It will be nice to see Netanyahu riding off to retirement (or trial). Those who think this will bring peace with the Palestinians are likely to be disappointed. Netanyahu wasn't the solution, but he also wasn't the problem, the Arabs are. They turned down peace proposals from his predecessors in 2000 (Barak) and 2008 (Olmert), and they will turn down peace proposals from his successors. Still, it will be a great day when the moving van pulls up and Netanyahu leaves the Prime Minister's residence. Meanwhile Palestinian leader Abbas is in year 15 of his 4 year term.
28
@Chazak
The one thing I cannot agree with is your characterization of the Arabs. You should look at the proposals they have turned down! Any self-respecting person or group would have done the same. It would have been suicide to have accepted.
Think of the Native Americans and the history of their dealings with the 'settler colonists.' You would condemn the Arabs to the same fate. I would not.
6
@Chazak
You are right about this not bringing peace. Israel has some VERY long strides to make before Palestinians can begin to trust them, to negotiate with them.
Israel has been lying for decades about their intentions wrt the Two State Solution - have provoked Palestinians every time there were peaceful talks going on.
4
@Joschka
The Camp David offer of 2000 was a good deal, even providing sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians; but they rejected it as it didn't include a right of return, which would ultimately have been the death sentence of the Jewish state. As the saying goes: "The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."
8
The ultra-orthodox of most religions don't compromise. The Haredim do not learn math or science or English, and thus lack the ability to reason with the secular world. They don't want their beliefs to be discussed; they want their beliefs to prevail.
History has many bitter lessons to teach on this matter. I hope more reasoned and educated voices prevail--in Israel as well as the US.
80
@hammond
Interestingly enough, religionists do (or should) want their beliefs discussed.
Religious beliefs are constructed in a way that they cannot be either proven or disproven. This leads to endless discussion, which leads to new believers.
Read "Religion Explained" by Pascal Boyer if this interests you.
1
Whatever the outcome... it is the Likud Party that needs to be marginalized and dismantled by the voters in Israel.
Israel's early history as a nation was one of center-left policies and actions. In that era, the nation thrived and was broadly supported by western nations in the face of isolation within the middle east. Likud began as a center right party, and normal cycling back and forth between center-left and center-right dominated Israeli politics for more then a generation beginning in the 70s.
But as time passed, Israel policy and actions moved more and more right.. ultimately strong right wing under Netanyahu. Not unlike what has happened to the US Republican Party in the last 20 years. Likud appears to be getting quietly chumy with the Russans as well.. not unlike Trump. As this persists.... Israel will find less support for it's polices and actions from western nations... and as such... Israel as a nation suffers.
13
@Chuck. Your description of Israel’s “early history as a nation” is a happy fiction which Israelis themselves recognize to be untrue - unless you pine for the return of socialist policies overseen by Jews of European descent who kept the Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews in a second class status and Israeli Arabs under a separate military regime until the early 1960s. And dare I mention a lackluster economy shackled by top-down regulations?
No Israeli wants to return to any part of that history. Why would anyone, other than those who have seen their power vanish - which is much of Israel’s left who, you may have noticed in this election, are now politically marginal players?
3
Bibi never campaigned on a platform that included peace.His platform was security and his willingness to annex all of Palestine little by little and not care what the world thinks since the UN is stiffled by the always present US veto.
1
Ah ... pundits, and especially pundits with books to sell, miss the obvious.
The government will now be about who is the biggest political liar - those who said never Bibi, never Arabs, or never Haredi (and btw - the Haredi contribute quite a lot to Israeli society's social welfare, as opposed to the Arabs ... and Bibi).
Liberman won until now - but he has forced away the fringes and left two mainstream parties - Likud and Blue/White - who do not need him.
Of course, Bibi is Bibi, and he may pull a Labor Party rabbit out of his black hat, and join with Haredi parties, right wing Yamina, and Labor, who are sick and tired of being in the opposition after running the country for 40 years.
It is profoundly misleading and dishonest to suggest any equivalence between ultra-orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs. For decades the former have benefited from government financial support which the latter can only dream of.
There is no need to even mention the series of land expropriations and travel restrictions suffered by the Arab population over the years to realize how they're treated today. Just this year, a town, Afula, voted to ban Arabs from living in it. Where has there ever been such a ban for the orthodox? Never. There have been dozens and dozens of Orthodox ministers in the succeeding Israeli governments, while there have been all in all two low-level -- and short-lived -- Arab ministers since 1948. Etc., etc. The list is so long it is astonishing to read such a dishonest article in the NYT.
115
@EM Did you even read the article? It's not about the treatment of or the influence that Arabs or Haredim actually hold, but about how the perception of their influence or threat to Israeli society was used in the campains and is influencing voter decisions.
21
@EM It is does not matter what the reality is. What matters is what Israeli voters feel and how their politicians manipulate those feelings.
11
@Sour Grapes Why do you think an article on any topic cannot also express prejudices or be based on wrong equivalences? This article presents the orthodox and the Arabs as two equally hated fringes of Israeli "mainstream." Their marginal statuses is not at all the same, and the two hatreds are not at all of the same nature. And it is disturbing that the author does not recognize it, if only in passing.
10
That "talk of Arab voters and politicians" is not just "an old habit." It's nothing short of racism and bigotry and that it's not called out as such is troubling to say the least. Not that I'm surprised. I don't recall a time when Rosner has ever said anything that could be construed as sympathetic to Palestinians or their struggle.
1
Yes, the emperor truly has no clothes and has been called out on this.
Netanyahu is everything bad people say about him probably but he is also a consummate politician who made a bet and lost big time.
Now what?
He is in a pretty pickle with not a lot of nice options.
But then his opposition also doesn't have many good cards to play with.
Who will win this crazy game?
Stay tuned.
2
Some of Trump's best buddies (see Johnson, Boris) are starting to do badly as they ignore reality and promote lies about how civilization works, violence and exploitation.
6
In Israel a third of the people work, a third pay taxes and a third serve in the military. The problem is that it's the same third who does all three!
2
I've seen that movie before.
I'll believe it when it happens.
1
Since the majority of children in Israeli kindergartens are either Haredi or Arab, I think Israeli society has a problem if it can't stomach either.
1
I am reminded of the late Teddy Kolleck whose words still resonate today. "‘I’d love the city to be empty of Arabs, but since they are here we need to serve them, because if we treat them badly they will hate us more,”.
Therein lies the divide.
4
"The interesting part was the tactics that both camps used as their main means of rallying the troops. Both identified straw men (and women) against which to campaign, scaremongering about the two least favorable groups in the minds of mainstream Israeli voters: ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Muslim Arabs."
BOTH camps?
Netanyahu--surely. Gantz? I don't see it. Show me a specific instance, please.
1
"...an Israeli voter no longer has to be a member of a center-left camp to oppose the ultra-Orthodox parties. Mr. Liberman is no Ben-Gurion, but he managed to re-create “without Herut and without Maki” for a 21st century reality." This is so well-stated.
2
Yea! Yea! Yea! I am thrilled that Bibi has done poorly in this election and I hope he gets "nailed" in 2 weeks in the courts.
3
The fact that so many Israeli's voted for this corrupt, belligerent, far, far right-wing politician who will apparently do anything to stay in power is just so disappointing...
4
All very interesting in terms of the nitty-gritty of the internal political divides causing the kind of indecisive election results we are seeing (but not quite because as this was written, a high percentage of the actual results are not reported yet).
But perhaps the more fundamental questions are at a deeper philosophical level concerning the decades-old conundrum of whether Israelis want a one-State or a two-State solution to the Palestinian problem that the creation of Israel triggered in 1948. This question needs to be addressed in terms of the hard logic about which structure will be more amenable to the survival and prosperity of both Israel and Palestine.
Unless there is a renewed focus on resolving this fundamental conundrum equitably, there will be a steady stream of unending tribalism, bigotry and violence in the region. And this needs to be sorted between Israel and Palestine, without interference from the US, Russia, Iran and others who may think they have cause to project their interests into the resolution of statehood between those two entities.
53
@Mark
No. Actually the more fundamental question at a deeper philosophical level concerning the decades-old conundrum is whether the Palestinians want Israel murdered or simply driven into the sea? Until the Palestinians move on from the only thing that gives them a sense of nationhood that distinguishes them from the Arabs of Syria, Jordan and Egypt with which they'd have blended in without a peep if no Israel had ever been restored in 1948 (and they certainly didn't when Jordan occupied the West Bank aka Judea/Samaria and Egypt ruled Gaza) is if they are willing to move on from hate and revenge, build a viable healthy state by finding something more permanent and constructive to define a nation, and so give Israelis a reason to no longer assume they need to be dealt with as enemies just waiting for a chance to stick the knife in as soon as Israel's guard is down.
26
It's a problem that has to be dealt with. But I don't think the election addressed it at all.
2
@Mark. What are the Palestinians doing to address this problem?
8
"If exit polls are to be believed, Arab Israelis and Haredi Jews will emerge from this election with more representatives in Israel’s parliament than before. Still, their political positions did not improve. In fact, the great social challenge of their marginality just became more pronounced."
Mr. Rosner is correct. Likud without Netanyahu, Blue and White and Liberman and probably without all of the now splintered National Religious (which is a shame but their own fault) could form a mainstream government in 15 minutes. In such a scenario, even a strengthened Haredi or Arab bloc (really a bunch of parties that do not like one another or agree on most matters) are marginalized.
But this will not happen. Ego rules.
Expect 6 weeks of anarchy, unless the still to be counted soldiers votes really changes anything and that is doubtful.
47
If the dynamics are changing under Netanyahu's feet it is at a glacial pace. Don't count this Faustian leader out yet. Deals can still be struct. Netanyahu is quite capable of making ANY kind of deal that will keep him in power and out of jail.
103
@Babel: You write "Don't count this Faustian leader out yet."
Especially not when he knows that, like his crony Trump, he's looking at the likelihood of a criminal trial when he's out of office.
25
What,Mr. Rosner? The Israeli election is not a referendum on Prime Minister Netanyahu, or Donald Trump for that matter? Hard to believe after reading the articles in this paper or the comments of readers about the Israeli elections. Thanks for brewing the wake-up coffee for us.
2
“The Haredi parties...It is easy to trade with them: Give them what they want — such as funds for their special schools, in which students study Torah but no math — and get their votes in return.”
What nation can and will survive the 21st Century without math?! Meanwhile, the ultra-religious breed like rabbits which only further imperils the future of any nation that gives religion an outsized influence in determining the future.
When will the world finally realize that no matter the country or state, religion is the problem and not the answer to the extraordinarily complex issues of the 21st Century.
10
I think the Haredim are more than just a "straw man" -- they are a threat to the pluralism of Israel. Free, subsidized Torah studies; immunity from the nation's draft in which everyone serves except them; flocking to illegal West Bank settlements; considering Arabs to be less than human (interesting viewpoint for Jews without a memory); and the outsize influence they have on determining who is a Jew and who can pray at the Wailing Wall -- all these things are valid points of contention and undermine Israeli society.
11
Israel is equal to the old South Africa, Israel persecutes Arabs, South Africa the blacks. In this case, Israel's position mirrors the GOP when it comes to treating minorities. Neither can speak regarding human rights
4
Why are you censuring me simply for writing there is no equivalence between depicting Israeli Arabs in racist, xenophobic terms (something widely documented) and asking ultra-Orthodox Jews to teach maths in their school?
1
Looks like the rosy days of Bibi Netanyahu are now over. He should be indicted and jailed for his alleged corruption charges. And that will be the best for Israel, Palestinians and the middle east too. As the majority of Israelis have been fully radicalized by the Likud and Bibi; no new leader will have guts and courage to make any change in the Israeli map. But surely they can expedite annexing entire Palestine in to grand Israel and make all citizens of Israel with equal rights. It will make Israel many times more powerful Democratic nation in the middle east. It will also remove Israel from the USA's Beggar list for ever and stop U N condemnation of making Israel as an apartheird nation and above all its military will stop killings and destroying and grabing poor Palestinian lands and lives.
1
Absent from this informative analysis is any mention of the fact that while the Joint List of majority Arab parties will receive almost 11% of the seats in the Knesset, that Palestinians constitute roughly 50% of the people effectively living under Israeli sovereignty, whether as Israeli citizens within the Green Line and able to vote or as voteless subjects in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Apologists for Israel like to pretend that the Palestinians are still a minority by insisting that Gaza is no longer "occupied," but Israel still controls its airspace, its territorial waters, its commerce, its ID registration, its electricity and of course bombs it every few years.
Israeli electoral politics are built on a racist consensus that the majority Arab parties must never be allowed into government, resulting in a de facto disenfranchisement not just of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories but of Israel's Palestinian citizens as well.
Israel is no more a "democracy" than Jim Crow Mississippi or apartheid South Africans were. (Both, incidentally, allowed a minority of their non-white subjects to vote as Israel does with its Palestinian citizens.)
Netanyahu's likely political demise is to be welcomed. But until the all the Palestinians have a meaningful vote in how they are ruled we should not pretend that Israel's elections make it a democracy.
5
Netanyahu is an egomaniac, but about half of Israelis are fine with that. Even if the guy is going to court on serious charges. Maybe Netanyahu will be off the podium for a while, but he isn’t going to disappear or have no influence— and another election isn’t far away.
2
I hope he is gone. The most dishonest world leader has done enough damage, lied to the US and everyone else long enough.
6
That honor belongs to Trump but Bibi is a close second.
2
Honestly, I could care less. Israel has placed itself firmly in the camp of the GOP; Bibi is another Trump. As much as I loathe the far-right elements of American society, so too do I disdain the trajectory of Israel. I don't see them as an ally, but as a bully, trying to sway our politics with their demands and lines in the sand.
I think it's beyond time for Israel to stand on its own and be responsible for the results of its actions. We have enough problems dealing with the jackboots in our own country--they should go deal with theirs and get back to us when they've regained their sanity.
12
A democracy that considers a portion of its citizens suspect and has been designed to make sure that they never have power. How very original!
9
From what I've heard and read, General Benny Gantz claims to be willing to unite the country. His military record and policy on the Palestinian people says otherwise. But then again anybody is better than Bibi and his far right cronies right?
2
I hope you are correct.
1
Mr. Rosner writes that PM Netanyahu "hurled accusations about possible Arab voter fraud". That is true. Then he added his view that "such problem exists to a certain degree." It should be emphasize that so far no serious cheating or counterfeiting activity had been officially revealed at any of the polling stations that were located last Tuesday in the Arab sector in Israel. Rosner's example from the Druze village of Yarka in northern Israel is marginal and unaffected. I do not agree with Rosner's analysis of the elections' results. He has his right to own it of course, but it is not his right to echo Mr. Netanyahu's false slogans against Israeli Arabs. Michael Karpin is the author of "The bomb in the Basement - How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means to the World". It was published by Simon & Schuster.
4
This is a severe set back for the Russian (Khazar), North African (Sephardic) and Black Hat Orthodox Jews that have managed the Likud for too long. It is a victory for the European and American (Ashkhenazi) Jews who want peace with the Arabs. The world should rejoice. This is good for the Middle East.
6
Rosner is no hero in my eyes, and I often disagree with him. But he is a very good source of solid data even if his interpretation could be better.
Nobody is 'good enough' to be always wrong and the Communists are included in that fact. But the Russian Jews (and their descendants) hold an understandable hatred for Communists. (It's truly ironic that so many of our eastern European forefathers flocked to Communism until Stalin betrayed the October Revolution.)
As for the large segment of the Jewish population that hates Arabs, that has a very long and tortured history. But the fact is that the Zionists who began the Jewish migration to Palestine, made that hatred part of their fundamental strategy. It was not initiated by the Arabs who only slowly came to understand they had been written out of the Zionist plan from its inception.
So it's good news and bad news. The good news is the ultra orthodox are not loved. The bad news is the Arabs are loved even less. This doesn't say anything encouraging for the future.
7
One thing work talking about is the degree to which Netanyahu embraced and even imitated Trump. Considering how talented and skilled Bibi is politically, that he chose to imitate a far less talented and skilled politician says a lot (and nothing good) about the current state of Israeli democracy. He embraced division and attacks on the press and rule of law, as I note here: https://realcontextnews.com/bibis-trump-show-how-israeli-prime-minister-netanyahu-wins-by-imitating-the-donald/
1
It is so interesting to see the parallels with American politics.
The vast majority of Americans including myself are not interested in the Trump brand of politics (simply switch hispanics for Arabs to generate the straw-man articles) or the AOC brand of liberal politics.
It seems like reasonable citizens everywhere want one thing: good government.
Good government means healthcare, freedom from corruption in government, fact-based analysis leading to reasoned policies, a clean environment, infrastructure, good schools, a growing economy but one that is regulated to punish bad actors while providing jobs.
Mr. Lieberman is on to something. While mundane things like clean, good government don't necessarily engender the frothing enthusiasm, voters must demand that politicians deliver it without armies of straw men. Demagoguery must be rejected in all its forms.
Democracies can only flourish when citizens reject the bumper sticker solutions to complex problems and demand real answers.
Men like Trump, Boris Johnson, and Netanyahu are destroying their respective countries and driving us to the brink of war or economic catastrophe.
Hopefully we learn before it is too late.
11
Maybe there IS a political price to pay for being a crook and trying to use your office to get off from just punishsment. We can only hope if that is true that it carries over to the US.
27
I don't know enough about Netanyahu's legal trouble to mouth off in that regard but I do know that if I was an Israeli, in negotiations with adversaries, I'd want a hard-nosed character like Netanyahu on my side, not some wimp who would cave and give the store away
6
@MIKEinNYC
Obviously a Netanyahu/Trump enthusiast. How are all those diplomatic victories going?
Boss Tweed (Tammany) used to abjure his people to "never steal more than they need" The United Arabs would do well to heed this wise counsel
Recognizing we do not get a vote and that Israelis have contempt for American Jews how much does it matter that a growing number of American Jews are alienated from Israel?
8
@Daniel A. Greenbaum Answer: not much!
@Daniel A. Greenbaum
Israelis do not have contempt for American Jews. Give Israeli Jews a few generations of living in America, intermarrying, and they become indistinguishable from the majority of Jews here. Not that I wish that upon any of us. What Israelis don't understand are 2 main things.
1. The Judaism they like, or don't like, is traditional Judaism. Very few have a need for the liberal streams, which are actually shrinking here in America. They may not like the fuss of orthodox wedding ceremonies, but mostly understand that if they divorce and remarry, the want to keep the traditional Jewish divorce.
2. They are upset about the percentage of American Jews who know nothing about Judaism and Jewish history (some Israelis are ignorant, too), but carry on as if they wear the mantle of Jewish morality, by openly opposing the occupation, insisting Israel leave unilaterally, come what may. Without understanding the context of Palestinian rejection to the right of Israel to exist, as a majority Jewish state, that sets off alarm buttons. Can't say I disagree.
6
Bibi or Gantz or someone else... it's a straw issue, until, perhaps, there is someone radically different. Otherwise the result will be more or less the same:that is, more or less the status quo. I feel sorry for Israelis who have, as a nation, what looks to me like chronic PTSD, and appear genuinely not to see what is plain to most others. that they are acting as their own worst enemies.
It would be an insult to their pride and autonomy, and I suspect that I would reject it, too, if I were them -but what they really need is a credible outside institution that can serve as a dispassionate arbiter. Alas..
6
@Eric S
Once upon a time, the US seemed to be evolving into that "credible outside institution" but tRump and the Christian Right, have damaged, if not destroyed, that option.
Repeat after me: "The Christian Right are NOT friends of the Jews!" They just want us all to relocate to Israel so their forecast 'day of judgment' will come to pass. About us, they don't care at all!
I have never liked Netanyahu. I grieved when he beat Peres in ‘96. That being said, I think he deserves some credit for keeping Israel relatively safe in this dangerous neighborhood. When I read comments from my fellow liberals comparing him to Trump, I am reminded of how little they understand of the realities on the ground. But it is a law of human nature that the less we know about a subject the clearer and firmer our views are..
7
@Claude Vidal
You are correct about the inverse relationship between knowledge and firmness of views.
But it is impossible to know how much one does NOT know. It takes a great deal of time and effort just to get a rough idea about that.
From you comments, I gather that you are not versed in the works of Shlomo Sand, Ilan Pappe, or even Ari Shavit.
May I politely suggest you read a bit more historical research?
1
@Claude Vidal Well, insofar as we liberal Americans pay taxes that support Israel, perhaps the impetus should be on Bibi to demonstrate how he's different from Trump. Instead, he is an agent of the GOP, coming to Congress and basically sticking his thumb in the eye of the left.
I could care less to know more about the man, I have seen everything I need to see. If it were up to me, the money spigot would be turned off, and Israel would be required to reap the result of its inhuman, fundamentalist mistreatment of its own arab citizens.
1
Mr. Rosner, who has been given voice by NYT numerous times as an expert on Israeli reality, does not mention in this article the main give-and-take between the religious parties and the Likud: money for their schools and settlements for political support. Contrary to his statement, the ultra-orthodox parties failed to increase their power. I don't recall any op-ed article where its author promoted his/her own book.
10
For once an article in the New York Times that bothers to understand the sentiments on the ground in Israel.
A very well written and accurate assessment of the mood in my country.
10
@Timestein
The distinction may seem trivial to you, but it is actually critical that this is NOT an article. It's an "Opinion" piece.
3
Israeli politics and society is a big mess. When you encourage every identity group to have its own political party paralysis results. Dangerous.
8
@Machiavelli Politics exists because people exist, and people are messy, so politics is messy.
@Machiavelli
And the shining example that 'proves' your point is that the two-party system in America has been so successful in avoiding paralysis!
This is the best explanation of Israeli politics I've come across in bite-size form.
7
“Influence will only come with the acceptance of certain norms.” And one of those norms, it noted in Israeli politics, or for many in daily Israeli life and culture, is personal accountability for one’s words and actions. At all levels!
3
@Seinstein
Dream on!
If anything, with the 'help' of our social media and the Internet, we are all moving AWAY from personal responsibility.
1
Very astute observations!
2
The shift in power, if there is one of lasting impact, is due in no small part to the broad international opposition to Netanyahu’s right-wing, expansionist policies that gave him the support of the ultra-religious parties in Israel. Perhaps most influential among that opposition is the rise of organizations like J Street and NIF and other American Jewish organizations that are revulsed by Israel’s hard right turn. Measure the level of concern by the increase support and attention paid to the BDS movement though out the world, including among college students in the United States.
There is a broad recognition that Israel cannot remain a liberal democracy with 20% of its population living as second class citizens or with an endless military occupation of the West Bank. Its choices seem clear; two states with an independent Palestine and no Israeli settlements or one bi-national state with equal rights for Israeli Jews and Palestinian Moslems.
11
Is anybody in Israel actually thinking about the human rights of generations of displaced Palestinians, how to achieve a stable peace with them, and provide for a homeland to their growing millions? And that failure to do so will haunt the whole region, and threatens the world?
14
@PT
A few people actually are, but it's an UPHILL climb!
IF, at the end of the six-day war, Israel had set about to bring the infrastructure of the occupied territories up to the standards of Israel AND had set about to make the daily lives of Palestinians better and give them hope for the future. We would be in a different situation today.
2
I've never met Liberman, but you don't go from a bouncer in Kishinev, or wherever, to the heights of power without being pretty smart. He's pretty smart.
6
If by Netanyahu era one means the era in which Bibi felt free to come to the US Congress, cuddle up with America’s extreme right, and publicly trash President Obama, then it can’t come soon enough. Perhaps Israelis are starting to realize that someday, maybe very soon, a new generation of voters is going to flush Trump and Trumpism out of this country for good, and if in that generation’s minds Israel basically equals Trump? Out goes the Bibi with the bathwater, and the billions.
(For further examples, see also GOP, NRA, etc)
86
Thanks to the New York Times for finally adding a columnist who represents the mainstream of Israeli opinion rather than the narrow left in Israel that always skews the facts to try and find the most unflattering light in which to show the nation. Hurrah, we're finally getting informed rather than indoctrinated.
16
@Joe Weber
I am glad for the inclusion of a different viewpoint, and agree that the best of newspapers present multiple perspectives from cogent sources. Now if the NYT would only include a column now and again from Hanan Ashrawi, I would be even more elated.
12
@Joe Weber Exactly!
2
@Joe Weber
Mr. Weber, I agree that reading this article was a pleasure for a variety of reasons. What troubles me still, is that no one openly speaks about the hateful language aimed at Arabs in Israel (including their most important ally) and the continued mistrust or a willingness to target Israeli citizens, who happen to be Arabs, as the same enemies that surround Israel in the rest of the Middle East. This stands in great contrast to the ultra-orthodox, who hold considerable privileges and influence well beyond their numbers. Can you imagine being a non-Jewish and Jewish membered couple in Israel who must travel outside of Israel to get married; or a privileged group who gets to avoid military service (can you imagine in a country that truly needs people in the IDF for their own defense. There seems to be quite a bit of difference as to how the government and the society treats these two groups. Unfortunately, the authors offer no distinction between the two groups: one for who they are on the other for the privileges they have. Seems like a problem to me; and Israel will always fall short of their promise as long as politicians are willing to exploit the Arab Citizen issue and. non-Arab citizens are willing to accept this discrimination.
5
Couldn't happen to a more deserving fraud. Like Trump, he appealed to the worst instincts of his nation and I hope its better angels prevail.
78
If Israel is unable, or unwilling to end the political influence and corruption of their social, community, military and economic systems by the ultra-orthodox Jews then eventually Israel will collapse internally.
Students who study Torah but no math, English or virtually anything else cannot participate in society at any level. Nor can they defend a nation surrounded by enemies while asking everyone to support them and bear their burden. A purely ultra-orthodox rule over society and government will bring ruin to Israel ending secular life and freedom in general. Tyranny by religious zealots is still tyranny not Democracy.
That is the choice faced by the citizens of Israel. Will they accept the tyranny of the ultra-religious zealots or demand inclusive Democracy that protects everyone but also requires everyone to acknowledge that a nation needs more than religion to survive and flourish.
If the Israelis fail to achieve Democratic government the nation is at risk of coming to an end.
34
@Jay What are you even saying? The ultra-orthodox wield very little power in the parliament and are fighting to maintain any influence at all. Do you see Netanyahu as orthodox? I don't think any religious group should have power in a political assembly but felt the need to reply because I am so confused by this take.
@Jay In ALL extremist situations the 'extremists' are willing to die ['martyr'] for their 'cause'. THAT is what scares the 'moderates' from standing up to them.
3
@Jay...Respectfully, I believe the total opposite is true. According to the Bible, Orthodox Jews are those who obey the covenant between God and his children, the descendants of Jacob (Israel). Indeed, the reasoning for the creation of the State of Israel was to create a political state for Jews. Not secular Jews, or liberal Jews, but people who practice Judaism. If this kernel of the creation of the Jewish state, explicit religiosity, is not upheld, then their is no claim that can be made for Israel's formation and it's continuance, and thus it should be given to the Palestinians.
There is a God, and it is NOT Netanyahu.
Now, perhaps, Israel can return to sanity and peace. Let Bibi and Trump sail off into the sunset (on a banana boat), never to be seen again - AFTER they are tried for corruption.
33
@RealTRUTH
Hold on.....the real truth is....as of this writing Netanyahu has not lost the election, nor has Trump, therefore neither will be sailing away any time soon....the Truth is both Democracies are in peril.
1
@Pauline Hartwig
Well, we could always refer Trump for trial at Nuremberg, if that's closer for you, or The Hague if that doesn't work. THAT is how much he is respected in THIS country and most of the rest of the world! Perhaps the same for Netanyahu.
2
So in Israel, as in the US, someone to hate is needed in order to win an election. How sad - I hope that changes for both countries.
24
With Israel at the cusp of war with Iran the populace has picked a very bad time to argue over math and English in schools. The Haredim agenda must be more flexible and nimble as they are the future of Israel.
3
@Charlie
May God forbid it!
Such a future for Israel means nothing less than abject failure.
The results are not fully in, but there is a ray of hope with this outcome. It's a reminder that corrupt authoritarian leaders like Bibi can get booted out. Maybe Israelis are coming to their senses finally? I don't know, but I do hope this bodes well for us in 2020. Another term of both Trump and Netanyahu would be disastrous for both Israel and the US.
18
The most fascinating thing about this election and the article is how hatred and fear drive voter behavior. The parallel in America is plain and equally sad.
22
Good to know that any ruling coalition will effectively exclude 20% of the population on supposition that they are untrustworthy. This will doubtlessly work well with the continued Israeli encroachment on the West Bank without granting any sort of citizenship to the Palestinians.
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The current political situation in Israel only confirms the wisdom of our founding fathers in rejecting a state sponsored religion. They had a long history of internecine warfare between the the two major sects in the Christian religion - Protestant and Catholic - that laid waste to Europe and led to destructive wars that lasted generations.
Nothing illustrates the issue better than the religious impact on Israeli immigration laws. You can only immigrate to Israel if you are a Jew and the Chief Rabbinate's office, currently controlled by the ultra-Orthodox, defines who qualifies as a Jew. This is akin to having the Pope decide who is or isn't a Christian. This situation has serious potential for religious and political abuse. Already rabbi's in the Reform and Conservative denominations have been disqualified/defrocked for either a) their political beliefs or b) their religious teachings.
I am sure the founders of Israel never thought the government would or should be in the business of refereeing religious debates.
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@C.G. " .. rejecting a state sponsored religion .. " is a fallacy. Perhaps you mean a 'state sponsored sect' - because christianity is embedded deeply.
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A commentator on FoxNews Report last night said that there's a danger that if the Netanyahu Era ends because of this election, his successor may be even more Hawkish and authoritarian than Bibi has been. He didn't suggest that Gantz is that person --- maybe he meant Lieberman?
I also think we can say that this election results in another "loser". Our dear, compassionate and deeply spiritual president Trumpo the Magnificient!
5
Will Netanyahu use war with Iran as a distraction from the war within? Are both extremes stuffing the ballot box to disrupt true democracy? Will the general Jewish and Arab populace sit idly by while the ultra Orthodox force their restrictive laws onto them? Would the governance of Israel benefit from a stronger Arab voice in a coalition gov't?
only questions about the future no answers. However, one sure thing is Netanyahu is not the man for the job. His overweening opinion of himself has overshadowed all sensible steps forward.
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A difference between Haredi and Arab Israelis seems to be that the former has been geting disproportional power and privilege, but the latter has been discriminated against for ethnic and religious reasons.
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The Haredi have been part of Israeli governments for decades, using their power in ways that have alienated secular citizens. Perhaps Arab Israelis deserve the same opportunities the Haredi have had. Let them join a government and see if they make political deals that advance Arab interests without alienating moderate voters. If they fail, so be it, but making them “beyond the Pale” of normal political power makes them, in essence, non-citizens. It’s time for moderate Israelis get over the hang up of sharing power with Muslim Israelis.
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@Mike M.
They are beyond the pale not because they are Arabs, but because they refuse to recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and because they often support terrorists who kill Israelis. One of the factions in the Arab list will refuse, on principal, to cooperate with the non Arab parties.
As such, they are extremists that don’t fit in with mainstream Israeli opinion. Not even with moderate Israeli Arab opinion.
If they want to be politically fully accepted as partners, they need to join the political mainstream.
They can (and will) try to get commitments from Blue and White to increase funding for the Arab sector in exchange for support from outside the coalition.
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Don't know much about Israeli politics but Netanyahu seems like a republican operative. Since his dissing of Obama, his insult to him by entering the country with notification only to the republican party and his embrace of trump I hope he's gone and if he isn't I hope the Democrats readjust their support of Israel to reflect the Netanyahu's contempt for our democracy.
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Is Israel a religious state or a democracy? It appears the majority favor the latter. The subsidized Haredi who do not work and do not serve in the military have proven a drain on the economy. The majority do not want them to determine their social norms and activities. Bibi accedes to the Haredi for their support to the detriment of the nation. It's time for him and his party to go. Hopefully, this election will achieve this.
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In the long run, I think the most probable outcome of conflict between Palestinians and Jews is a secular democratic state. Today the US stands as an example of the many problems such a state can encounter in its early development. But the advantages of the democratic secular model of a state counterbalance the disadvantages. The conflicts within the contemporary Belgium, for example, illustrate how difficult it is to keep the peace ic countries where there are more than one official language, religion, and set of civic virtues.
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Mr. Rosner has published this analysis previously. Who is disliked more: the Arabs or the Ultra-Orthodox - which, by the way, are not the same as the orthodox, who indeed serve in the army, become professionals, and pay taxes.
Historically the Arabs were disliked more, actually feared more, But with the near-zero level of suicide bombings over the past decade, the ultra-orthodox today are seen as the greater threat to most Israelis.
But then again, as Israelis like to point out when people like me voice opinions, I'm only an American, who, though I visit Israel frequently and avidly study its history, have no stake in the game.
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It's really disappointing that Liberman says that he'll never join the coalition if the Arab party is part of it. This may be the first time that the Arab (Joint) party is asking to join the coalition. The leadership knows that its constituents want representatives who improve their lives, respond to their concerns, rather than speak about their neighbors across the border. Arab residents of Israel are citizens of Israel and they deserve to be represented not only by their seat in Parliament but by what they do there.
9
Lieberman and his allies have staked out a position between the two extremes but are not themselves centrists or moderates. So what we have is more like a tripolar extremism. Lieberman rejects both forms of religious fanaticism in the name of a secular fanaticism. This differs from the Ben Gurion position, which was centrist in character.
14
This is all very nice, and subtle, but, and with apologies for an American-centric view:
Netanyahu has tied himself at the hip to Trump. This is more than just a statement of political position. It is a statement of judgment, both about Trump and his leadership, and also about the way forward with respect to the Palestinian crisis.
It is a disqualifying judgment.
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Column makes ringing pronouncements about the triumph of rationality, but at the end of the day cynicism, political Balkanization and calculation will prevail, deals will be made, and bad governance will continue. We are in an era when the appeal of Democracy is declining around the world and the bad guys have the upper hand.
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What's fascinating about Israel's multi-party election system is that it gives such disparate political views visibility. Likud's views on security and the ultra-Orthodox are a package deal; take them or leave them. The number of seats won by minority parties expressing different views shows that they have real, albeit small, support.
In the U.S., we have 2 main parties, but those parties are messy coalitions of views. However, they are each a package deal. You either allow Trump in your Republican tent or you vote elsewhere. You either tolerate very liberal ideas or you vote elsewhere. The middle third of our electorate, flexible moderates who can lean, literally have no voice. To some extent, our election choices are fixed by party, not by voting.
Which is the best system?
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@Ken L I love the messiness of the parliamentary system.
An interesting article but the fact that we're talking so casually about shutting out certain ethnic groups from being able to participate in governing a country as something that both contending parties of course agree on, is something that should be more utterly scandalous and shocking than it seems to be.
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@Jeo
Why? He's not talking about these ethnic groups as individual citizens, he's talking about the political platforms of the parties which represent these groups.
The fact is that neither the Arab parties (who joined together for this election) nor the Haredi parties actually support the existence of a (secular) Jewish and democratic State.
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@Noah
"He's not talking about these ethnic groups as individual citizens."
Yes exactly.
You're stated the problem better than I did.
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@Jeo
No. They are being shut out not because of ethnicity, but because of extremist views. If the want to be full political partners, they need to moderate their positions.
4
I see in the comments a conflation of "moderate" and "secular" voters.
This time around, it seems as if Israeli secular voters are immoderate in their desire to elect a government responsive to their needs.
3
Waiting for results of yesterday's Israeli elections. We look forward to a win by Benny Gantz of Bue and White Party. Netanyahu had a very long run as Prime Minister. Time for his long-trusted defense minister and Rav Aluf to replace him.
22
One down, one to go. Trump and Netanyahu are dictator wannabes. Israeli voters demonstrated they've had enough with Netanyahu. I hope American voters follow suit in 2020.
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@nzierler
my world view may be that of a pollyanna but I would like to add Boris Johnson into the mix as well.
22
This article, while containing some interesting insights, is written with the point of view that Arab citizens of Israel are not Israeli - they are not seen as "Israeli voters." Yet they are about 20 percent of the population. And have lived there longer than many Jewish "Israeli voters." sThis attitude has to change if there is any hope of stability not to mention democracy and social progress in Israel.
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Please re-read their increased participation and seats. Which Arab country allows diversity in their governance?
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@Sarah Crane Chaisen
The Joint List has indeed gained a substantial number of seats in this election. But this is very different from indicating an increased participation in gov't. Palestinian members of the Knesset have never been included in governing coalitions. This time, Likud's made it clear that will continue this tradition, and when Ayman Odeh of the Joint List suggested a coalition with Blue and White, Gantz said no. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
So, more seats, but no change re participation.
And for the thousandth time, "Other countries are worse" is neither a relevant nor adult response to pointing out Israel's flaws.
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@Sarah Crane Chaisen
Iran, Lebanon
13
There is a lesson here for the US. Who will emerge and unite the majority in the center?
11
@hb: But before we can unite the center, we need to find it.
What are now called "centrists" and "moderates" are what, in saner political times, used to be considered conservatives. And those who support the programs that are favored by most Americans, i.e. what used to be considered the center, are now referred to as "the far-Left" and "Socialists".
8
Thank you for this most informative article on the current state of the state of Israel. I think Bibi should go, but now have more details about the Haredi and those like Lieberman who work for 21st century reality in the place in the desert where three religions fight for a very small space between the sea and the sky. The advancement of settlements by Bibi seems to put a finger in the eye of any notion of a two-state solution, but as Rosner points out, Benny has no lead in a solution in that regard, either. Herut and Maki and Bibi and Benny. And ultra-Orthodox Jews or Haredim. Compromise appears as a mirage.
6
Sounds to good to be true: moderates rising. How much healthier would we be here in the US if we tuned out Fox and MSNBC and governed for and by the moderates? Ratings demand spectacle and passion and for that you need to pump out fantasy. Is it a surprise that Marvel rules the movie industry? We have even started calling scripted Programming reality TV so we can more readily believe. We are in trouble because the overwhelming majority of us are susceptible to propaganda and Murdoch has an agenda.
17
@Billy Bobby there is a difference between FOX and MSNBC that is too often ignored. The anchors on MSNBC rely on facts and apologize when a mistake is made. FOX anchors lie, yes lie, leave out blatant facts and evidence that exposes the lies and never apologize. With the exception of a few actual news anchors, FOX touts the Trump line, often in an hysterical mode. FOX is a sick parody of “news and opinion.” MSNBC maintains journalistic ethics. Watch each network, compare and check the data, and decide with intelligence not gut.
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@Billy Bobby
False analogy and comparison. Fox is just a propagandistic organ for Trump. MSNBC provides comprehensive coverage of current politics and social issues. Without it, and Rachel Maddow, we would know nothing or little of the Flindt water crisis, the Mueller report, Scott Pruitt, Tom Price and the other shameless swamp creatures in the Trump Cabinet. I presume you do not proscribe reading The Times
16
@Billy Bobby using fox news and MSNBC in the same sentence, is an ultimate false equivalency. Fox news has caused more harm in this country with its lying under the guise of fair and balanced news only matched by the republican party.
19
“The End of the Netanyahu Era”
Thank God!
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@M
Not a moment too soon. I hope this is an indication that more and more, people may be beginning to realize that democracy is preferable to autocracy. Maybe Americans will come to that same feelings in 2020.
3
@M
One might ask, what's god got to do with it! (complex meanings possible)
3
A modern society can not have religious Fanaticism steering social policy. They have the Orthodox and we have Evangelicals.
They are both a menace to the future, peace and progress.
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@Donald Evangelicals are supposed to follow the New Testament. They don't They join the Orthodox in the Old Testament believing in an eye for an eye.
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@Donald
Christopher Hitchens had it right in his brilliant book of how religion has ruined everything. You look at the strife in any part of the globe and belief in a faith has it's fingerprints all over it. What is it about humans that we cannot be content to have a belief and not want to force it upon someone else who has their own beliefs? I try to work from the premise that everyone is entitled to their opinion regardless of how ill informed it is, the facts themselves will sort out what the truth is. The only rule to be followed in this is no one can be harmed in pursuit of their beliefs nor can those beliefs harm others.
7
@Babel
You have to understand an eye for an eye is about equal financial compensation re damages not literally poking out eyes
1
The Haredi are not straw men. In 20-30 years they may form half of the Israeli population under 50. Israel can't survive if half of their workforce refuses to participate in the economy and the military.
There are good reasons to be afraid
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@diverx99
Nor can it survive if half of its workforce refuses to be educated in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics.
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