusion would be the only real solution to Bennett’s problem of the Arabs and Meretz. But their inclusion will need to be met by a standard that Lieberman and Deri and Gafni can all accept. Now that will be an interesting Chinese puzzle to solve.
So much can change, but until it does, Israel still has no real functioning gov’t. As depicted in the quote that you shared from Herb Keinon(I think it was he), Bennett has assembled so many players who oppose each other on every topic of importance to the governing of the state.
It is a difficult position to start from because even though a gov’t is agreed upon paper, I do not see how these players could competently make it two months, long enough to a 5th election, without great compromises.
So, let us hope this start leads to a better outcome and soon for the sake of all.
?!?!?!
An amazing description of his own tactics.
The Hareidi parties should be kept out of the coalition because they will mess everything up.
The only reason for their existence is to get “their” share of the pie from the non-Halachic Zionist government.
Maybe they should be paid to stay out.
@peloni
I am not like you.
I don’t view politics as gladiatorial games where the contestants compete in who is going to hurt the enemy the most, and the one who destroys the other wins, so I have nothing to celebrate.
However, this is how BIBI, the baby, and his “allies” view politics.
In case you didn’t notice, BIBI has already been removed but he refuses to admit defeat and keeps fighting (the country be damned!)
He put a ticking time bomb under the new government which is set to explode on Tuesday (the march through the Old City), he made a joke out of the transition meeting with Bennett:
Maybe he has dementia?
His behavior is completely irrational.
I can’t understand people who are in love with BIBI given his record in selling out the country.
Yamina and the coalition have a plan to pass legislation that will allow a party like Likud to splinter more easily. If this does occur and say or 4 or 5 of the Likud MKs go over to the Coalition or say Shas moves to the Unity Coalition it would become far more stable. That is the current plan of Yamina. This has been discussed on Israeli TV.
Also now the Likud has members such as Nir Barkat and Yuri Edelstein who have made it clear they will challenge Bibi for the Likud Chairmanship. Bibi is trying to get a quick primary to solidify his hold on the Likud Chairmanship. This is being fought because the prevailing thinking is that a few months in the opposition plus time for the challengers to mount a campaign will have far better chance of success. Time appears ripe for this!
Also some of the UTJ leaders are now saying publicly they regret not having asked Bibi to step aside weeks ago. While at the same hinting that maybe they would be open to be in the Unity government.
There are new dynamics at play and even though this unity coalition is currently created might not last long, it is also possible like past Israeli coalitions it starts with one number but grows enough to make to stable.
@Reader
Interestingly, Likud didn’t and few of their public disagreed with them having lost less than 1/6 of their votes to Saar. Likud chose him as leader and he gained 1/4 of all votes in this most recent election.
There are not 2 parties in the Knessett that garnered the votes supporting his Likud and his agenda agenda carries more support than half the Knessett. His failing was not forming a gov’t with such resounding support from a fickle and distracted public.
But, regardless of why, it has to be accepted as a criminal act for a politician to win such an election victory and not form a gov’t. Indeed his former allies took greater comfort in the company of the local chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood which I have spoken on at some length over the past many months.
And though I wish Bennett the success he hopes for in taking this gov’t ten steps to the Right of Bibi, there is likely little support from any of his less than Right-wing partners for the understood goals that would define his Right-wing ideology.
Indeed, the only thing that keeps him from failing a confidence vote in this very hour is the support of the Brotherhood and their brothers in spirit and struggle, Meretz, hold this same influence.
Should Bennett’s parners fail to hold fast behind his Redlines, neither the Right, nor the Heredi will protect him from another election.
So, while your only objective may be the removal of Bibi, and if this is so please continue your celebrations, the nation is likely not far from where it has been for over two years, without a gov’t able to rule.
Both Netanyahu and the opposition are delusional.
I think he destroyed Likud.
He is acting abominably.
It is easy to suggest that this poll is whimsical in nature. But polling is an art that gave the media the ability to fill holes in the high and lows of the news cycle.
By doing so, the media was able to always have something to edify their listeners with. The accuracy of polls was not important as the reality of such things could only be challenged by an actual testing of the public opinion in an election.
And even then, only a segment of society would bother to exercise the effort to partake in an election, granting the explanation why such polling was always in error. It was later that these new groups realized that they could use group think to model public opinion.
Group think is the odd tendency for the masses to look for a trend when left with any given choice, and this trend could garner support for a decision. Such use of political polls has been long a standard of pollsters looking for support of their desired expectations.
But, in fairness to the pollster who conducted this poll, an election was not long ago conducted which brought us to the formation of this gov’t. But the margin of its formation was a whisker’s width.
No mask of reality could so easily beguile an honest perception to accept that the 50% of delegates that formed this gov’t is supported by now 63% of the voters for the great task of having accomplished nothing, yet, but the formation of a gov’t of such unlikely partners, that its stability is fairly stated as questionable.
The obvious nonsense in this poll is no reflection upon Bennett or his ministers as they have yet to have had an opportunity respond to the soon to be had challenges of state before them.
Such an opportunity is, in all likelihood not far off, and it will be their responses in such matters that will better describe their efforts as being worthy of such a poll as 63% support.
So yes, we have another poll, another fake news story half-baked with no support in reality or reason, while suggesting support for a desired goal of the polling group or whoever pays their beer tab.
These propagandists are a reproachable group of charlatans for hire and you don’t need a poll to tell you the reality of it.
The major ideological differences between the camps is so stark that I wish there were pollsters who asked these voters what issues motivate them or if they are not motivated by issues. Why does Yesh Atid, a party that still advocates making concessions to the Palestinians have so many supporters? Are there really so many irrational Jews who believe in turning the other cheek if it kills them or are there bread and butter or other issues the media isn’t discussing? Or are these just voters who are swayed by crowd and like going with the winner?