Israel general discussion

[Hnv1]

Sorry to be a pain, but what factions/ideologies/positions etc. do the labour candidates represent?

The differences are sometimes cosmetic rather than genuine, it's really a personality contest and not so much a battle of factions.
Peretz - Socialist (or more left wing economically) also dovish
Gabay - bland centrist for all I could detect, talking about the personal traits of leadership not positions
Bar Lev - bland ex general with some peace plans, appeals to old voters
Margalit - New Labour, as Blairite as one could get
Herzog - does he even know?

[America Needs R'hllor]

Amir Peretz is currently running a smear campaign against Avi Gabay, attacking the poll that had him leading (invited by Gabay, admittedly) as fake and sending Labour members a video where journalists are asking Gabay tough questions (without showing his answers, of course).

[DavidB.]

At this point Likud are actually surprisingly comparable to a number of leading "conservative" parties in Central and Eastern Europe. The populist tone, the stirring up of meaningless controversies that make ordinary people outraged yet have no ramifications for policy and distract from real problems, the status-quo oriented policies mainly or solely aimed at keeping the party leader(s) in power, the blatant corruption. Likud, PiS, GERB, HDZ... there are differences, but also a lot of similarities. It reflects poor on Israeli politics that this party remains the least bad option to lead a government, though if YA could work together with the religious right without Likud that would be an interesting option too (but unrealistic).

[ApatheticAustrian]

likud is going to lead as long as the israeli people want a right-wing government, imho, there couldn't be a conservative to right alliance at all without likud as "melting pot".

the more "centrish" parties and the "identity politics" parties - religious and secular - would not be able to find a working compromise, imho.

[Hnv1]

Primaries:
JH primaries looking quite calm but I suspect Bennet will take around 70-75% of the votes this time instead 90+.

Labour primaries: Margalit launched his campaign (which looks best by my books), and ol'Peretz started a smear campaign against Gabbay. Bar Lev will probably drop out later to support Gabbay. Selectorate was reduced to 48K after thousands of faux members Peretz registered were wiped out.

Politics:
Supreme Court authorized Tel Aviv's city council by-law allowing some grocery stores to open on Saturdays, Deri'i who dragged his feet on the matter is "furious" and Shas+UTJ+JH are demanding a law to reverse the ruling and "defend the Sabbath". An excellent mine to blow up the coalition. Only Lieberman voiced his support of the ruling and Kachlon definitely won't fight over this topic. In addition, unlike last time no one else could form a government as neither Herzog or Lapid could agree to give the religious parties what they want. Bibi Must be delighted.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Primaries:
JH primaries looking quite calm but I suspect Bennet will take around 70-75% of the votes this time instead 90+.

Labour primaries: Margalit launched his campaign (which looks best by my books), and ol'Peretz started a smear campaign against Gabbay. Bar Lev will probably drop out later to support Gabbay. Selectorate was reduced to 48K after thousands of faux members Peretz registered were wiped out.

Politics:
Supreme Court authorized Tel Aviv's city council by-law allowing some grocery stores to open on Saturdays, Deri'i who dragged his feet on the matter is "furious" and Shas+UTJ+JH are demanding a law to reverse the ruling and "defend the Sabbath". An excellent mine to blow up the coalition. Only Lieberman voiced his support of the ruling and Kachlon definitely won't fight over this topic. In addition, unlike last time no one else could form a government as neither Herzog or Lapid could agree to give the religious parties what they want. Bibi Must be delighted.

Wow, Peretz needs to be disqualified. Why aren't the others running a campaign against him to spread this deed of his to public knowledge?
Also, I seriously despise these Haredi parties and every single one of their members.

[Hnv1]

Primaries:
JH primaries looking quite calm but I suspect Bennet will take around 70-75% of the votes this time instead 90+.

Labour primaries: Margalit launched his campaign (which looks best by my books), and ol'Peretz started a smear campaign against Gabbay. Bar Lev will probably drop out later to support Gabbay. Selectorate was reduced to 48K after thousands of faux members Peretz registered were wiped out.

Politics:
Supreme Court authorized Tel Aviv's city council by-law allowing some grocery stores to open on Saturdays, Deri'i who dragged his feet on the matter is "furious" and Shas+UTJ+JH are demanding a law to reverse the ruling and "defend the Sabbath". An excellent mine to blow up the coalition. Only Lieberman voiced his support of the ruling and Kachlon definitely won't fight over this topic. In addition, unlike last time no one else could form a government as neither Herzog or Lapid could agree to give the religious parties what they want. Bibi Must be delighted.

Wow, Peretz needs to be disqualified. Why aren't the others running a campaign against him to spread this deed of his to public knowledge?
Also, I seriously despise these Haredi parties and every single one of their members.

Because he's Sephardi and it's apparently racist to say he's a scumbag politico.
He now has the endorsement of 3 MKs with Bar, Shmuli, and Suede.

[Hnv1]

Poll for GE
Likud - 28
YA - 24
JAL - 13
ZU - 12
JH - 10
Kulano - 7
Shas - 7
UTJ - 7
Liberman - 6
Meretz  6
Ya'alon - doesn't make the cut

Labour primaries polll (margin of error for those should be massive) was done for the Bar Lev campaign:
Peretz - 28%
Gabay - 19%
Bar Lev- 19%
Herzog - 16%
Margalit - 14%

I somehow doubt this figures for Herzog and Bar Lev...

[ApatheticAustrian]

flawless moderates doing good as always during election desert.

[DavidB.]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

[America Needs R'hllor]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

I guess low turnout isn't really good for Bennett, since I assume the insurgent candidates have a generally more driven base, but Bennett is still very much safe.

[Hnv1]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

Both running on a lets-get-the-JH-to-become-more-religious again platform. I think Bennet feels like they could really stretch him as he's been touring the country for an otherwise boring election.

Labour leadership cadre confirmed:
Current leader Herzog (heading for a humiliating defeat)
Former leader MK Peretz (current front runner, socialist,  and a knob)
Former minister Avi Gabbay (strong contender, centrist)
MK Arel Margalit (running a leftist platform, most qualified as I see it)
MK Bar Lev (bland ex-general)
MG Amiram Levin (bland leftier ex-general)
Prof. Avner Ben Zaken (former Meretz member, mediocre academic and identity politics supporter)
Dina Dayan (orthodox Jew yet a feminist, probably going for name recognition before the next list election)
Hod Krovi (anonymous party member, supporter of the cooperative movement)

Avi Gabbay surprisingly announced he supports Shelly in the workers federation election hoping to lure some of her young "we don't get economics" voters to shift to him from Peretz. Cabel stayed out as well as Shaffir.

[DavidB.]

Bennett allegedly won it, 80.3% with over 50% turnout. Branski got 12.2%.

[danny]

Final JH primary results:

30,734 party members.
Of those 15,701 voted (50.67%).

Bennet: 12,600 (80.3%)
Bernski: 1,916 (12.2%)
Zaga: 1074 (7.47%)

[Hnv1]

He won the last run with other 90%, but still a solid victory, will probably enable him to expand his broad tent programme further.

[DavidB.]

Knessetjeremy's polling average for March+April (change compared to Jan+Feb) in seats:
Yesh Atid 25.8 (-0.6)
Likud 25.6 (+2.6)
Joint Arab List 12.7 (+0.1)
Bayit Yehudi 12.1 (-0.1)
Zionist Union 10.7 (-0.3)
UTJ 7.3 (-0.3)
Kulanu 6.7 (+0.5)
Yisrael Beiteinu 6.6 (-1.2)
Shas 6.3 (-0.5)
Meretz 6.2 (-0.2)

Right-religious coalition 64.6 (+1)
Center-left-Arab opposition 55.4 (-1)

Secular center-right YA-Likud-Kulanu-YB currently numerically possible, but of course unlikely to happen, especially if another two-horse race with YA instead of ZU takes place. Lapid will also want to be PM.

Will Labour use the Zionist Union label again next time? What's the deal with Livni?

[America Needs R'hllor]

Knessetjeremy's polling average for March+April (change compared to Jan+Feb) in seats:
Yesh Atid 25.8 (-0.6)
Likud 25.6 (+2.6)
Joint Arab List 12.7 (+0.1)
Bayit Yehudi 12.1 (-0.1)
Zionist Union 10.7 (-0.3)
UTJ 7.3 (-0.3)
Kulanu 6.7 (+0.5)
Yisrael Beiteinu 6.6 (-1.2)
Shas 6.3 (-0.5)
Meretz 6.2 (-0.2)

Right-religious coalition 64.6 (+1)
Center-left-Arab opposition 55.4 (-1)

Secular center-right YA-Likud-Kulanu-YB currently numerically possible, but of course unlikely to happen, especially if another two-horse race with YA instead of ZU takes place. Lapid will also want to be PM.

Will Labour use the Zionist Union label again next time? What's the deal with Livni?

Didn't Livni get an offer for some job in the UN? If I were here, I'd take it, the Zionist Union probably won't continue.

[Famous Mortimer]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

Both running on a lets-get-the-JH-to-become-more-religious again platform. I think Bennet feels like they could really stretch him as he's been touring the country for an otherwise boring election.

Labour leadership cadre confirmed:
Current leader Herzog (heading for a humiliating defeat)
Former leader MK Peretz (current front runner, socialist,  and a knob)
Former minister Avi Gabbay (strong contender, centrist)
MK Arel Margalit (running a leftist platform, most qualified as I see it)
MK Bar Lev (bland ex-general)
MG Amiram Levin (bland leftier ex-general)
Prof. Avner Ben Zaken (former Meretz member, mediocre academic and identity politics supporter)
Dina Dayan (orthodox Jew yet a feminist, probably going for name recognition before the next list election)
Hod Krovi (anonymous party member, supporter of the cooperative movement)

Avi Gabbay surprisingly announced he supports Shelly in the workers federation election hoping to lure some of her young "we don't get economics" voters to shift to him from Peretz. Cabel stayed out as well as Shaffir.

Margalit is running as a leftist now? Is that why you see him as the best one? It's weird to see a Meretz supporting saying he is the best candidate, unless you think he's good because he will lead Labor voters to switch to Meretz.

As for Ben Zaken, what does being an identity politics supporter entail in Israel? Hard to be deferential to minorities when your main minority group wishes the country didn't exist.

Also, wasn't there another general running, what happened to him?

[America Needs R'hllor]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

Both running on a lets-get-the-JH-to-become-more-religious again platform. I think Bennet feels like they could really stretch him as he's been touring the country for an otherwise boring election.

Labour leadership cadre confirmed:
Current leader Herzog (heading for a humiliating defeat)
Former leader MK Peretz (current front runner, socialist,  and a knob)
Former minister Avi Gabbay (strong contender, centrist)
MK Arel Margalit (running a leftist platform, most qualified as I see it)
MK Bar Lev (bland ex-general)
MG Amiram Levin (bland leftier ex-general)
Prof. Avner Ben Zaken (former Meretz member, mediocre academic and identity politics supporter)
Dina Dayan (orthodox Jew yet a feminist, probably going for name recognition before the next list election)
Hod Krovi (anonymous party member, supporter of the cooperative movement)

Avi Gabbay surprisingly announced he supports Shelly in the workers federation election hoping to lure some of her young "we don't get economics" voters to shift to him from Peretz. Cabel stayed out as well as Shaffir.

Margalit is running as a leftist now? Is that why you see him as the best one? It's weird to see a Meretz supporting saying he is the best candidate, unless you think he's good because he will lead Labor voters to switch to Meretz.

As for Ben Zaken, what does being an identity politics supporter entail in Israel? Hard to be deferential to minorities when your main minority group wishes the country didn't exist.

Also, wasn't there another general running, what happened to him?

Labour is a leftist party. Herzog and others kept trying tk run away from it, and it doesn't work, because the Israeli people still see them as leftists. Margalit is the only onevwho brings fresh ideas, and he doesn't run away from the party's identity- his campaign slogan is "the leftists are coming back".

[Hnv1]

The BY primary takes place today. Party leader Naftali Bennett should be safe. Voting started at 2PM at various polling stations across the country and will go on until 10. Results are supposed to come in at about 11, since voting takes place electronically. Turnout is over 25% already. Two candidates are trying to take on Bennett: Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha and Yonatan Branski, the former head of the religious army unit Nahal Haredi; both appear to be to Bennett's right.

Both running on a lets-get-the-JH-to-become-more-religious again platform. I think Bennet feels like they could really stretch him as he's been touring the country for an otherwise boring election.

Labour leadership cadre confirmed:
Current leader Herzog (heading for a humiliating defeat)
Former leader MK Peretz (current front runner, socialist,  and a knob)
Former minister Avi Gabbay (strong contender, centrist)
MK Arel Margalit (running a leftist platform, most qualified as I see it)
MK Bar Lev (bland ex-general)
MG Amiram Levin (bland leftier ex-general)
Prof. Avner Ben Zaken (former Meretz member, mediocre academic and identity politics supporter)
Dina Dayan (orthodox Jew yet a feminist, probably going for name recognition before the next list election)
Hod Krovi (anonymous party member, supporter of the cooperative movement)

Avi Gabbay surprisingly announced he supports Shelly in the workers federation election hoping to lure some of her young "we don't get economics" voters to shift to him from Peretz. Cabel stayed out as well as Shaffir.

Margalit is running as a leftist now? Is that why you see him as the best one? It's weird to see a Meretz supporting saying he is the best candidate, unless you think he's good because he will lead Labor voters to switch to Meretz.

As for Ben Zaken, what does being an identity politics supporter entail in Israel? Hard to be deferential to minorities when your main minority group wishes the country didn't exist.

Also, wasn't there another general running, what happened to him?

Major General Samia, he probably realized it was futile to begin with.

I see him as the best as he's the only one (well also Gabay) who could bring back voters from Lapid. He's also very intelligent and has a sound economic plan unlike the union pawns, and to top it running a campaign saying he's a leftist is brave and worthy of appraisal.

Identity politics in Israel means talking about Sephardic "discrimination" and evil Ashkenazis, while ignoring the presence of Arabs. Very hip with young people now.

As to Meretz, if Gilon wins the coming leadership election I'm out anyway.

[Famous Mortimer]

Is Ben Zaken Sephardic himself? Are most Israeli identity politics advocates Sephardic? In America, while Blacks and Hispanics are increasingly turning to identity politics, self hating White people have really always been the driving force behind it.

[Hnv1]

Is Ben Zaken Sephardic himself? Are most Israeli identity politics advocates Sephardic? In America, while Blacks and Hispanics are increasingly turning to identity politics, self hating White people have really always been the driving force behind it.

Yes he is, yes they do, and yes they're also the driving engine here

[Santander]

Happy Independence Day!

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/228988

It's really well past time for Israel to get tough with UNESCO. Stop acknowledging them as a legitimate branch of the UN and treat them as the enemy entity they are. Deny anyone with UNESCO credentials the authority to do any work in Israel.

Either the UN can rein in their rogue branch, or they can double down. If that's the case, then the UN is the enemy as well and should be treated as such.

[DavidB.]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/228988

It's really well past time for Israel to get tough with UNESCO. Stop acknowledging them as a legitimate branch of the UN and treat them as the enemy entity they are. Deny anyone with UNESCO credentials the authority to do any work in Israel.

Either the UN can rein in their rogue branch, or they can double down. If that's the case, then the UN is the enemy as well and should be treated as such.

The joke's on them -- at this point resolutions like these hurt the legitimacy of UNESCO and the UN more than Israel's claim to Jerusalem... But I obviously agree with your proposed policy.