A beginner’s guide to the 2019 Israeli election By Emily Burack and Ben Sales Jewish Telegraphic Agency
call new elections. That is almost exactly what happened last November: Israel Beiteinu left the coalition when Avigdor Liberman resigned, disgusted by a cease-fire with Gaza militants. Netanyahu was left with 61 seats – an ultra-slim majority that doesn’t allow for easy legislating. If just one small faction of his coalition disagrees with a bill, it’s dead in the water. Sure enough, coalition disagreements over a bill to draft haredi Orthodox men into the military caused the party heads to call for new elections in December. However, many believe the timing of the elections has more to do with Netanyahu’s legal troubles, which led to his indictment on corruption charges at the end of February. A victory, pundits surmised, would give Netanyahu lever-
The Lehigh Valley-Yoav Partnership Park in Blessed Memory of Mark L. Goldstein
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Trying to understand the upcoming Israeli elections on April 9 can get confusing. The country’s longtime prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is mired in a series of corruption scandals and facing a serious challenge from a new rival. Other politicians are maneuvering behind the scenes to form new coalitions that would allow them to be included in Israel’s parliament majority and thus have more influence over Israeli policies. It’s a fascinating race that changes by the day. First, it’s important to understand how Israel’s government works. In broad strokes, the government operates under a proportional representation system. There are 120 seats in
the parliament, or Knesset. To gain a seat, a party needs to win at least 3.5 percent of the vote. Whoever wins at least 61 seats controls the government. Simple enough, right? Well, no — because no party has ever won the necessary 61 seats. That means the party with the most votes has to form coalitions with other smaller parties to reach the threshold. In the last elections, held in March 2015, the Netanyahuled Likud won 30 seats and formed a coalition with smaller right-wing and religious parties (Jewish Home, United Torah Judaism, Kulanu and Shas, with Israel Beiteinu joining a year later). If the coalition were to fall apart — a minister leaving the government, for example — Netanyahu would lose his coalition, lose control of the government and have to
A view of the main building of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Dec. 26, 2018. age in fending off the charges. Israel’s election is a free for all: instead of two major parties, there’s a whopping total of 47 parties competing at the ballot box. Israelis vote for parties, not individual candidates (the candidates are chosen by the parties, some through primaries). The more votes a party gets, the more seats it has in Israel’s 120-seat parliament,
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the Knesset. A government is formed by a party — more likely a coalition of like-minded parties — that captures more than 60 seats. More than a dozen parties could make the next Knesset. Here’s a short description of each of them: Israeli Election Continues on page 21
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In order to unite, sustain, and enhance the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, and support Jewish communities in Israel and around the world, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to the following core values: • Supporting Jews in need wherever they may be. • Supporting Israel as a Jewish homeland. • Supporting and encouraging Jewish education in the Lehigh Valley as a means of strengthening Jewish life for individuals and families. • Supporting programs and services of organizations whose values and mission meet local Jewish needs. To accomplish this mission the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is committed to the following operating guidelines: • Raising and distributing funds to support the core values. • Developing Jewish leaders. • Building endowments to support implementation of core values. • Committing to ongoing Jewish community strategic planning. • Fostering cooperation among organizations and community building. • Evaluating all decisions with respect to fiscal responsibility. • Identifying unmet needs and investing in community initiatives to help get them started. • Coordinating and convening a community response as an issue or need arises. • Setting priorities for allocation and distribution of funds. • Acting as a central address for communication about events, programs and services of the Jewish community as a whole. Approved by the JFLV Board of Directors on November 15, 2000
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