Key campaign issues in Israel’s parliamentary election
• Israel-U.S. relations: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had a frosty relationship with President Barack Obama. If Netanyahu is re-elected, relations could sour further over issues where the two disagree, primarily the Palestinians and Iran.
• Iran: Netanyahu and his government have pressed hard for stricter sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program, implying until recently that Israel might be forced to attack Iranian nuclear sites to stop weapons development. His opponents
charge that a unilateral Israeli attack would bring painful retaliation and would not significantly damage Iran’s program, which Tehran denies has military purposes.
• Palestinians: Netanyahu has grudgingly accepted the concept of a Palestinian state but has rejected Palestinian and international demands to halt Israeli settlement construction. He has staked out positions on the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are far less generous than those offered unsuccessfully by predecessors, leading the Palestinians and his dovish opponents to question his commitment to peacemaking.
• Arab world: Netanyahu insists that peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan must be preserved, but his opponents think he has overreacted with his dire warnings about Islamist parties that have won elections after “Arab Spring” revolts. Israel is also warily watching the civil war in neighbouring Syria, concerned about al-Qaida-linked groups there and the possibility of chemical weapons falling into the hands of hostile elements.
• Economy: Netanyahu says he has preserved stability despite global economic turmoil. His opponents complain that gaps between rich and poor are wider than ever.
Main political parties competing in Israel’s parliamentary election
• Likud: Led by Israel’s current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Likud holds tough positions in stalled talks with the Palestinians and advocates strong international action – possibly including a last-resort military strike – against arch-enemy Iran’s nuclear facilities. Netanyahu has grudgingly accepted the idea of a Palestinian state, though his party traditionally claimed the West Bank and east Jerusalem for Israel. Likud teamed up on a joint list with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu for Tuesday’s election, but the two parties have not merged.
• Yisrael Beitenu: The far-right secular party is the most hawkish in Netanyahu’s current coalition and placed third in the last election in 2009. Its leader, Lieberman, has been indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust, and the future of his party and his political career could hinge on how the case unfolds.
• Labour: A centrist party led by former broadcast journalist Shelly Yachimovich. Labor hopes to gain votes with an emphasis on closing Israel’s economic gaps and a moderate approach to negotiations with the Palestinians. Labor is in second place in polls after the joint Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu list. The party governed the country from its founding in 1948 until 1977, and twice since.
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• Jewish Home: Representing modern Orthodox Jews, the party has surged in the polls on the back of a strong pro-settlement message and the appeal of its charismatic leader, high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, to secular Jews.
• Yesh Atid: Founded by former TV personality Yair Lapid, the party represents secular, middle class interests and says less money should be spent on settlements and stipends for the ultra-Orthodox.
• Hatnua: The party of former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was formed less than two months ago expressly to present an alternative to voters distressed by the stalemate in peacemaking throughout Netanyahu’s four-year tenure. Livni has promised an aggressive push for peace with the Palestinians.
• Shas: Founded in the early 1980s by ultra-Orthodox Jews of Middle Eastern origin who felt marginalized. Its followers tend to be hawkish and the party traditionally has been a Likud ally, even though two decades ago, its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ruled that saving lives is more important than keeping territory. The party emphasizes social welfare for its low-income constituency.
Leading candidates in Israel’s election
• Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to return to power in Tuesday’s elections after nearly four years as prime minister. Netanyahu insists he has mobilized the international community against Iran’s disputed nuclear program and brought economic stability despite global financial downturns. His opponents counter he has ignored the Palestinian conflict and estranged Israel from world powers, particularly its main ally, the U.S.
• Avigdor Lieberman, the former foreign minister and one of Israel’s most divisive and ultranationalist politicians, is running on a joint list with Netanyahu’s Likud. His Yisrael Beitenu party is expected to join the next government, but Lieberman’s own future remains unclear. He stepped down as foreign minister late last year after he was indicted on charges of breach of trust and fraud. Lieberman draws many of his supporters from Israel’s 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
• Shelly Yachimovich, a former broadcaster and leader of Israel’s Labor Party, took over Labor in late 2011 at one of its lowest points. She revitalized the party, moving it away from its traditional platform of promoting peace with the Arabs and focusing almost entirely on economic and domestic issues. She has ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led coalition. Critics accuse her of ignoring Israel’s diplomatic and security challenges and failing to present a viable alternative to the security-obsessed right.
• Naftali Bennett has been responsible for the surging popularity of the once-marginal religious Jewish Home party. Bennett rejects the idea of a Palestinian state and wants Israel to annex parts of the West Bank. Polls suggest that the high-tech entrepreneur and former military commando has a crossover appeal to secular Israelis as well.
• Yair Lapid leads the new Yesh Atid, or “There is a Future” party. Lapid left his job as anchor of a popular weekend news TV show to set up a party representing middle class needs. Lapid wants ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the military and enter the workforce, instead of getting subsidies to pursue religious studies.
• Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, formed a new party, “Hatnua,” or “the Movement,” putting peacemaking with the Palestinians at the top of its agenda. Livni was the chief negotiator with the Palestinians under a previous government.
Key facts about Israel’s general election
• What’s at stake: Voters will elect a 120-member parliament, or Knesset, Israel’s 19th. Citizens vote for party lists, not individual candidates. Seats are allocated in the Knesset according to the percentage of the vote the parties win.
• Who’s running: There are 32 parties running. Key parties are the governing Likud Party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who takes a hard line against the Palestinians and Iran; Jewish Home, led by high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu’s chief rival for the support of settlers; Labor, headed by former journalist Shelly Yachimovich, emphasizing closing economic gaps; and Yisrael Beiteinu, the far-right secular party led by former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Likud and Yisrael Beitenu have joined forces in a unified list for the election, but will continue to function as separate parties after the election. Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties could play key roles after the election. A party must receive at least 2 per cent of votes cast to be represented in parliament. In the 2009 election, 33 parties registered to run, but only 12 got enough votes to win seats.
• Forming a government: In Israel’s 64-year history, no party has ever won an outright majority of 61 seats, and the country has always been governed by a coalition. Israel’s president meets with party factions to determine which party has the best chance of forming a government. The president then taps the head of that party, usually but not necessarily parliament’s largest, to undertake that task. That person will have up to six weeks to form a coalition. If successful, he or she becomes prime minister; if not, the president chooses another party to try. The Vote: There are 5,656,705 eligible voters. Most of the 10,128 polling stations across the country opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT, 12 a.m. ET) and close at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT, 3 p.m. ET). Exit polls will be released immediately after voting ends, and official results will trickle in throughout the night. Voter turnout in the last election in 2009 was 65.2 per cent. Election Day is a national holiday, and most workers have the day off.
• Israel by the numbers: Population: Nearly 8 million, of whom 75 per cent (6 million) are Jews, 20 per cent (1.6 million) are Arabs and the rest are classified as “others,” most of them non-Jewish immigrants. Per capita GDP is $30,500.
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