Published: 9 September 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Most of the opposition claimed it was Netanyahu’s fault, due to Israel’s longest serving PM’s refusal to step down as Likud leader despite the several court cases pending against him for bribery and corruption. Had he done, so claimed Benny Gantz, Israel would today have had a unity government including Blue and White with the PM being an alternate MK from the Likud.
Netanyahu claims the second round of elections are entirely Lieberman’s fault, as the staunchly secular head of the Yisrael Beiteynu party (Israel is Our Home) refused to compromise even an inch on an issue of great concern to the 1 in 10 Israelis who live an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle.
Had it been approved by the Knesset, the Haredi draft bill would set yearly minimum targets for conscripting ultra-Orthodox men. It would also impose financial sanctions on the yeshivas where students study if the quotas are not met. Overall, however, the bill formalises exemptions for the majority of ultra-Orthodox students.
At the time, Yaacov Litzman, who objected to the fact that the bill included sanctions against the public he represents, said that “Lieberman has chosen a campaign of incitement against the ultra-Orthodox public and the Torah and used us to prevent Netanyahu from forming a government.”
In response, Lieberman said to the United Torah Judaism leader whose indictment has since been called for by the police over his alleged interference in the Malka Leifer case. "I have nothing against the Haredi public.” Lieberman added, “I think they need to integrate, but there must be a government that reflects the interests of the entire public. We cannot have a government taking diktats from just one group."
In light of these developments, The Jewish Independent spoke with five Australians from a range of different social and political viewpoints about who they are voting for and why. Some common themes that emerged were that all saw the issue of corruption in politics as a greater issue in determining their vote than in Australia. All but one blamed Netanyahu for the Israel having a second round of elections.
RACHAEL RISBY-RAZ, 44
A Jerusalem-based international and Jewish affairs consultant, Rachael Risby-Raz is International Relations Manager st the Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. She also believes that the absence of compulsory voting is a drawback, and she would also prefer having electorates in Israel, but is doubtful whether it would work due to the small size of the country.
In the last election her policy priorities were “a clean leadership free of corruption, a vision for the future and a solution to the Palestinian situation”. She voted for Blue and White because she believed that they best represent her values in terms of security and economic issues.
However, she claims this election is “All about Bibi, because Israelis vote people not policies”. Even though she considered supporting Labour in the second round due to her admiration for Amir Peretz and the team he has put together, she will ultimately vote Blue and White again.“If we want to see a change of leadership, Blue and White is the only option.”
PETA JONES-PELLACH, 65
A fifth-generation Australian, Peta made Aliyah in 2010 and is now the Director of Educational Activities for the Elijah Interfaith Institute. In the last election, she voted Avoda, claiming that “the Labor party of Israel, unlike Blue and White, it is not led by a general and there are a number of women high up on the list.”
In the second round she will probably vote Labor again, even though she was disappointed that the list no longer includes Stav Shaffior who has now moved to the Democratic Camp. She hopes that now that Labor has included Orly levy on their list, the party will focus more on social justice issues and relegate "the conflict" to the side-lines.
DANIEL (MUSH) MEYER
An alumnus of Bnei Akiva in Sydney, Meyer has always been connected to the Mafdal (National Religious Party) which has sat in several right- and left-wing coalitions since the creation of the state. His key issues are education, protecting the land of Israel, social welfare, minority rights and breaking the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate.
In the last election, he voted for the United Right-Wing Party, which included Jewish Home, National Union and Jewish Power (Oztma Yehudit). This election, he plans to vote for Yamina, which no longer includes Oztma Yehudit, but does now include the secular-religious right-wing party Hayamin Hachadash led by Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett.
Meyer holds Bennett to be most responsible for the failure of the last Knesset to form a coalition. After he broke away from the Jewish Home party, his party the New Right did very well in receiving 138,590 votes but ended up being a few thousands votes shy of passing the electoral threshold, meaning all the votes he received were never counted.
Unlike Australia, Israel doesn't have preferential voting. Meyer claims that had Bennett not broken away from the Religious Zionist public, there would be a nationalist right-wing coalition which he sees as being in the best interests of Israel today.
CARLY ROSENTHAL, 24
A graduate of Mount Scopus Memorial College and Hashomer Hatzair, Rosenthal made aliyah from Melbourne in 2018. Asked to compare the political debate between Australia and Israel, Rosenthal said she was disappointed that climate change isn’t a bigger issue in her new home. “Israelis don't prioritise environmental issues and are years behind in terms of education and municipal infrastructure to help reduce waste,” she says.
She is quite cynical of this "do-over election" and hasn’t yet decided her vote but is contemplating between the Democratic Camp led by Horowitz, Shaffir and Barak, or the Arab Joint List led by Ayman Odeh.
She is interested in these two political unions because she says they are “the only parties still standing up for a democratic Israel that promotes equality for all its citizens, justice for Palestinians and an end to the occupation.”
CYGAL PELLACH, 35
A graduate of the Hineni youth movement from Sydney, Cygal Pellach lives in Tel Aviv. Unlike Australia, Pellach noted that the issues of both climate change and asylum seekers were almost completely absent from the political debate in Israel.
She also laments that fact that “there is almost no real actual debate on anything of substance in these elections,” and that “the Likud has no public platform or plans, only slogans.”
Noting that most larger parties have partial platforms, whilst most of the smaller parties have detailed policy outlines that are well over 50 pages, she commends the comprehensive plan of the Democratic Camp (which is a union of the Green Movement, Meretz and Democratic Israel) for raising the issue of climate change this election cycle. Having voted Meretz last time, she will vote for the Democratic Camp this time because they best represent her values.
Illustration: John Kron
