Israel: Election ends in dramatic deadlock | The Independent

Israelis delivered the narrowest of election victories to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, but did not endorse what most analysts had predicted would be a lurch to right, instead giving their backing to a broader, centrist coalition. With almost all the votes now counted, Israel’s two political blocs – the left and the right – were level on 60 seats in the 120-member Knesset, the closest Israeli election result in history. Bibi, as Mr Netanyahu is universally known in Israel, secured 31 seats, a huge disappointment for his Likud party, and its formal coalition partner Yisrael Beiteinu, which lost a quarter of the 42 seats they held in the last Knesset.

Israel: Right, left blocs in dead heat as 99% of votes tallied | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Hours after polls closed on Tuesday, and after 99 percent of the votes were tallied, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed a mandate to third term as premier, but the battle between the country’s right- and left-wing blocs remained virtually in a dead heat. As voting ended Tuesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu party garnered only 31 seats − compared to the 42 the two parties won in the last election in 2009 − prompting him to announce that he was already working toward forming “as broad a government as possible. I am proud to be your prime minister and I thank you for giving me the opportunity, for the third time, to lead the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said after midnight. “It is a great honor, but it is also a great responsibility. It is an opportunity to make changes that the citizens of Israel wish upon themselves and that will serve all the citizens of Israel. I intend on making those changes by forming the broadest coalition possible, and I have begun working toward that tonight.” Leading up to the election, polls had predicted a tight race between the left and right blocs, but by early Wednesday the former had 59 seats, and the latter 61.

Israel: Voting begins in Israel general elections | Al Jazeera

Voting has begun in Israel’s general elections, which are expected to return Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to a third term with a smaller majority in a coalition government of rightwing and religious parties. Security has been tightened across the country for Tuesday’s polls, which began at 7am (5:00GMT), and more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed to secure the vote. Opinion polls predict that Netanyahu’s Likud party, which has forged an electoral pact with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, will take the most seats in the parliamentary election.

Israel: Cost to economy of Election Day put at 1.7 billion | Haaretz

The Election Day holiday will cost the economy about NIS 1.7 billion in lost output, the Manufacturers Association said on Sunday. “However important the business sector regards the democratic process, we must examine whether the goal of increasing voter turnout justifies the heavy cost to the economy,” said the association’s president, Zvi Oren. “We need to search for a mechanism whereby output isn’t hurt and voting is nonetheless encouraged, like placing ballot boxes in central areas of employment.” The nationwide vacation will cost the business sector about NIS 1.17 billion, of which NIS 280 million will be carried by the country’s manufacturers, said the association, which represents the country’s biggest companies. Lost output in the public sector accounts for the rest, it said.

Israel: Understanding Israeli Democracy | First Person Israel

For an American living in Israel, there are many similarities, but a great many differences and even oddities, about Israel’s democratic process that leave one scratching one’s head. As the only true democracy in the Middle East, Americans are right to have an affinity for and kinship with Israel, but the democratic system is very different. One might say that Israel is a democracy on steroids. With Israelis set to go to the polls on January 22, it’s useful to understand about how Israelis vote, and how the process works. While in the US, one typically votes for a candidate affiliated with a specific political party, in Israel’s parliamentary democracy, one votes for a political party, each with its’ own internal process of selecting a slate of candidates to represent it. Some of these parties have democratic processes to select their slate of candidates, and others hand pick who they want in a less than democratic way, analogous to picking an all-star sports team, selecting players who (they think) will help them win.

Israel: Inside the 2013 Israeli Election: the System and the Players | Algemeiner.com

“Bibi,” “Bennett,” “Tzipi,” “Shelly.” The way names of major candidates in the Israeli elections have been bandied about by international observers and media analysts, you would think Israeli voters are only electing the prime minister. Not so. When they enter the “Kalfi” (Hebrew for ballot box) Jan. 22, Israelis will decide the composition of the 19th Knesset (Israel’s parliament) by casting votes for whole parties—not specific candidates. Each party, which presents candidates for membership in the Knesset, must win at least 2 percent of the total vote to get two members in. The government will be established based on how many seats each party wins, and the president will appoint the prime minister, usually the leader of the party that won the most votes. That candidate must then form a coalition with other Knesset-elected parties, and those parties that are not included become the opposition.

Israel: Election Ads Ruled Too Offensive for Broadcast Rack Up Views on YouTube | NYTimes.com

Efforts to introduce some drama, or comedy, into the somewhat lackluster Israeli election campaign, in the form of satirical television ads for two parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum, have been stifled by the country’s Central Election Committee, which deemed them too offensive to broadcast. Despite those rulings, however, both ads have attracted tens of thousands of views online this week. That has not gone unnoticed by the parties’ leaders. As the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported, before the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party bowed to a request to stop showing an ad that makes fun of émigrés from the former Soviet Union who are not considered Jews according to Halakha, or religious law, a party leader, Ariel Atias, said: “The ad isn’t supposed to hurt anyone. There is no word in it against Russians or any hurtful remarks, but an emphasis on Shas’s role in preventing legislation which will damage the state’s Jewish identity. We see it’s effective and tens of thousands have already viewed the video on YouTube.” Indeed, the official copy of the video posted on the Shas YouTube channel, and still featured on the party’s Facebook page, has been viewed more than 100,000 times since it was uploaded on Tuesday.

Israel: As election nears, Israeli candidates vie for the American vote | Haaretz

The debate moderator asked the candidates what their parties would do to prevent a third intifada, an increasingly common concern in the Israeli election campaign. In his answer, Jeremy Gimpel drew from his upbringing – in Atlanta, Ga. “I’m from America,” Gimpel said in English. “We don’t talk to terrorists. In America, we eliminate terrorists.” Soon after Gimpel had finished, New Jersey native Alon Tal shot back. “There are graves in the Wild West that say, ‘Here lies John Smith, who exercised all his rights,’” Tal said, also in English. “Do we want to find a pragmatic solution or do we want to be self-righteous?”

Israel: As Election Looms Closer, Radio and TV Ads Begin | Israel National News

With only two weeks left until elections for the 19th Knesset, Tuesday will see the first of the ad campaigns which will be broadcast on radio and television for the next 11 days. Determined by a lottery and not party size, the broadcasts will begin with Rabbi Haim Amsalem’s campaign ad for his Am Shalem party. Each party will receive seven minutes for TV ads and fifteen minutes for radio. Parties with current MKs will receive an extra two minutes for each incumbent for their television spots and an extra four for radio, which means that Likud-Beytenu will have the longest air time with 91 minutes. Kadima, which was a major party in the 18th Knesset until losing candidates to fragmentation will receive 49 minutes. Labor will receive 23 minutes. New party lists such as Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Tzipi Livni’s HaTnua will receive the standard 7 minutes of air time.

Israel: Election Committee: Likud violated election laws | Ynetnews

Central Election Committee Chairman Justice Elyakim Rubinstein ruled Friday that a performance given by popular Israeli singer Sarit Hadad at the launch of the Likud-Beiteinu’s election campaign was in violation of campaign laws. Article 17 of the Israel Election Act states that political parties are barred from employing the services of artists as part of their campaign. Anyone found in breach of this article is subject to a fine of NIS 29,000 (roughly $7,800) – or six months in jail.

Israel: Campaigning in Israel – Facebook and YouTube play growing role | The Jewish Standard

The debate was not televised. The participants did not sit on a stage in front of an auditorium under bright lights. Israel’s major candidates were not present. Instead, five representatives of Israeli political parties sat at a folding table in a classroom of perhaps 100 students at a Haifa college. One representative was the second-ranking member of his political faction and a onetime runner-up in the balloting for prime minister. Another was a minor Israeli celebrity, the leader of last year’s social justice protests. At one point during the debate, Rabbi Shai Peron of the centrist new Yesh Atid Party criticized Amram Mitzna, the former prime ministerial hopeful, for his past defeats. “I’m not in your yeshiva,” Mitzna shot back. “I don’t need to answer your question.” Welcome to the Israeli campaign, a far more informal, intimate, and legally circumscribed affair than what unfolds in the United States.

Israel: Likud party primary extended due to electronic voting machines problems | EJP

The Likud party primary vote to choose the list of party candidates forthe  January 22 parliamentary election, that began on Sunday, will continue on Monday, the Likud Central Election Committee decided on Sunday night. 50 to 60 polling stations will be open to voters from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The decision was made based on problems with electronic polling machines on Sunday. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the Likud primary elections held Sunday a “farce” because of problems with electronic voting machines and demanded the polls be halted and held again on a later date.

Israel: Online voting breakdown dogs Israeli Likud primaries for national elections | Xinhua

Officials at branches of Israel’ s chief Likud party reported severe technical problems at polling stations countrywide Sunday morning, halting the outset of a daylong round of voting to set a party slate for national elections on Jan. 22 for the 19th Knesset (parliament). While party Chairman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cast his ballot at party headquarters in Tel Aviv when polling stations opened at 9:00 a.m., exhorted members to head to the polls to make their voices heard, crashed internet servers kept more than 123,000 other members from voting at sites throughout the country.

Israel: Likud officials: Netanyahu likely to halt primaries over voting malfunctions Israel News | Haaretz

Likud officials said on Sunday that they believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would accept an offer to halt electronic voting procedures in Likud’s primaries, opting to continue the elections through casting individual ballots. The proposal was raised by Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon, following a day rife with reports of voting computer malfunctions. Problems were reported at locations including Jerusalem’s main polling station — the International Convention Centers, where 80 computerized voting systems were shut down — and at the polling station in the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Yad Eliyahu, which was also shut down. Other locations with reported malfunctions were Ramat Gan, Ashdod, Gan Yavne and Mt. Hebron Regional Council.

Israel: Israel sets election date, Netanyahu seen easy victor | Chicago Tribune

Israel’s Parliament on Tuesday set a January 22 date for a national election and opinion polls predict an easy win for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in balloting expected to focus on his tough policies on Iran’s nuclear program and economics. Lawmakers approved the measure by a vote of 100 to nil after a more than eight-hour debate, dissolving parliament, or ending its term of office, effective immediately and months ahead of schedule. Israeli elections had been expected in October 2013, but it is common for governments to break up before their terms expire over disagreements about budgets, policy on religion or the nation’s conflicts with Arab and other neighbors.

Israel: Netanyahu calls early election for Israel | CNN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an early election after failing to agree on a budget with his coalition partners, saying the vote should be held “as soon as possible” for the good of the country. In a televised announcement Tuesday, Netanyahu said the election was necessary to ensure “a responsible security and economic policy” in the face of the economic downturn and threats to Israel’s security from Iran and elsewhere. The election will ideally happen in three months’ time, he said, rather than in October 2013, as originally scheduled. “It is my obligation as the prime minister to put the national interest above everything else,” Netanyahu said. “So I have decided that it is in the best interest for the state of Israel to go to elections now and as soon as possible.”

Israel: Republican Group Deploys Voter Registration Drive in Israel | usnews.com

For more than a century, the GOP has had a hard time pulling in the Jewish vote. But in a move demonstrating just how close Republicans expect the 2012 election to be, the GOP isn’t leaving any constituencies to chance—even those living abroad. The Republican Jewish Coalition announced Monday that its board of directors, together with former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleicher, are headed next week to Israel to encourage Jewish Americans living abroad to register to vote just in time for the presidential election. The Republican group hopes American voters living in Israel might help the GOP gain an edge among Jewish voters in the U.S.

Israel: Centrifuges, Palestinians, army service and cottage cheese — an Israeli election primer | The Times of Israel

According to recent polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cruising to reelection. His Likud party is expected to win 30 or 31 Knesset mandates, up from 27 three years ago and way ahead of second-place Labor, which the polls predict may gain about four or five seats to 17-18. Much has changed in the political landscape since 2009 — parties splintering, leaders ousted, new parties created — but despite Labor’s resurgence under new chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich and the creation of a new populist party by former TV personality Yair Lapid, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc can reasonably expect to stay in power. Likud, Yisrael Beytenu and Shas alone could get about 55 seats; add to that the seats of the United Torah Judaism and Jewish Home parties, and Netanyahu has a comfortable majority. But Lapid — whose new Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party is expected to win up to a dozen seats — is not the only wild card. Ousted Shas member Haim Amsellem hopes to enter the Knesset with his newly founded Am Shalem (A Complete Nation) party, and ex-minister (and ex-con) Aryeh Deri is still considering whether to field his own faction. That could cost Shas important mandates, which might force Netanyahu to look for another coalition partner — perhaps the far-right National Union. And that, in turn, could push him even further to the right and toward a collision course with the US.

Israel: Israel looks to possible early election | AFP/Times of Oman

Israel was on Sunday buzzing with the possibility of an early election after a key partner in the ruling right-wing coalition threatened to pull out, and the opposition called for an autumn vote. Fresh speculation about an early general election came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fought off sharp criticism from a former top security chief over his policies on Iran’s nuclear programme and on peace with the Palestinians. Talk of an early vote, which has been in the air for several months, was revived by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman who on Saturday said his Yisrael Beitenu party had exhausted its commitment to the coalition in a dispute over the issue of drafting Orthodox Jews into the army.