Not only has Bibi received support from Trump, he seems to have copied his behavior patterns. Or, did Trump receive undercover tutelage from Bibi on how to divide and conquer? Either way, Israeli and American campaigns bear disturbingly similar features that don't bear much resemblance to ethical democratic government.
2
Why are people acting as if there is something new or different going on. Netanyahu vowed during his first term that there would never be Palestinian State. He has held firm to that vow with expanded settlements, removal of Palestinian populations, refusal to even use the name Palestine, demolition and isolation of Palestinian farmland, destruction of Palestinian utilities, schools, universities, hospitals, in short anything that might even remotely reflect the possibility of statehood
1
Not only did Netanyahu win but so did Hamas. Their calculated firing of Rockets at Tel Aviv just before the election guaranteed Netanyahu”s victory. Hamas has nothing to offer but terrorism , and their greatest fear is peace with Israel.Netanyahu rides high on the wings of fear, he presents himself as a strong man,that can secure Israel's survival.Hamas gives Netanyahu the opportunity to demonstrate Israel’s power & resolve.In so doing, Israel comes off as the bully, and Hamas as the victim.
It doesn’t take much for the world to react to their favorite Scapegoat,Jews.Israel can’t win for losing which is Hamas plan. I wonder what would happen if instead of reacting to the terrorism of Hamas, Israel would appeal to the UN to stop Hamas aggression.If that happened there would be no need for Hamas or Netanyahu.
4
@Independent1776 an interesting analysis. I want the U S to stay out of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Let the Israelis negotiate their own treaties with the Arab world. Prime Minister Menachem Begin (Jewish terrorist) and then president of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat signed a peace treaty at Camp David in 1978. Let the Israeli’s suffer the consequences of their actions. Voting has consequences.
3
Great news, thank God we, Israel, the US and rest of the world are turning from far left leaders that will only continue to lead us down the wrong path to a chaotic world
3
The biggest endorsement for Netanyahu consistently comes from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
Under reporting and biased anti Israel slants in the media do not change facts on the ground for Israelis. Decades of violence from the Palestinian side, which resulted in check points and sanctions, have made security and peace - even if they must be achieved unilaterally - Israelis’ number one priority.
Media and pundits do no favor to Palestinians when they fail to recognize, or under play, the human rights abuses and exploitation of Palestinians by their own corrupt, authoritarian
leaders. No elections, no free speech, no freedom of expression, funds meant to improve life are instead used for terror, school children indoctrinated with hate, dissenters tortured and jailed...all adding up to dangerous neighbors.
And that’s why Israelis will most likely have PM Netanyahu.
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority deserve much of the credit.
2
I was once traveling from Amman to Petra in a bus in 2008 and a Palestinian from Jordan sat next time and we got talking about the US presidential election and I was campaigning for Obama at that time back home and told him that the plight of the Palestinians would change if Obama is elected president. His angry response was nothing will change and it does not matter who is the president of the USA, Palestinians will stay the same. It is the same about Israeli prime ministers. They are like twins Dweedle dum and Dweeldo. From the Palestinian stand point Netanyahu or Gantz makes no difference. To that I would say a known devil is better than an unknown one. With being prime minister for 5 times before, Netanyahu is a well know devil from the Palestinian point of view. So just not worry that he will continue to be prime minister but hope that this time around he will bring a comprehensive permanent peace that both the Israelis and Palestinians can realize. Salaam, Shalom.
1
Can Israel survive another Netanyahu term? Sadly, the more he annexes the West Bank, the more likely there will be no two-state solution. That will lead to all sorts of problems that could bring the downfall of Israel.
3
The Palestinian leaders want peace? Lets dispel of that myth starting out. They have had many chances at that, only to blow them up and turn to violence.
13
A win for corruption and criminality!
13
@gilmas Reading your comments, it really sound as though you believe in theocracy rather than democracy yourself.
1
Putin and Netanyahu met just before the election. What did Netanyahu promise Putin for massive Russian digital interference in the Israeli election guaranteeing his victory?
There is a disturbing Netanyahu/Trump alliance that bodes ill for everyone including Israelis.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-meet-putin-in-moscow-five-days-before-elections/
12
What scares me most about Netanyahu's win is does that forebode a Trump reelection? I hope someone can tell me that it does not.
6
Disconcerting to watch Trump want to mirror Netanyahu's policies of extremism. Trump is in awe of the "walls" that the Israeli government has built. Teargassing and harassing Palestinians is a mirrored policy at the US-Mexican border. The politics of division, fear and religious extremism. Many Israelis believe Netanyahu has brought peace and stability, but taunting Iran and stealing Palestinian land is only going to lead to problems down the road. The same here in America.
9
Reflecting this criminal is a disaster for the Middle East and the world, which is why Trump supporters and authoritarian creeps, unsurprisingly, think it’s good.
9
Correction: “Reelecting”
1
@Kip
That word was the least problematic part of your comment.
Your view that Netanyahu’s democratically elected leadership is pretty much the worst thing going on in the Middle East and even the world perfectly illustrates what an insanely skewed perspective some people have.
And yeah, that’s anti-Semitism.
2
Another nail in the coffin of both a 2 State solution and Middle East peace. Netanyahu will now take the green light Trump has provided to annex the entire West Bank; and the Palestinians will be left with nothing but the ghetto of the Gaza Strip. People with nothing left to lose can become very dangerous; but Netanyahu obviously feels both emboldened and impervious to any plans but his own. Clearly Israel has become a one party state. Likud has no real opposition. Yes the election was close; but in the end even a centrist and former military leader were not enough to have the strength to oust such a hardliner and Trump sycophant.
13
The ghetto to which you refer is by their own making. Learn some facts about the massive amount of corruption by palestinian leaders.
1
@Greg Hodges. Yes. The two-state solution has been grievously wounded by the racist, aparthied-like regime of Bejamin Netanyahu.
2
Very happy that the US constitution limits the terms that a president may serve. Thinking we need that in Congress.
2
Time for the U.S. to stop supporting Israel's Netanyahu.
11
“I believe that the Lord and history have given the people of Israel another opportunity, a golden opportunity to turn our country into a strong nation, among the strongest nations of the world,”......A strange boast for a country that relies upon the largesse of the American taxpayer
11
I bet the Palestinians wish now that chairman Arafat had accepted the Clinton parameters, instead of launching their violent intifada. They would be coming up on the end of their second decade of a state on 97% of the land that they were looking for.
23
The current policy of illegally annexing lands, includes pushing Palestinian residents out of their homes and off of their land in order to make way for hundreds of "settlements" that strategically come with soldiers and checkpoints: This is what is causing anti-Semitism to rise all over the world. Most American Jews (majority Democrats) vote for leaders, who appreciate the need for community healthcare, public schools and national pensions. Meanwhile, the GOP is aligned with the aggressive Netanyahu administration that is a fear and hate-mongering, bigoted machine aimed at keeping Netanyahu in power at any cost. The Israeli policy regarding Gaza and other areas, borders on genocide. The current "Jewish State" of Israel ( pop. 8.5 million) is 25% Arab, with an additional 4% "other" non-Jews. There are also more than 600,000 migrants and people living illegally in Israel. If indeed the West Bank became officially annexed, that percentage of non-Jews would rise significantly and Israel would no longer by any imagination be considered a Jewish State and the UN would need to address that illegal annexation and under representation of non-Jews in a single-state government. #Netanyahu is not the face of the Jewish people -- He represents the face of #Israel that has lost its way! #BoycottIsrael
8
What a wonderful day for Israel, The United States and the World!
12
Yes it is amazingly easy to scare the ignorant masses with claims of outside/inside threats - and get them to follow a flawed leader.
7
@Ivan
Pretty condescending of you—if not downright bigoted—to label a whole group of people about whose society you clearly know nothing.
Israelis are on the whole far more politically informed than most Americans.
They have to be: they're dealing with serious political issues that actually affect their lives..
Unlike so many self-righteous moralizers over here, yammering on about dolphin rights, security checkpoints, mixed gender bathrooms... and who other democratic nations should elect to lead them.
5
The people of Israel have more common sense than the entire US media put together. And, they reelected a proven leader.
The anti-Trump hysteria spilled over to a media dislike of Netanyahu. The media was trumpeting a summary defeat of Bibi hoping that can then be linked to a foreign policy mistake by Trump.
Beware. The same think will happen here in 2020. Reelection of President Trump too is a certainty.
13
There are so many of us who believe deeply that the creation of the Israeli state was justified, yet I am left angered and frustrated by what seems an intentional march towards state suicide. The flagrant provocation of re-electing Netanyahu is heart-breaking, disgusting, and frustrating. The determination to keep the Palestinian people in an open-air ghetto, choking the life out of them, is indefensible and it is a war crime.
This isn't anti-Semitic. Too many people forget or choose to ignore that the Palestinians are also a Semitic people. This is a demand for justice.
17
@Davina
The term anti-semitism is, and has alwaysb been, used specifically to mean hatred of Jews. Everyone knows this.
Playing little word games about different aspects of the term 'semitic' does not change the fact that the obscene double-standards commonly applied to Israel are, by definition, anti-semtiic.
You ignore Israel's ongoing fight for security, acceptance and respect. You fail to acknowledge its achievements in building a liberal-democratic society, in creating a rejuvenated artistic & intellectual Jewish culture, and in turning its economy into one of the world's strongest…
All you see is a politician you dislike, elected democratically—and you are filled with "disgust, frustration, and heartbreak".
This too, reflects a latent antisemitic attitude.
1
Netanyahu wants one Jewish state from the river to the sea.
The problem is that the Palestinians are not going anywhere, and the country will be majority Palestinian. Then what? To remain a Jewish state, Palestinians would have to be removed or disenfranchised.
BDS anyone?
8
I went to sleep last night with a glimmer of hope that when I woke up Mr. Gantz was declared the winner. This would be the beginning of restoring a sense of unity and decency among all peoples who occupy this small piece of our Earth. I am truly saddened.
If it is true and the majority of the Israel population like djt and this played a part in Bibi's win, this tells me that the fear I have that djt will win reelection in 2020 is real.
7
Fascism won by embracing Putin's strategy of demoralizing the left, and pandering to the moderate center which turned out allowing a corrupt fearmongering criminal victory. A sad day for Israel. Netanyahu was empowered by Boehner who simply wanted to needle Obama. Instead, he weaponized the Trumpian right and sealed his own exit. Now with Trump in power and desperate to destroy Rule of Law, it is imperative that Democrats wake up and understand that the Constitutional path to speak truth to power requires Impeachment - which is first and foremost an investigatory empowering tool- to be immediately deployed.
Putin took a victory lap yesterday, folks, in case you happened to have missed it. Gloating at Barr's quashing of any real release of findings, and Netanyahu's survival of accontability to the remnants of law in Israel.
14
@jwp-nyc. I'm baffled about how winning a democratic election is "fascism" and survival of accountability. Perhaps if there was an election, once, ever, in "Palestine" a true partner for peace may emerge.
5
Depressingly predictable. We are going to be led by the nose into a war with Iraq.
7
@Tedsams
"We are going to be led by the nose into a war with Iraq."
We already were, but I think you meant to write Iran, and I'm afraid you may be right.
3
@Lynn I meant Iran.
2
Trump likes Bibi because "Mr. Netanyahu spent much of the past year undermining law enforcement officials and the gatekeepers of Israel’s liberal democracy, railing against the police, the attorney general and what he called the “leftist” mainstream media, trying to delegitimize his critics and organizations working for Palestinian rights. His government has also worked to curb the powers of the Supreme Court."
10
@Charles pack
In other words, because Bibi is exactly like him. Birds of a feather.
7
@M. Imberti
If you can say he is "exactly like" Trump, you clearly know nothing about Netanyahu.
Like him or not, Netanyahu is an experienced and accomplished politician, of extremely high intelligence. He served with distinction in the military, excelled in academia and athletics as a youth, and while he may not be famous for humility (few world-class leaders are), he has served his country his whole life.
Probably safe to say you would no more recognize any of these qualities than a blind man can judge fine art.
But don't let that stand in the way of your forming strong, misguided opinions on the topic…
With a series of provocative policy moves, Trump has done a Putin for Netanyahu. As Likud election material demonstrates, Trump made the US essentially the major player in the Israeli election. Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, sharpening of US belligerence towards Iran, encouragement of the Israeli settler movement into Palestinian territory, up to and likely including outright annexation of the West Bank, severe cuts in US humanitarian and economic aid for Palestinians, demonization of the BDS movement, dismissal of a two-state solution--all these Trumpian initiatives, and more, represent a wholesale and unseemly US intervention in the Israeli elections. The US role in Israel's political processes differs from Putin's meddling in the US presidential election to support Trump only in its shameless nakedness.
Netanyahu and the Israeli political right--including Israel's own home version of the racial supremacist alt-right--seems to have managed a narrow win. Israel can now join the "illiberal democracies," like those presided over by Netanyahu's new-found friends in Budapest and Warsaw.
Netanyahu has another reason to feel gratitude to Trump: victory in the election may just be enough to block the consequences of his criminal indictment for corruption.
Despite Benny Gantz's remarkable showing, this has been a bad day for Israeli democracy.
14
This is the result you get when you run a milquetoast centrist and centrist policies against a Trump-like candidate. We saw it here in 2016 and we now see it in Israel. Let this be a warning to Democrats who want to run a Republican-lite mealy-mouth centrist against Trump.
16
@FXQ
I know very little about this election except it's disappointing that Netanyahu won. But I totally agree with you about our upcoming election.
Polls show us that a majority of americans want liberal change. Medicare for All, taxing the rich, campaign finace reform, more wallstreet and bank regulations, tuition reform, marijuana decriminalization, higher minimum wage, etc. On these same issues there is STRONG majority support among Dems. There is no reason for Dem candidates to move to the right except to appeal big corporate interests in search of campaign donations. Why is it so much to ask that our Dem candidates represent what Democrats want? The path to victory is to excite the base and get the vote out. We must not let establishment Dems sell us out this time.
7
@FXQ: The USA is not Israel. Netanyahu had a lot of supporters under young Israelis, plus they vote one of many parties, not individuals. And Netanyahu does not threaten healthcare and the social safety net for Israelis.
4
Yeah a socialist would have totally crushed Netanyahu! Oh wait, there were all manner of left-wing parties on the ballot.
2
In Israel voters had a choice. Among their neighbors there is no choice.
18
A nation with a population 8 million, the same as Togo, Papau New Guinea, and Switzerland gets this kind of election coverage.
Does that say or mean anything?
Or to question that coverage is anti-Semitic?
Enlighten me
14
@Nycoolbreez It has to do with religion, politics and money here plus the interest of the NYTimes readership. Specifically it has to do with our own compromised election system (campaign finance), lobbying, a history of US support of Israel unconditionally, both parties. Because of that support largely, Israel has turned into a military state, an occupier for 52 years now, giving full equality only to half those within it's increasing borders, Jewish people. We have helped create this Israel, apparently considered by Trump to be an exception to international law.
7
@Nycoolbreez Enlighten you as to what? Considering that nearly everyday there is an article criticizing Israel, in particular its government, it would make sense that a national election would merit an article or two, don't you think? In addition, Israel is a major player on the world stage. Its election outcome matters to people, not least of all people who despise Netanyahu. I can't remember the last time I read an article about Togo.
6
@Nycoolbreez
It means that Americans a vitally interested in the survival of Israel. It goes to Americans sense of decency and fair play. As to you question about anti-semitism, I would have to know more about your attitude to Israel viz-a-vis the palestinians.
1
Despite the numerous glib lumpings of Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump as birds of a feather one reads here, they are hardly the same. You may hate Netanyahu's policies but unlike Trump he is experienced, knowledgable, intelligent and not impulsive. Netanyahu has served his country for many years and at last until now was admired and respected. Moreover, unlike Trump, as the leader of his country he does not enjoy immunity from indictment and may wind up being convicted even though he is Israel's leader. So enough with the friend of my enemy is my enemy nonsense.
10
@Jay Orchard
I could not agree with you more. B.N. is in the service of the welfare of Israel. He has an undisputed intellect and history of military, diplomatic, as well as undisputed worldwide recognition. There simply is no comparison.
2
After Trump became president, a South African colleague expressed to me that she understood my reaction by saying, "We have Zuma, you now have Trump."
Israel, welcome back by providing our next reality TV episode of Democracy Deplorables.
7
Let's not fall all over ourselves just yet jumping to any conclusions.
The Times of Israel reports some districts registered more votes than there are eligible voters in them.
Zero tolerance for corruption, fraud, falsification!
Insist on full transparence, plus accountability for anyone who broke laws or ethical norms!
6
A sad day for Israelis who seek to foster integrity and restore a sense of justice to their broken country. Yesterday’s election was a referendum on Netanyahu’s character, and his voters have shown that they are willing to let a crook stay in office.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Likud and four other allied parties, which together will control at least 61 seats in the Knesset, have made it clear that they will not require Netanyahu to resign if he is charged.
Don’t blame us in Europe for attacking his person and his politics. Many of us aren’t “anti-Semites.”
14
Both challengers claim that there are winning. Come on Netanyahu! Come on Gantz! I am afraid that in an election there is only ONE winner. Or may be you need an electoral college too.
Ah, those in power.
Indicted, but may be able to serve the country as he commits and commits more criminal acts.
It's only uncertain if he can remain in office if he's a criminal, much like our President Grifter Russia
4
Israel has made its choice, now America must make theirs. End our unequivocal support of their policies; end our military support; end our subsidies that sustain their occupation and oppression. End the hypocricy. Israel must face their future, alone and isolated.
14
What you call occupation and oppression I call control of terrorists and self defense.
8
While Trump/Netanyahu supporters are reveling now, they fail to see the danger ahead. This cementing of the 'One State' policy is always a valid excuse for the Muslim neighbors to attack Israel. While they are all otherwise occupied now, the longer the clamp down on the Palestinians continues, the more resentment and pretext they give to their opponents. The greater influence Trump allows for Israeli-Russian affiliation, the greater the danger for Israel. (BTW, that was the real headline of the 'Helsinki Press Conference'. Go back and watch the full version of it again.)
3
Congratulations to the people of Israel for making a choice that they feel is better for them. Let’s show our faith in Democracy by appreciating the process and the outcome.
6
The two state solution is dead. Israel has been pursuing a slow and steady annexation process through settlements, but now with the green light from Trump, they are going to make official what has been happening for the last 50 years.
What I would like to know is what kind of deal has Israel struck with Russia and Saudi Arabia to go down this path? Netanyahu has buddied up with Putin, who is a major power broker in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia can pay off just about anyone to get what it wants and it wants to get rid of Iran, and so does Netanyahu. We know that Putin pulls Trump's puppet strings. There must be some kind of coordinated relationship between Putin, Trump, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Growing Israeli power in the best interests of these three.
Now that the world is barreling down this path, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if the Arabs never attacked Israel in 1948, 1955, 1967, 1973 and supported terrorism for 70 years. If they tried to get along and did not resort to terror, Israel would never have turned itself into the military machine it is. If Hamas and Hezbollah did not form and take over the region, would peaceful relations have been possible. If Arafat had not rejected a workable deal and no intifada had resulted, where would we be now?
It is devastating to see Israel head down the path to apartheid, but the Arabs have pushed them in that direction as hard as they could. Not an excuse, but the result of their actions.
14
@Bruce Rozenblit
I beg to differ. Whether or not the Arabs had attacked, the aim (starting with Ben Gurion) was always to achieve the Greater Israel. The Arabs were. and the Palestinians now are, the perfect excuse.
3
@Bruce Rozenblit
Ahem: 1948, 1955 and 1967 were attacks started by Israel.
"A dominant global player who has built a strong economy, Mr. Netanyahu is widely credited with having kept the country secure..."
Sorry, progressives. Israel doesn't have the luxury of indulging in utopian fantasies about a two-state solution in which Palestinians undergo a massive reorientation to peace.
This is about reality.
26
@AACNY
The Palestinians aren’t the only ones who’d need “a massive reorientation towards peace.” At this point Israel is taking step after step that are making any chance of real peace less likely.
16
@AANC
Unapologetic bribery and corruption, and your not actually sorry!
7
@AACNY Most people believe that peace can only be achieved when both sides are committed to treating each other with some degree of respect, and are willing to negotiate and compromise. Most people agree that when two nations have been at war for 50 years, both sides share the blame for its futility. Reality - that is, historical facts - clearly indicate that Israel has been as antagonistic, if not more, than the Palestinians.
Netanyahu, rather than drive toward reconciliation, has traded in intimidation and aggression in policy and action. That's not sustainable. There will be no peace until Netanyahu realizes that the Palestinians won't stop fighting unless Israel makes an attempt to understand their plight, and until they achieve some degree of sovereignty in their homeland. Why pro-Israelis (and I'm one of them!) don't understand this is confounding and maddening.
9
What most outside Israel fail to understand is that in the context both of internal politics and Israel's recent (30 years) history, Mr. Netanyahu IS a centrist. A look at his record shows a willingness to limit construction to existing settlements, support for a settlement freeze, opposition to West Bank annexation (which makes no sense for Israel, as it will then be responsible for the Palestinians living there) and a proven ability to reign in those on the "far right" who would push an extremist agenda.
More than that, he is a known quantity. He talks tough -- which Israeli voters like -- but, having lost a brother in the ar against terrorism, understands the need for Israel to wear down its enemies, as opposed to launching ground invasions.
Mr. Gantz is completely untested, with no political experience. He may be a former general, but to function in a highly charged political and decision-making environment as a political leader is a completely different job.
As for the Palestinian issue: there is no longer an Israeli voting bloc that is in favor of Palestinian statehood. The task for the Palestinians remains the same no matter who is elected prime minister, or regardless of what sort of coalition is formed in Israel.
21
@Frank J Haydn - It's curious that when one group is fighting another without an organized, government funded military force it's called "terrorism" while the other side is somehow credited with waging an honorable, acceptable war.
4
Well said. Thank you. May I add ....
Palestinians are oppressed by their own leaders
What rights do atheists, women, Jews, Christians, gays, non-Hamas supporters have in Gaza under Hamas? None.
Last vote? Almost never.
In the West Bank the Abbas thugocracy continues to hold power and offer no schools no rights no vote.
The Palestinians receive and have received more aid per capital than anywhere in the world. Yet they dont Build schools and factories; they teach hate to children and build arms factories instead. Where has the Billions upon Billions is aid gone? Skimmed off by their PLO leaders, endlessly.
1
Israel’s election is a warning. A crooked right wing demagogue needing re-election to avoid indictment can win. Netanyahu just did. In 2020 Americans need to vote on great numbers to ensure Trump and his GOP henchmen lose badly.
28
@Demosthenes
Your analogy -- comparing apples and orange -- suggests you have an incomplete understanding of Israel.
3
There seems to be a desire to be rid of Natanyahu amongst even supporters of Israel. His legal problems promise to undermine his government and the trajectory of the Democratic party promises real conflict with a future U.S. government for the first time since Eisenhower.
But the results demonstrate none of that compares to Bibi's ability to provide not just security, but articulate that this security comes not from negotiating with the Palestinians but from NOT negotiating with a undemocratic kleptocracy that denies due process, rule of law, and incites terror. In a world where the "2 state solution" has become a Messianic mantra of people who can't see how much the world has changed since 2000, Bibi clearly articulates Israel's national interest and delivers on it.
Because Americans, even those who support Israel's right to define its own future, can't jettison the 2 state Messianic nonsense there is this retreat into calling Bibi names: racist and divider. He plays sharp elbowed politics, no doubt, but he is not a racist. Calling those you disagree with names doesn't change the facts or the will of the Israeli people.
Under Bibi's leadership Israel has achieved unprecedented prosperity and security. They've won Nobel Prizes, started companies like Waze, won Eurovision, and sent a satellite to the moon. The Palestinians have tortured each other and refused to stop paying terrorists reward money while always blaming others for their problems.
That's why Bibi won.
30
What a tragic result for Israel and the world.
31
Some comments have been about Palestinians rather than Israel
As many note here, the vast majority of Israelis want peace. Sadly, their neighbors of Hamas, PLO and Hezbollah don’t.
Palestinians are oppressed by their own leaders
What rights do atheists, women, Jews, Christians, gays, non-Hamas supporters have in Gaza under Hamas? None.
Last vote? Almost never.
In the West Bank the Abbas thugocracy continues to hold power and offer no schools no rights no vote.
The Palestinians receive and have received more aid per capital than anywhere in the world. Yet they dont Build schools and factories; they teach hate to children and build arms factories instead. Where has the Billions upon Billions is aid gone? Skimmed off by their PLO leaders, endlessly.
39
Who counted the votes?
8
@Ralph Petrillo
Every polling place has a polls committee consisting of a chairman who works for the Central Election Committee and 4-5 representatives of right and left parties. Each ballot paper is passed to each committee member, as th chairman registers the totals. The tally is reported electronically and also sealed in an envelope and forwarded, with the ballot materials, to the Central Election Committee. This doesn't avoid all fraud but fraud is very low.
1
Meanwhile, Abu Mazen is in the 15th year of his four year term, having never faced any manner of an election.
20
This marks the end of the end of the Israel I was brought up to love and revere. An Israeli patient of mine sets the beginning at the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
I am a Jew, I am a child of Holocaust Survivors, and I am a Progressive person who believes in human life and that it's value transcends religion, color and nationality. My AIPAC style friends will say that "they started it, "they want to nullify our existence." I learned in first grade that two wrongs do not make a right, and kindness begets kindness. The government under Netenyahu is immoral, inhumane and corrupt. Jewish life has no greater value than Palestinian life. My heart goes out to my Progressive Israeli friends who are so sad today. Living under Trump I have more compassion for what it feels like to live under a regime that is full of hate and to feel (almost) powerless to stop it. How different Jewish politics have evolved in the diaspora where we retain our belief in loving kindness and progress. Fact, the Jewish vote for President in the US has always gone to Democrats (even McGovern). Exception: 1920 when the Jewish vote was split between Debs (the Socialist who got 38%) and Cox (D) at 19%. Is there truth that power corrupts?
55
@Lily Blank
Funny how all those humanist Progressives who are so above nationalism, politics and religious bias nevertheless think the most important objective for humanity today is to give the Palestinians their own political, Arab, Muslim state.
FACT: 100 years ago there was no Palestinian Arab nationality.
FACT: The term “Palestinian” primarily referred to Jews from the region of Palestine.
I'm neither Jewish nor Israeli but the Israel that I was taught to admire and respect has dissolved into something resembling the worst of America.
Benjamin Netanyahu reminds me of several Americans of dubious distinction: Strom Thurmond; George Wallace; Lester Maddox; Mitch Mcconnell, all of whom made it their mission in life to assemble coalitions to impede progress for others--this in a supposedly "free and democratic state."
In short, under Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has become a lot like America: grasping, intolerant, militaristic, and recklessly self-indulgent. I wish it were not so. Mr. Netanyahu and the American president represent the worst faces for human progress.
37
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Had the same thoughts.
Hope you’re doing well, my friend.
2
Bribery and corruption seem no longer to be disqualifying in elections in democratic countries.This is sobering and demonstrates how far we have strayed from the lofty ideals of the founders of our democratic unions.
23
When taking into consideration the Knesset seats won by the other parties and their necessary participation in a coalition government, Netanyahu's victory wasn't even close.
The left leaning Labor Party, which has been around for 50 years, won only six seats; as good an indication of the broadly pro-Netanyahu sentiment in Israel as any.
6
How truly sad for Israel. Someone wrote yesterday that 70% of Israelis support Trump. If that fact is true then Israel is no longer a Jewish state. It has already lost its Jewish heritage!
54
He won by promising to annex the West Bank, a violation of the International order, that outlaws acquiring territory annexation
When Putin did this, Russia was hit by sanctions
Time to do the same, should Netanyahu proceed with his plan of annexation
48
@John. When did Russia annex territory acquired in a defensive war? If you are alluding to what Russia has done in Georgia and Ukraine, how are those takings in wars it started comparable to Israel annexing land it acquired in battle defending itself from wartime aggressors?
9
@FLP
Israel did not and would not dare to annex anything. They won't follow Russian path. After 1949 it became just about impossible to aquire territory by force without paying the price of sanctions Russia is paying. Israel is too weak to go for formal annexation (they would not dare to annex even Golan Heights that has very sparse population and even after American encouragement - stupid that it was). Not returning it under various (sometimes legitimate) pretences is another matter.
2
@John
If you think Netanyahu is ever going to "annex the West Bank," you really need to read up on the history of Israel.
1
If Netanyahu wins, now he knows that he has a strong rival in the next corner.
1
It’s remarkable how many educated Times readers compare and confuse Netanyahu with Trump.
Netanyahu is a highly educated man. MIT and Harvard graduate. Member of an extremely distinguished family including among them an eminent historian and world-renowned Rabbi.
Has successfully engaged over the course of his life in multiple careers as a politician, diplomat, writer, economic consultant and marketing executive.
A proud Jew, skilled orator and politician, longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history, served five years in an elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces in several of Israel’s wars, wounded in action, married to the same wife since 1991, deep knowledge and experience with virtually every branch of the Israel’s government, supporter of free market economics, gay rights and the integration into Israel of Ethiopian Jews and African Hebrew Israelites.
Is it possible that this man’s critics are comparing him to some other Donald Trump than the one I know?
27
To clarify the comparisons between Trump and Bibi: Bibi is certainly more educated, eloquent, and intelligent than Trump. Having said that, they are virtually identical in their hate of the free media, in their inflammatory and divisive tactics, in their disdain for democratic institutions such as independent judiciaries, in their overt racism, and in their personal corruption. While Bibi will never lower himself to blatant anti LGBTQ talk, he has no problems whatsoever with extremely anti LGBTQ coalition partners. As a highly intelligent version of Trump, Bibi is far more dangerous to his country and region than Trump to his.
31
... deep knowledge and experience with virtually every branch of Israel’s government ....
3
@A. Stanton The current policies of illegally annexing lands, including pushing Palestinian residents out of their houses and off of their land in order to set up hundreds of "settlements" that come complete with soldiers and checkpoints: That is what is causing anti-Semitism to rise all over the world. Fortunately, I grew up in a mixed Jewish, Catholic neighborhood in Iowa and I saw first hand how wonderful are the Jewish people in the USA. They set up a Jewish Community Center that was enjoyed by everyone -- including an indoor swimming pool and library. Looking a little deeper in the USA, it is noted that most American Jews vote for leaders, who appreciate the need for healthcare, school and pensions (majority Democrats.) Meanwhile, it is the Republicans in this country that align with the Netanyahu administration that is a fear and hate-mongering machine aimed at keeping Netanyahu in power at any cost. The current Jewish State is 25% Arab, with an additional 4% "other" non-Jews. There are also more than 600,000 migrants and people living illegally in Israel. If indeed the West Bank became officially annexed, that percentage of non-Jews would rise significantly and Israel would no longer by any imagination be considered a Jewish State. The United Nations at that point would also need to address that illegal annexation and under representation of non-Jews in a single-state government.
9
Trump's critics will now unleash their anger at Netanyahu as his surrogate.
10
Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump are very much alike - only difference is that Netanyahu is intelligent .But ,I hate to say it they are both underhanded and racist . Israel started out as a Democratic homeland for the Jewish people but has deteriorated under the present regime into more of a police state. Many of the middle of the road and mainstream Jewish residents want peace with their neighbors and and end to the forced separation and suspicions the present administration has pushed for . As an American of Jewish heritage , I am disappointed in the results of the election- Israel is a beautiful land but I could not live there as long as there remains no possibility for peace and a "two state solution". Wasn't that the idea when the area was declared a state an homeland for the Jewish people in 1948?
22
It’s not a police state, some overstate this.
Sadly their neighbors don’t want peace. This is clear and true
Hamas? No.
PLO? No
Syria? No
Hezbollah (Lebanon). No.
13
Can't believe the majority would pick Netanyahu under indictment for corruption and bribery over a war hero.
Wouldn't surprise me with overt support from Trump, and covert support from Putin and his trolls, which of course Putin knows nothing, after Bibi's visit to Moscow.
It would be impossible for an honest person to win the election in Israel.
12
@Quandry. Bibi’s indictment was purely political and will dismissed. It was the Israeli version of Trump-Russia collusion.
10
@Quandry: Well, what can I say? In the USA, the majority of the Republican Party choose a draft dodger whom ridiculed a war hero. And contrary to Trump, Netanyahu did his military duty to his country. And he never had bone spurs either.
3
This is not only sad for oppressed Palestinians. This is sad for the world.
And dangerous.
28
Palestinians are oppressed by their own leaders
What rights do atheists, women, Jews, Christians, gays, non-Hamas supporters have in Gaza under Hamas? None.
Last vote? Almost never.
In the West Bank the Abbas thugocracy continues to hold power and offer no schools no rights no vote.
The Palestinians receive and have received more aid per capital than anywhere in the world. Yet they dont Build schools and factories; they teach hate to children and build arms factories instead. Where has the Billions upon Billions is aid gone? Skimmed off by their PLO leaders, endlessly.
Truly tragic.
10
I don't see anyone calling out on America's blatant interference Israeli election by declaring the Iranian army as a Terrorist organization, a day before election. This is Trump directly helping Netanyahu. Why is NYTimes not calling this out ?
110
@Lord Varys it seems they've conformed in order to survive the coming doom to democracy.
4
@Lord Varys
IRGC is not the Iranian army
4
this is not a democracy, where you imprison your minorities without duo process. it's not a democracy, when you plan cameras at voting stations to intimidate minorities from voting. it's not a democracy, when you say that this county belongs to us and not you. call it whatever you want, it's not a democracy and calling this fair and free elections, NYTimes, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
70
@John
Thank you John, for your astute confirmation of what I submitted here a few days ago: "Israel isn´t, and never was a democracy, neither in theory (it belongs to the Jewish people, not to ALL its citizens), nor in practice: the Palestinian citizens lived from the beginning until 1965 under military control in "their own" (?) state, and since then have been legally and socially discriminated against." And that is without mentioning the almost 5 million Palestinians in the occupied territories -- WB, Gaza and East Jerusalem -- , whose fate, since 1967,has been daily determined by Israel without their having a say or influence -- except through resistance, which only hardens the oppressive and already brutal Israeli policies in those, their areas. It didn´t, doesn´t and won´t make a difference, which party leads the country: the prejudices and the ethnocentrism, the self-imposed blindness, as well as enjoyment of living at the cost of others, are all too-dominating factors. Change will only come when the world community has enough courage to say to the Jews in Israel "enough! no more!". This is actually the message of BDS, which is then accused of being anti-semitic and of trying to de-legitimize Israel, when it is actually Israel that is de-legitimizing itself. Only by intensive action, something which today, especially but not only in the US, demands much courage -- as exhibited by Ilhan Omar and others -- can one hope to defeat the self -imposed ignorance in the West.
10
@John I think you should visit Israel. Minorities (non-Jews) have all the rights that Jews have, including freedoms unimaginable in the countries that surround Israel. They do not bomb christian churches or massacre Muslims. You can criticize the government, and all have the right to vote freely. More importantly, at least in my experience, Jews and Arabs live together, share friendships, and respect each other.
2
While Netanyahu leads Israel, this once staunch supporter of the Zionist ideal will WITHHOLD overt support for that country and it's government. I will not be party to assisting those that rub shoulders with tyrants like Viktor Orban or count Trump among their friends and disregard respectable and important world leaders like President Obama in order to speak before Congress at the invitation of John Boehner.
89
Netanyahu admires Trump. That's all you really need to know about his character and judgement.
108
Congratulations, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Give people a real choice and they'll always go with the conservative.
Benny Gantz' only chance was Likud nominating a John McCain or a Mitt Romney instead of Bibi.
6
It’s not really a “choice,” is it, when the conservatives get elected with fewer actual votes.
What a shame.
According to this vote, a two state solution was nothing but lip service to the Palestinians for years.
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@sonyalg
Israelis tried for years to forge a deal with the Palestinians, but every Israeli concession was made with an increase of terrorism against Israeli citizens. They have to live with enemies on their border sworn to their destruction; you don't. After decades of attempting to make peace and receiving rejections and rockets in return, Israelis have had enough. I can't blame them.
32
@sonyalg: There were never a proposition for two states. The proposed Palestinian state was always a demilitarized state, In other words a bantoustan.
5
He hasn't won yet. Have faith
9
@Nancy
The first stage of grief
4
The Palestinians are all but assured of a one-state solution and running Israel or Palestine as the majority population the next 20 years. Bibi, one of the founders of Palestine from the Jordan to the Sea.
2
@Marco Philoso
One could, should actually congratulate Netanyahu on that. But he didn´t establish a "Palestine from the Jordan to the Sea" -- that´s exactly what it was before the state of Israel was established in 1948 -- all people, Jews as well, had until then referred (since the Romans in 135 CE) to the land as "Palestine". Jews and Arabs lived mostly in peace with, next to each other, until the appearance of Jewish "Volk-nationalism" (Zionism) at the end of the 19th century, and then, on its heels (but not only as a reaction thereto, as the Zionists claim until today) the Arab-Palestinian version. And of course the British imperialism and colonialism made its massive contribution to the violence as well.
So it´s back to square one, meaning the one-(democratic)state solution for the entire land, call it Pal-El or Isra-Pal, or whatever. But as long as the Jews in Israel refuse to accept the Palestinian citizens of that state as people of the same worth as the Jews and recognize their individual and national rights in full, then there is no chance that the one-state solution will function either. It will look and be the same as the present Israel, if not worse.
Of course the retort from the Zionist side, whether Jewish or other, will be, how can you live together with terrorists? But they don´t want to accept the fact that Palestinian resistance, whether terrorist or otherwise, is a protest against the Israeli occupation of their lands, with all that comes with it.
6
@Michael. And before 135 the area was called?
2
@FLP
Canaan! The name "Israel" in regard to the land is first mentioned in the book of 1. Samuel. Later called Judea and Samaria (shomron). But we are talking about the modern period -- or do you want to go back to worshipping with animal sacrifices, to stoning adulterers and "Unbelievers"?
Intellectual and emotional honesty, that is, recognizing the rights of all persons and having empathy with them all, should instruct a person to deal with problems in a reasoned way. Try it out.
Now that the election is over, I hope Israeli politicians can build bridges with each other and heal the divisions within the country.
6
I mourn for both the Jews and the Palestinians. Both are proxies for the dominant players in the Middle East. Both experienced terrible bloodshed for decades; and, neither group’s leaders trusts the other. How can a peaceful solution ever happen?
38
@Garry. The Palestinians accepting one of the many peace offers that they rejected over the years sure would have helped.
2
@TMDJS"
This is such nonsense. These offers were shameful. No one in his right mind would have accepted them. That ‘generous offer’at Camp David for instance : Israel would annex highly valuable sections of the West Bank and retain “security control” over other parts, that would have made it impossible for the Palestinians to travel or trade freely within their own state without the permission of the Israeli government .
The West Bank was divided into three disconnected cantons. In exchange for taking fertile West Bank lands that happen to contain most of the region’s scarce water aquifers (!), Israel offered to give up a piece of its own territory in the Negev Desert—about one-tenth the size of the land it would annex—including a former toxic waste dump.
Palestinians living in their new ‘independent state’would have been forced to cross Israeli territory every time they traveled or shipped goods from one section of the West Bank to another, and Israel could close those routes at will. Israel would also retain a network of so-called ‘bypass roads’ that would crisscross the Palestinian state while remaining sovereign Israeli territory (!), further dividing the West Bank.
The Palestinian economy, would have been completely at the mercy of the Israeli military. Had Arafat agreed to these arrangements, the Palestinians would have permanently locked in place many of the worst aspects of the very occupation they were trying to bring to an end.
But Americans, do not know this...
1
Couldn't President Rivlin decide on Gantz on the basis that a person under indictment for major crimes cannot possibly form a stable government?
10
He could. But he won’t, because there is no path for Gantz to form a coalition.
7
@Bart
He could if that were true, but it isn't. First, he hasn't been indicted yet, and won't be for at least about 8 months. The potential coalition partners are perfectly willing to go into government with him under that scenario.
Even if he is indicted and steps down (also not certain), it just means that the Likud could pick his replacement as PM and the coalition could continue.
Beyond that, the right won the majority and the President won't go against the result of the vote.
6
Are the Russians also behind Netanyahu's election? Another sad day for the world.
13
Netanyahu prevailed largely due to the Trump administration's latest support for some of his more abhorrent and illegal actions, including plans to annex the Golan Heights and the West Bank.
Apparently this was the "peace plan" that Trump and Jared had been hard at work with for the past two years: wait until right before an election to support a one-state solution, denying Palestinians their basic human rights and propping up yet another hard-right government overseeing what amounts to an apartheid state.
I feel, yet again, such a bewildered sense of heartbreak and shame as an American, knowing that this is now our role on the global stage: no longer standing for democracy and human rights (however flawed our past efforts may have been), and instead working to advance the dictatorial goals of people like Putin, Netanyahu, Duterte, and Mohammed bin Salman. These governments offer us absolutely nothing in return besides stroking our president's ego and providing him some real estate deals.
Let this be a sobering reminder that it is not just American interests on the ballot in 2020 - it is the very fragile state of global democracy.
149
@Solaris
Not really. Bibi prevailed b/c:
The Israeli public is largely center -right, and that includes the main opposition party;
The Arab public shot itself in the foot (again); their low participation is what swung the election to Bibi.
13
@Solaris
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981.
@Solaris We should lay the blame on the people who vote - Americans for Trump and Israelis for Bibi. Instead with blame Russians etc.
1
Two words: term limits.
7
So let's see: Bibi is likely to be indicted on corruption charges but Israeli citizens are willing to keep him in office anyway- despite the fact that Benny Gantz is no less passionate about the nation's "security" than he is. Bibi has already told his supporters that Israel is a state only for the Jewish people and that he's ready to proclaim sovereignty over the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem without offering voting rights to the Arabs whose lands he's confiscated. Apart from China's invasion of Tibet, what other post-WW II nation has been permitted to occupy territory outside of its internationally established borders without being forced into retrenchment by the U.N. and/or NATO? The Israelis have now officially declared themselves outlaws to world order. The idea that the U.S. should continue to support them financially or militarily says as much about us as it does about them.
Comment submitted 4/10 at 2:30 AM
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@stu freeman
Wrong.
Bibi actually hasn't said what you claim. He said he's willing to claim sovereignty over the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, not the rest of it.
Israel long ago claimed sovereignty over East Jerusalem and applied Israeli law to the Golan.
As far as East Jerusalem and the Golan - the Arabs and Druze living there are classified as permanent residents of Israel, which gives them full economic and personal rights in Israel, including the right to vote in local elections.
To vote in national elections they have to request Israeli citizenship, which they are granted when it is requested. Some of them have taken advantage of this. So they are "offered" the right to vote.
If they prefer not to request Israeli citizenship, they are not having any of their rights denied to them.
15
@DH
Can you honestly not see the offence in saying they have to request Israeli citizenship? Just imagine this the other way around for a second.
11
@DH
It is actually more respectful to have them request citizenship and not assume they want it. No one is forcing it on them; needs to be something they freely choose.
10
Netanyahu’s victory is less a comment on his politics, and more on Israel’s evolution over the last couple of decades.
Just like Trump’s in 2016 reflected on the scale of our own problems.
14
@Patrician
Or it's more a comment on the Arab citizens' repeated tendency to cut off their nose to spite their face, as it were.
If they would vote in numbers similar to the Jewish citizens, the left would probably have won a 65-55 seat majority instead of the other way around. That would also mean that a couple of the small extreme right wing parties wouldn't even be represented in the Knesset.
2
Hopefully, as the region and the world digest the result of this election, those who supposedly represent the Palestinian Arab population living in Israel will realize that the only way to a successful peace is to negotiate realistically and decry further violence.
27
@Dr. Sam Rosenblum
Sorry Doc but by your statement this will never happen. I say this because it takes two to negotiate. By your statement you have put all of the responsibility on Palestinians. This type of attitude is why the world has turned against Israel.
5
@Dr. Sam Rosenblum
“.... decry further violence.“
Palestinians decry violence every day of their lives. The violence of the occupation, the violence of soldiers breaking into a home to cart of an adolescent child to prison, the violence of the checkpoints, the violence of Israeli snipers targeting and killing hundreds of non-violent demonstrators at the Gaza prison wall in just the last year alone, the violence of Israeli settlers vandalizing crops and olive trees, slashing tires, even stone-throwing, stealing land to build their own roads. All with impunity.
Everyone on all sides should decry further violence, I hope you agree.
1
what a shame. there were nanoseconds of hope but alas, for nothing. this maybe a serious metaphor for the us 20/20 elections indeed. time to panic yet?
8
The Land of Milk and Honey is no more, and it has nothing to blame but itself.
6
Netanyahu's party wins 35 of 120 seats and this is called a victory? About 72% of the voters did not vote for him; that certainly appears to be the opposite of a mandate.
2
That’s not how the Israeli system works.
In America we make our coalitions before the election, in Israel, after.
No party in any election ever has garnered an outright majority.
Like in England, governments are coalitions if multiple parties.
16
@James Karkheck
He actually did quite well. In Israel it's all about the coalition. That's when the real "wheelin and dealin" occurs. It's also how Israel finds a way to accommodate a number of different viewpoints, eg; in this case Likud is a secular party and they will form a coalition with Shas and UTJ, both very Orthodox parties. This will ensure that multiple viewpoints are enabled.
6
There goes the hope for peace in the MidEast.
Non-Likud coalition is the only way forward for both Israelis and Palestinians to work toward a 2-state solution.
7
Benjamin Netanyahu's likely return to power suggests that the Israeli voter is still comfortable with a demagogue's populist rhetoric than betting for an uncertain future however closer it might be to the democratic ideals.
6
@Prof. Jai Prakash Sharma
No, it suggest two other things:
The Arab citizens don't use the system to their advantage; they have the power to do so and even to reverse the results of the election, but refrain from doing so.
It suggests much of the Jewish population is simply concerned about their personal security and feel the Likud and Bibi give them the best chance of continuing to be safe. They may not be correct, but that isn't relevant.
4
As has lately been the usual outcome, 80% of the vote went to openly racist parties (Netanyahu and his coalition partners, whatever the current incarnation of a “centrist” party is, Labor). That is, to parties whose only disagreement regarding how to settle matters in Israel/Palestine is about *how* to keep the Palestinian people excluded from individual as well as collective rights. Some want them expelled; some want to take all the land but keep the people on it excluded from citizenship; some want to perpetuate the status quo via the never ending story of the “peace process” which is rarely a process and never peace.
In this of course Israel fits right in with the rest of the Western world. It is indeed true that we (societies - not all of us in them) have shared values. It’s just not true that they are values *worth* sharing.
11
A one state solution it will be then. Israel made one decent offer to the Palestinians at Taba, but Barak got cold feet and ran away. They were that close to a deal but he was afraid of Israeli public opinion. It was the only offer ever to the Palestinians of a contiguous area for their state.
A struggle for Palestinian civil rights is next. Unless the whole western democratic world turns Orban/Trump/Bolsonaro- style anti-democratic, Israel will face sanctions until the Palestinians have the right to vote. Netanyahu will go down in history as the 'king of Israel' that managed to destroy it.
9
What a sad day for Israel's democracy and decency, revealing the presence of a public devoted to the same leader that will change the trajectory of its political and existential landscape, while corruption inaptitude and glitz won over substance promising no hope for a brighter and better Israeli future. .
.
8
Trump has tweeted: "A 9th Circuit Judge just ruled that Mexico is too dangerous for migrants. So unfair to the U.S. OUT OF CONTROL!" but reading this article I would suggest that it is Trump who is out of control! Control of himself that is. His way of operating seems to be to do whatever occurs to him in the spur of the moment, whether it is legal or not, and then when it fails to happen blame someone else. His characteristic open hand, palm up gesture cries out "I am not to blame", whatever happened to "The buck stops here"? Whatever happened to moral responsibility? Whatever happened to Presidential leading by example?
5
"He was widely expected in his coalition negotiations to try to trade passage of annexation laws for retroactive immunity to prosecution in the corruption cases against him."
Pretty incredible acknowledgement here, openly layering crimes within further crimes... essentially promising the commission of future crimes if exoneration is provided for past crimes.
"we promise to commit crimes against humanity (illegal annexation of territory), if only you promise to immunize us from our previous crimes first".
amazing, two crimes for the price of one! act now, limited time offer... truly a bargain. with great power comes great criminality.
7
@Pathology of Power
That scenario is not as "widely expected" as the article claims. One of his expected coalition partners has already said such an idea is out of the question.
And within the Likud itself, it's highly likely he won't get full support for the passage of any retroactive immunity law: either because some of the Likud parliamentarians disagree on principal; or because some of them see Bibi's indictment as a chance for them to take over leadership of the party. They will cloak their power grab in claims of defending the "rule of law", but that will be the real reason some of them refuse to go along.
1
Seeing this result, it’s hard not to project my own anxieties about the upcoming Presidential election, and Trump’s chances.
80
@CS Israel is nothing like the United States. It is a tiny plot of land surrounded by hostile peoples prepared to annihilate it at any opportune moment. Many of Israel's political opponents here in the States underestimate the psychological toll of being surrounded in close proximity by serious enemies.
This is to say nothing of the unfortunate condition the Palestinian refugees find themselves in. But the reality there is problematic and not given to "obvious" moralistic solutions offered from our cozy land.
20
You are exactly right that this is projection, not reality. Lefties who know nothing about Israel and the Middle East are focused on Trump because of his awful flaws, but most leaders of other nations are friendly to our president simply because he’s president of the United States.
9
All hope of restoring a sense of unity, democracy and decency in the world is lost with men like Netanyahu or Trump in power. How sad for the Palestinian people to continue to be deprived from their right to freedom and self-determination; such basic rights.
169
Yes, very sad. Nothing we can do though. Right? The Trumps, Putins, Contes and Netanyahus etc. of the world will always win. Dictators always win.
My Grandfathers are rolling over in their graves. Makes me sad how badly we messed up this world and how disappointed they'd be in all of us.
14
@MC
Maybe 70+ years of rejecting statehood in favor of perpetrating war and terrorism against a sovereign country has something to do with it.
26
@MC
Palestinians lost their right to freedom and self-determination generations ago, not because of the Israelis, but because they have never had decent leadership, and have continued to commit, one way or another, to the complete destruction of Israel.
Yes, it IS sad, but, like post-1994 South Africa, the source of the collapse is internal, not external.
Carrying a sense of victimhood, like a medal, does nobody any good...
39
It is true that the two state solution has little support in Israel. Not because it wasn't desired but because people can see it going nowhere. And the reason is not because of ".Israel's impunity" it is because the Palestinians do not engage but have a non negotiable "1967 lines and right of return ". Neither of these are achievable aims and implies that either they are out of touch with reality or that that their object is what they say it is : destruction of Israel. To expect Israel to go back to the 1967 lines which they had to defend with difficulty and to accept millions of Palestinian non-refugees to weaken the state is obviously an impossible dream as is the destruction of Israel. In a negotiation when you stick to impossible demands you get nothing. Ask the British Brexit campaigners.
47
@Sydney Kaye
Beware progressives' utopian proposals. They rarely survive the test of reality. In Israel's case, indulging them would be catastrophic.
9
@Sydney Kaye Stop making excuses for Israel. What the Palestinians do or do not believe has absolutely nothing to do with Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied territories. This obvious point somehow seems beyond Israel's apologists, who always seem to be arguing that so-called Palestinian "intransigence" gives Israel a right to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land. It does not. The two issues are completely unconnected. Israel is using its political impasse with the Palestinians as cover to steal land. It is that simple.
9
@Shaun Narine
You don't understand much.
Large scale support for the 2 state solution was widespread in the 1990's. What ended it was the Palestinians' turning to suicide bombings instead of negotiations.
Two suicide bombings a day (which is what the situation was about 17 years ago) will tend to convince your population that it might not be the best idea to turn control over territory to those same neighbors who are using it as a base for bombing you.
The control of southern Lebanon and Gaza by radical Islamists also contributes to the situation. Few Jewish Israelis think the proposed Palestinian State would last long before being taken over by radical Islam, which would then make the West Bank another launching pad for attacks against Israel.
2
I hope the Palestinian leaders -- and that includes Hamas -- will be wise enough to greet Netanyahu's victory with some public expression of their willingness to sit down with him soon to discuss peace.
Yes, they have been notoriously reluctant to do so, but this could very well be their last chance.
Netanyahu is on a roll right now, and might be amenable to cutting a better deal with Palestinians now than he or any other future Israeli leader could or would ever offer again.
A deal constructed so Palestinians would be getting more of what they want slowly-but-surely over future years, rather than immediately.
For openers to speed progress, Hamas could announce its intention to discontinue its terrorist activities right now.
Time is growing very short for a Palestinian State, soon without a measure of realism among Palestinians there will be no time left.
24
@A. Stanton: I see no reason to believe that Netanyahu has any interest in sitting down with Fatah to discuss peace, let alone Hamas. He won't stop building/expanding West Bank settlements and has already said that he is willing to use Israeli troops to defend Jewish squatters even outside the "official" settlements.
15
@A. Stanton, He cannot possibly give them a good deal because he cannot give them a state and maintain his ruling coalition. Without a state for the Palestinians what is there to negotiate?
7
@A. Stanton The Palestinians have no reason whatsoever to sit down with Netanyahu, who has absolutely no interest in forging a fair two state solution. Time ran out long ago and the clock won’t start again until Israel has a new leader. Why should they give in to an unconscionable, corrupt bully? Most Americans have no idea of the real history of the Palestinians and the conflict and continue to see it through a very distorted lens today. This is a short term and ultimately self defeating win for an odious man and his country, much like The right wing and renegade president wrecking ours. It’s a mirage that will disappear leaving a stark and ugly reality to contend with in its aftermath.
14