Time for a reality check: Isaac Herzog will not be Israel’s next prime minister.
Various media in Israel and abroad continue to speculate that Isaac Herzog could cobble together a coalition against all odds, and replace the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. They delude themselves that it’s 1999 all over again, the last time Netanyahu fell, that Herzog’s chances “appear” to be higher than earlier in the election campaign, or that a unity government with a rotating prime minister is a viable scenario.
Folks, it’s time for an intervention.
There is no scenario in which Isaac Herzog will be Israel’s next prime minister, no matter what he declares or what the press reports. Period.
All this talk reminds me of an interview I had as a PhD student in 2011 with a Sri Lankan civil rights activist about their civil war. I asked him about an article he had written in 2005 before the cease-fire there collapsed, in which he stated there was no going back to violence. On what basis had he made that prediction? I asked. He replied, “Wishful thinking.”
I know it’s harsh news, but the reality is that Herzog and company, while they are obliged to loudly declare their intention to win, have to prepare for becoming a fighting opposition the day after the election. And they should forget about the idea of being part of a unity government, which Netanyahu rejected in January, if he ever entertained it. Netanyahu went to the polls because the previous coalition was ungovernable; a unity government would be even less so.
Let’s do a reality check.
1) The Israeli public is indifferent to media “scandals” about Netanyahu. Ever since he brushed off an extramarital affair while running for the Likud leadership in 1993, Netanyahu has been able to frame any publicized misstep as attempted character assassination, and enough of the public has bought it to keep him in power. The fact that Likud has steadily held around 23 seats in the polls since the whole brouhaha over his speech to Congress and Sara’s bottle-gate began in January, compounded by reports about his personal expenses and the state comptroller’s report on housing demonstrate his Teflon quality.
2) Security and credibility. The left was permanently discredited by the failure of Oslo, and Herzog has nothing to offer to inspire public confidence that he would bring genuine change for which it would be worth giving up the status quo. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has successfully sowed the seeds of fear, helped by the occasional terror attack or war. In the mind of the public, security is #1. Consequently, he continues to garner the highest support as “most suitable for prime minister,” despite his low approval ratings.
3) The numbers game: Since being discredited by Oslo, the true left (Labor, Meretz and the Arab parties), which never held fewer than 48 seats through the 1999 election, has never had more than 34 seats since the 2003 election. While they should break through that barrier this election, the left is still looking at no more than 41-42 seats; hardly enough to make a serious bid to reach the minimum of 61. Yet, the Joint List refuses to join any government, so even if Zionist Union wins the most seats out of any party, it will still fail to build a left-wing coalition.
4) The center-left bloc myth: This myth, more than any other, keeps alive false hopes about post-election scenarios. It grew out of Ariel Sharon’s Kadima revolution, which gutted the Likud temporarily and sent it to a historic low in the 2006 election. However, once the public understood that Kadima was more than just Likud-light, Kadima collapsed and with it went the center-left bloc. Leaving out the Arabs, no conceivable center-left bloc tops even 50 seats, let alone 60. Why not? Besides the centrist Yesh Atid, the moment Zionist Union tries to corral right-of-center parties, it loses Meretz, because the right-wing parties won’t sit with this truly leftist party.
5) The political and socioeconomic status quos are still holding. The Israeli public has not voted for dramatic change except in the wake of significant blows to the status quo. The aftermath of the Yom Kippur War and the coming of age of Sephardi Jews swept Likud into power; the first intifada and the Russian wave of immigrants swung the pendulum back to Labor; and the onset of the second intifada gave Likud a comeback. Yes, Israel has fought wars in recent years, but the security situation is much more tolerable than it was during the years of the second intifada. And the economy is stumbling but unemployment is low; the stock market is high; and homeowners do not see rising housing prices as a crisis the way the media does. In short, the time is not ripe for change.
To quote Netanyahu’s favorite game: check mate.
mar55 Said:
Ca plus change……
they are just waiting for a better time to do it. Israelis look at Jordan and (LOL) see an ally but jordan has no problem clearly stating differently. Hopey dreamy, changy Jews still at work. 🙁
yamit82 Said:
STOP stealing my lines !!!!!!!!!! I know a whole coven of lawyers !!!!!!!!!
ArnoldHarris Said:
So you are saying that he and you prefer the death of a thousand cuts?
Nobody asked me if afgree to endure such continuous pain especially if it can be avoided by making the correct decisions and not always as BB has done and is doing, the wrong decisions… From top to bottom!
@ mar55:
Calmase Carita, I watch a hawk tri to catch a rabbit, but the rabbit , like your post, got away.
@ mar55:
TED, WHAT IS GOING ON? I HAVE TRIED TO POST A COMMENT ANSWERING HB AND, IT KEEPS REJECTING IT. I WENT TO CHIT CHAT AND IT DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO POST IT THERE EITHER.
WHERE SHOULD I POST IT?
@ honeybee:
I have tried to paste the previous answer and it keeps telling me that it is a duplicate post but, it does not shows it. I should look for other place where to post.
@ honeybee:
I answered you and. it did not post. Perhaps it is in Chit Chat. Let me see if it is there.
@ mar55:
How are you, been waiting to say Good Purim. I read the Jewish Forward on e-mail and I must agree about NYC Jews. They live in a ghetto always awaiting the next program. I live where people “don’t like Liberal Jews” ,but they love Israelis. Go figure. Finished my “Cottonwood Tree in Autumn” painting I like it, TX doesn’t not. Bake 6 1/2 dz Hamentashen and sent them on their way. I shall give a dz to my friend Roger. His Mother was Mengele’s cook. She to be 103, married the soldier who freed her and had 4 children. Good to be back.
@ ArnoldHarris:
@ ArnoldHarris:
@ bernard ross:
@ mar55:
@ mar55:
BR; BR, M55:
One of the reasons I regard Netanyahu as a better leader than Bennett is because I think Netanyahu is a better and smarter long-term player of the chess game of protracted conflicts. What Netanyahu accomplished in Washington was to give the Republican leaders of the two houses of the US Congress some strong reason to hijack Obama’s foreign policy maneuvers, and to set the state to do the same to Clinton’s wife — if the US news media doesn’t destroy her presidential campaign some time before the next presidential election. I don’t think the Republicans seriously imagine they can capture much more of the Jewish vote than they already have. But the Jewish vote is significant only in a few large urban areas here. What I think they really want is to tap into the bank accounts of some of the Jewish conservative super rich businessmen. And that they will achieve.
I think Netanyahu’s long game, knowing very well as he does the mentality of the Fatah and Hamas leaderships, is to make certain that nothing that he puts onto any bargaining table in talking with them, or at least to Fatah, will ever be enough to induce them to recognize the right of the Jewish nation to re-establish ourselves right in the heart of what they consider to be their “Falastin”. Which means there won’t be any peace, not now, possibly not ever.
Which suits me fine. Because I think the long-term future of the Jewish nation requires a Jewish state far larger then what is already in place. And that requires permanent on and off warfare. Most Jews you probably meet say “Shalom!” and the fools really mean it. I say nothing to them, and just smile pleasantly, but my mind incessantly says to me “Milchema!”, and the truth is, I don’t even remotely feel guilty about it.
I think the day will come where the Jewish population in the Middle East will have grown to 25 million, then 50 million, then maybe double that. All that is required is a high birth rate, and a continually-increasing land area on which they regrow the Jewish nation into an entity that was never possible for some 3000 years. Do the math. At a 1.8 per cent growth rate per annum, a population doubles in 40 years.
Like smart people everywhere, the Jews of the future will shuck off all the tikun ha’olam and purity of arms jive that has been systematically pounded into their heads, and learn to take land just because it is there, its rulers are fools who spend much time fighting other Arabs than our Jews, and its possession will strengthen the Jewish nation and the Jewish state. And yes, I truly do not mind the idea of Jews turning the tables and preying on the weak. Because that precisely is what their ancestors did to ours when we were the weakest of the weak, and which they are still doing all across the world as opportunities present themselves. Feeling sorry for any damned one of them is something I never learned, and I’m glad I didn’t, because I don’t like hypocrisy.
What do the young Jews of military age think of perpetual war? If I really cared enough to discuss it with any of them, I would tell them the truth, that without it, they will probably lose their homeland.
One final note about international ethics, if you might want to call it that: I’m mostly a secular Jewish nationalist, and I view the function and utility of the Jewish religion in terms of its merits of strengthening and helping maintain the eternal Jewish nation. So what do any of you imagine HaShem would say to me about all the above? I think he would say,
“Harris, you are the only Jew I’ve ever talked with who got it right about conflicts with the goyim. The rest of your folks repeatedly make the same dumb mistakes in dealing with them, and as a result, they kick you around. Remember when I ordered your forefathers to pursue justice, justice. When will they learn that means getting even for what they did to your forefathers for those three long millennia?
So what’s all this have to do with Netanyahu, Bennett, and the rest of the Knesset crowd? Maybe more than you think.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
@ bernard ross:
Last night I got a call from out of state. This person in the past has always had very reliable information. I heard from him the very same thing you are saying that the Iran deal was a done deal. BB has excellent skills delivering a speech. Do I trust him? NO. I look not at what people say
but what they do is the measure I use to judge a politician.
NY Jews do not have any memory at all. I hear again and again about occupied territory when referring to the West
Bank. I have to correct them and tell them that we are not the occupiers. Most people have forgotten that before the State of Israel became a reality, Jordan was getting rid of the Jews in that area. Expelling them or killing them.
We are not occupiers. It is the opposite. BB should have mention an important fact of history to Congress. Loud and clear.
About Temple Mount which until recently has been used as a soccer field for anyone (none Jews) who wanted to practice.
We have a new strategy from the enemy. Paying women with their children to visit the Mount for provocation
purposes in order to claim the structure with our Temple below their filthy mosque.
Y agree with you. Those are things that should have come to the fore. The futility of a speech about something that was a deal to impress the American electorate when, more important issues pertaining Israel were ignored.
I cannot trust BB but between him and the Rag Face lefty Livni. I prefer BB. Likud definitely.
Bernard, as usual a very good assessment of the situation.
@ ArnoldHarris:
Further to last post:
Although i supported BB 100% in his speech and the need to stand up to obama I do have some conflicting thoughts. it appears that the Iran deal is a done deal moving swiftly ahead. In that case I suspect that BB knew that it was too late and although he performed well it appears to have been a futile effort that he may have known in advance was futile. If that is true then it would not have advanced israels interests at this late date. the republicans and especial Boehner gained. I posted an article here whereby on the same day BB spoke boehner made deals behind closed doors with Pelosi which went unpublicized and was conveniently overshadowed by BB speech.
I would have preferred that BB would have been standing up stronger on Jewish rights to YS by implementing Levy. harassment of Jews on Mount or anywhere by closing the mount to muslims unless they behave better, and building in YS at a rate much higher than the leftist PMs before him. Considering that the Iran issue has been BB’s focus and excuse for some years it is not encouraging to see it ending in this manner, and does not speak well for BB.
ArnoldHarris Said:
AH
I read your post a few times but did not actually see any rebuttals of any assertions I made. Therefore I assume you are simply electioneering for likud in the hope that that they would act as a stall to the left. I have come to see BB as being a stall to the right. He was elected I beleive to implement policies advancing interests on the right but I see no place where he did that. In fact he appears to act as a stall to his own party’s more right wing agenda. I cannot be sure because I cannot figure Likuds platform and agenda out either by word or by action.
If I voted I would likely vote Bennett in order to make any right wing coalition more right of BB. Perhaps you can enlighten me on exactly what BB did to advance the right? I see no difference between BB and labor on the peace deal as he seems to accept swaps for major settlement blocks and both call for security of Jordan valley. He allows the arabs to spit on Jews on the mount for years now do nothing to stop it. the only difference is he keeps saying a unified jerusalem but technically the left says the same: a unified jerusalem with 2 sovereignty’s. The problem with BB is you cannot rely on him because he announced E1 and commissioned Levy and then transparently did nothing. Why appoint livni to both negotiations AND Justice?
Sometimes I wonder if BB was sent to water down the power of the right. After all, his effect on the right and likud was to impede their platforms and stall their agenda. Did anyone vote for him to slow down the right? He should learn from Obama who got in and has been attempting to implement, and sometimes successfully, the left wing agenda in spite of opposition. I think that is more of what was expected of him by those who voted for him.
ArnoldHarris Said:
a childish, foolish and valueless comment.
ArnoldHarris Said:
I support the right wing platform and do not believe that BB’s only option was to stall against pressure, hinder right wing agenda and allow the debasement of jews by muslims in Israel. If he is to lead again then he needs to be leashed to the right.
Do you vote in Israel? Why do you believe that only a vote for BB can bring in a right wing coalition. BB did not have the majority against Livni but had the support of the other parties and the right wing got in but BB did not implement the right wing agenda or even attempt it. If he squeaks in with a stronger right that is better. A vote for Bennet does not prevent BB or a right wing coalition as far as yamit explained the process. I could not vote for someone who allows muslims to spit on Jews on the Mount or anywhere in Israel, he has had years to clear that up.
Frankly, as far as the left getting in it appears to me that Israel and Jews lean leftwards and it is their sons and daughters who fight in the wars, so they are the first to pay for their choices. I have always been mystified by choices Jews make to their own detriment and that of their fellow Jews. It is a miracle that Israel has survived when looking at the disunity and lack of loyalty of Jews in Israel: the left we know already, the charedi just marched thousands for their child allowances but dont care about the Mount or YS, the secular right and religious right cant get together. who could have imagined that Jews in Israel would not be supportive of land for Jews in Israel or that those seeking to give land in Israel to muslims would call themselves zionists with a straight face. When i first came to this site I was naive on Israel thinking like a fool that Israel was something that united all jews especially Israelis. I never knew that many of the orthodox were agianst the state of israel and did not care about actual zionism. I always thought they would be in the vanguard of jews fighting for Israel, boy, was I dumb.
Post disappeared. It said vote and defend Netanyayu UNCONDITIONALLY against traitor side
It is vital that Netanyahu forms the next government and that the anti socialist not left in any way side be kept out of power. The latter are traitors to socialism and traitors to the Jewish Israeli cause
@ bernard ross:
BR:
Unless Netanyahu forms the next ruling coalition in Israel, Bennett and his party will have neither power nor even influence over what happens in Shomron and Yehuda, because the government will be controlled by people such as Herzog and Livni. They will lose no opportunity to shrink Israel back into the suicidal armistice lines of 1948-1967, and Israel will have neither independence nor dependability from the present US government of Barack Hussein Obama and afterward, from his likely replacement, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But if Netanyahu stays in power with the help of Bennett’s party, and the other Jewish nationalist and Jewish religious parties, then there is still hope that his coalition partners — along with the certitude that Fatah and Hamas will never, ever make peace with Israel, no matter how many foolish Jews hope and expect exactly that — will compel them to work together for an outcome that will allow Israel to live.
But if the leftists get into power, possibly with the backing of the expected 12 Arab Knesset seats, you can begin waving goodbye to any reasonable and secure future for Israel as a Jewish state with defendable borders. And the growing numbers of Israel’s Jewish population will have no room to expand, instead of sitting in multi-story apartments in a couple of crowded cities that may one day be targets for weapons of mass destruction.
So why don’t you think of the real consequences of anybody other than Netanyahu being able to form the next ruling coalition, BR? And if you cannot bring yourself to do that, then why don’t you just give it a rest? Because at this particular point in time — possibly the most critical in the history of the State of Israel — anybody who fails to support Netanyahu to form the next ruling coalition, will in fact be nothing more than recruits to the growing legion of the gravediggers of Israel. And from what I am reading here, you are sounding like one of them.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
from that article I see no difference between labor and bb, I see more of a difference between likud and BB. Other than individual likud members not following BB, it appears to me that zionism doesn’t begin until Bennets party. Most of the rest from BB left,including yesh liberman seem very close to me. All of them looking to give away everything outside of the major blocks. I am now wondering how BB got to be leader of likud and what does likud stand for? I asked this same question over a year ago and still dont know. When people vote for likud they dont know what they are getting and perhaps that is why they are losing votes. Still, BB has acted in fact no different from labor wrt YS. As for treatment of jews by arabs I dont see how anyone would do worse than BB, he has allowed the most disgusting MO on the mount towards Jews. IN fact, I would say his lack of action has encouraged the arabs in their intransigence. I see no excuse for his behavior in that issue. On that issue alone I would not vote for him, no respect for Jews. Perhaps some on the right realized he never took action for the right.
@ bernard ross:
Netanyahu wants to… remain in power. What for? Good question.
Aside from not building in YS BB allowed this despicable scenario of Jews being stalked in their own land at their own holy places by nazi muslims. This was an unconscionable act on BB’s part and indicative of his ignoring of his constituency.
@ ArnoldHarris:
Tommorow – Friday last polls can be published last one will be Channel 1 about an hour after Shabbat.
Voice of Israel (internet radio in English) will have special on this tomorrow and has several podcasts that are very interesting on the elections.
@ woolymammoth:
I appreciate your compliments yet many others in this Blog are tops.
The young people doing our polling should be able to give me the last take on the numbers tomorrow before noon.
Still there is 20% not responding.
Likud and Obama are as of now about tied with likud getting a statistical edge.
If the elections come in with Obama-Livni and the other fellow with 23 and Likud 22. Probably Mr. Bennett with 14 + . Mr. Netanyahu will form the coalition w/o Obama-Livni and that one.
If the likud edges ahead, the formation of the coalition would be less costly.
Not an ideal setting but is what we have.
@ yamit82: The following will recommend Bibi to Prime Minister – Bennett (Jewish Home), Yahad, UTJ, Shas, Likud themselves. So the King Makers will come from Kulanu (Kahlon) and Lieberman. They will negotiate to get what they want and go with Bibi.
Labor unless the get the Likud to join with them or the left gets way more votes than the polls indicate will not be able to form a coalition.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2: my thoughts exactly, Arnold you just have to live in Israel to know what the two veterans of this blog are trying to get across, both em Yamit and SHmuel exhibit searing candor and are spot on correct. Relatively speaking Netanyahu is the only option, however, he is a far cry from what Israel needs, personally, I’ll take Begin back, he had his faults too, but, he was an honorable public servant who screwed up, They all err, even/especially Mossad. Dagan should go help jimmy carter build habitats for humanity and shut up, you see, look at at these people, Olmert, Livni, Perez, Peres, Beilin all garbage, it’s organized crime syndication, this is why and mark my words Israelis consider Americans who make Aliyah to be suspect insane and/or probable lunatics, especially the secular ones, there is no hero’s welcome, is there SHmuel.
Kerry aka Lurch II: Quote from A7 report right now.
Now read this carefully because it is not satire, it is a grotesque insult to all of us, the report says he said it.
“The Senate will not be able to foreclose on the agreement with Iran… because it is NOT LEGALLY BINDING… WHAT!?!?
I mean, it does not come any more vicious, treacherous, stupid, idiotic, moronic than that. How did the community organizer decide to make of that one a Secretary of State?
On second thought, after the she Clinton Benghazi email Server… lass, he is the only option for Mr. Hussein Obama.
Electing anyone else but Netanyahu is electing that element selected people and that is NATIONAL SUICIDE.
@ ArnoldHarris:
The Israeli political cauldron is redolent of aged rotten fish. Plus even worse stuff. The so called military and police Staff Officers reflect that and worse.
The pretend justice gangs are hand picked and self elected. The state MSM is far worse than the old Pravda and about the same as the NYT’s, totally corrupted.
Hertzog is a money laundering criminal hiding behind a 5th Amendment equivalent prop. Livni is a four times in 9 years political whore, mandate thief, a people user, money debts defaulter, and virulent enemy of Jews and Heritage.
She contaminated the Likud, infested “kadima”, aborted “the movement” and who knows to what movements she was referring to, and under directions from Peres and Hussein she dumped onto what pretends to be MAPAI.
Netanyahu is part of the same crowd but is at least able to talk coherently at times.
Netanyahu has still a chance to survive elections but if he thinks he can play his stupid games again, he better give it up now.
Great stuff! Then we wonder why many Jews stay away.
@ ArnoldHarris: I generally agree w Arnold, however, one point, no coalition gov’t will remove Israel “from the clutches of Obama”‘, PERIOD. Only when the no good politician is safely out of office, the best person to safeguard Israel, like him or not is The Obamanator, Ben Netanyahu. For that reason alone, The Israeli Electorate would be certifiably nuts, as would the coalition partners, who are responsible for Obama,s cronies coming to power at this point in time.
@ yamit82:
Yamit:
You have raised some interesting points, not all of which I have been able to consider at length. You seem to be well versed in the political chinoiseries of the State of Israel. So, whereas I focus on intended outcome, you do so on processes which may or may not result in such an outcome. If I can conclude from your comments a thorough sense of distrust of the way Israel selects its leaders, I would heartily agree.
I suppose it could have been worse for Israel, had Hillary Rodham been born Jewish and had she thereafter chosen to inflict upon Israel her overbearing presence in a run for prime minister.
But irrespective of all that has been argued over, I sincerely hope Mr Netanyahu can get a coalition, one that would be strong enough to remove your country from the clutches of Mr Obama, Mr Kerry, and their co-conspirators.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
@ ArnoldHarris:
Where you have failed consistently to be in err is that the majority of Israelis don’t vote for any party because they think the leader of that party will be or make the best PM, getting into the coalition with ministerial portfolios is sufficient. If your understanding had the support of the majority of Israelis then there would be only 2 or three parties all vying for who will lead the country. Not so here.
A plurality might favor BB for many different reasons among them name recognition a clear majority reject him for many reasons.
BB can count only on Bennett and Eli Yeshai to support him for forming a coalition. The rest will be negotiated in the post election Bazaar known here are coalition negotiations.
After the election results are in the president will meet with all the party heads and ask them who they support for forming the next government. Who ever gets the most support of 60 or more mandates will get the first chance at forming a coalition. The party selected to form a government will have 30 days to do so and if he or she can’t and extension of 15 additional days can be afforded if they fail the other major party can try. If both fail new elections are called. This has never happened till now.
There is talk of a blocking coalition of Kahlon, Lapid and Lieberman. There are many reasons why BB and likud might and might no be able to forge a viable coalition but a lot depend upon the comparison results and size of majority and minority between the two leading contenders Likud and Labor.
Still I hear there are still 16% undecided at this late date in reality maybe much more or much less depends on the truthfulness of replies to pollsters. We have a distrust of pollster and lie as much as not when asked personal and political preferences.
All I am saying is there are scenarios both with and against BB but none of them are based on the reasons you suggest.
@ yamit82:
Yamit:
No personal offense intended, but I think Steven Klein’s pre-election analysis is more sound than yours. In any case, from reading your thoughts during the past few years, I think your judgments frequently are based on your strong feelings for or against this or that public figure. Based on that, I sincerely think you spend more time nursing hatreds rather than reasonably analyzing situations.
Admittedly, I do that frequently, but as a one-time news reporter (Southtown Economist Newspapers, Chicago IL; United Press International, Des Moines IA), I was carefully schooled to analyze situations cased on careful analysis, rather than on the frequently-radical opinions I have developed over a long lifetime. I have spent much time on Israpundit arguing against Mr Netanyahu largely because of his policies have impeded Jewish settlement of Yesha. However, even though I do not specifically like him, I think that he is the only feasible choice to be prime minister of Israel at this time. And I regard choices such as Herzog and Livni as potentially disastrous for Israel, and with that, the fate of the Jewish nation.
However, we will all know how it turns out, first in phase 1, after the elections are completed next Tuesday evening; then in the two follow-up coalition-building phases.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
@ ArnoldHarris:
On paper Labor can cobble together a coalition and if they come out significantly with higher count than Likud they will form the next government even if it proves to be a narrow one. As to who is deemed best to be PM? BB does not have anywhere near a polled majority but a kneejerk response by a population who thinks they all stink and BB is a known quantity no surprises and that’s true for many of those who hate him. We choose parties and party lists here not individuals.
This election feels a lot like the one in 2000 where Barak trounced BB with the help from Clinton and his campaign team.
This time BB has shut out the while Likud party in a campaign he choose and has complete control over. He has made in MO every mistake in the book, probably do to his own hubris and lack of clear understanding what the people want and what their concerns are. He lives in a small bubble very detached from the people and reality.
I will bet that within a year after he gets thrown out of office he leavers Israel.
I concur that the author is quite correct in predicting that the Labor+Livni grouping will not be able to establish a majority Knesset coalition after the coming election.
My specific reason for that assumption is that regardless of party preference as shown in various and ideologically-competing election polls, more than 50 per cent of respondents say that Mr Netanyahu is best suited to lead Israel as the next prime minister, as compared with percentages in the low 30s in favor of Mr Herzog. As for MS Livni, I understand she is simply listed under the “other choices” category. This factor tells me that Mr Netanyahu will gain the largest share of the still-undecided votes.
Aside from all that, I am somewhat surprised that a newspaper such as HaAretz actually published a pro-Netanyahu article.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
BREAKING! The youngsters running our poll just told me to get ready for this Friday’s last edition of the poll.
The author presents a valid basic analysis which should hold as the only scenario even if the end results of the vote tally is not aligned with our last poll.
Then again, millions of dollars are being spread by foreign saboteurs and money can stain very many voters and subcontractors.
Our poll, which is not longer published, marks still a Likud lead by two seats, plus or minus 1.