Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS)-Israel's 15-month political stalemate, which led to three election cycles within the course of a year, has come to a close with the signing of a unity government deal between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud Party, and Blue and White Party head Benny Gantz. The two sides are calling it a "national emergency government" in large part to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which has stymied Israel along with the rest of the world. Both leaders posted tweets...
(JNS)—Following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday by Israel’s High Court of Justice on the question of whether an indicted lawmaker can be tasked with forming a government, a three-judge panel ruled that a decision will be handed down at a future date. The hearing followed a petition filed by 67 citizens with academic, security and culture backgrounds arguing that even though Israeli law allows a prime minister to continue serving in his position until proven guilty in court—and even until all appeals are exhausted—the same law should not per...
(JNS)-Following Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit's announcement that he will formally indict Benjamin Netanyahu in three separate corruption cases, and the prime minister's inability to form a parliamentary majority following two snap elections, calls are rising from within the ruling Likud Party for leadership primaries. Former minister Gideon Sa'ar has called for the party to a primary for party chairman within the next two weeks in order to enable a new party leader an opportunity to form...
(JNS)-Benny Gantz and the Blue and White Party are hard at work trying to find other parties to join his coalition to give him the 61 mandates needed to form a government. Much talk has centered on the possibility that he would form a minority government with the support of the Joint Arab List. Yariv Levin, Likud Tourism Minister and chief negotiator in coalition talks, told JNS that "Blue and White has not ruled out the option of a minority government with the Arab parties." On Sunday, Gantz...
(JNS)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-indictment hearing began on Wednesday after three years of investigation. Netanyahu, who did not attend the hearing, is seeking to convince Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and state prosecutors not to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, labeled in Israel as Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000. Attorney Avi Himi, who heads the Israel Bar Association, told JNS that "the hearing process is...
(JNS) With negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, failing to form a national unity government, Israel's President Reuven Rivlin ultimately choose Netanyahu as having the best chance to form a government within the next 28 days. However, with Netanyahu only garnering support of only 55 Knesset members-six short of a governing majority-it appears that Israel's political deadlock will continue with both sides blaming one another for th...
(JNS)-While many Israelis might already feel fatigued by the upcoming elections on Sept. 17, former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who heads the newly formed right-wing Yamina Party, is both making history and surging in the polls. "I am the first female to head a right-wing political party in Israel's history," she told JNS. Heading a party that is polling consistently at 10 mandates, which would make it the fourth-largest party in the Knesset, Shaked has been very open about her nationalist...
(JNS)-As the Sept. 17 elections draw here, a flurry of activity among the various political parties continues to be a game-changer. Israel is holding a second round after the April 9 elections because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government, mainly due to Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman's refusal to sit in a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties. Now, those same parties may prove the sleeper of the election and might provide Netanyahu with the 61 mandates...
(JNS)-The decision by Israel to bar Reps. Rashid Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) due to their support for the anti-Israel BDS movement has generated international headlines while at the same time sparking further partisan divide and debate. The controversy over the congresswomen, however, comes shortly after a visit to Israel by 72 fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives that seemed to highlight rare public goodwill between Democrats and Republicans, as well as the broad...
(JNS)-Israel's politics got another major shakeup in recent days-this time on the right, with the announcement of the merger between Ayelet Shaked's New Right Party and Jewish Home. Like similar moves on the left last week, the latest union seeks to boost the election fortunes of the smaller parties on the right in order to cross the electoral threshold and have a stronger hand in coalition negotiations as the September elections approach. "From the beginning, I have said that the person who...
(JNS)-The campaigns for Israel's second elections in 2019 are underway and, after reviewing the first polls, many Israelis are asking if they may end up with a stalemate and no government following the second go-around. Initial polling results indicate that the Israeli right will once again be the closest to form a coalition. However, the numbers also reveal that following the Sept. 17 elections, Israel may very well end up again in a situation in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot...
