Opinion

• Opinion

  Vote Seen Too Close to Call, Herzog ‘Very Worried’

  Ben Caspit at Maariv reports that internal polls of the two main parties show the race too close to call, Herzog camp “deeply worried.” Race might be too close to call for 4 p.m. exit polls to be particularly meaningful. Last minute surge of right-wing voters from Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Eli Yishai’s Yahad…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Turnout Surprisingly Low in Israel. Who’s Hurt?

  Forget the pre-election spin from enthusiastic Israeli lefties and despondent righties. Forget the three-day-old polls. Don’t start popping the champagne or sitting shiva (whatever your preference). At the voting booths, it’s still anybody’s game. Overall turnout, which was expected to be high due to the intense emotions surrounding the campaign, has been unexceptional. As of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 17, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Left or Right, Election Is Day at Beach

  Or Amar, 21, with Martina Bialek, 23 / Naomi Zeveloff In Israel, election day is a holiday. And in Tel Aviv, voters traditionally hit the beach after they go to the polls — whether they vote for left or right wing or anything in between. “The day started with coffee, very early, then we went…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Mar 17, 2015 | 2 min read

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• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman Americans keep getting killed in the West Bank. Here’s how the US could fight that awful trend

  

• Nora Berman First Camp Auschwitz, now Alligator Alcatraz — why the right is obsessed with commodifying brutality

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

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  Opinion

  Leafy Enclave United in Wanting Bibi Out

  In Beit Hakerem a leafy, historically left-leaning neighborhood in West Jerusalem, Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and its standing with the United States was driving voters to the ballot box. Voter after voter said they had hope that a new government would bring peace and prosperity — and end Netanyahu’s grip on power. “I think…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Mar 17, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Har Homa Come Home to Bibi?

  In the West Bank settlement of Har Homa, just outside Jerusalem, many residents said they were voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — some in spite of themselves. Forty-year-old Ilana Ben Moshe echoed remarks of many when she said she was torn between Netanyahu and other right wing candidates, especially Jewish Home Party leader Naftali…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Mar 17, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Bibi Bops Buji or Bye-Bye Bibi?

  From David Letterman’s Monday night monologue, a news update explaining where things stand in the Israeli election. It works best if you read it out loud: As Israelis go to the polls this week, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu trails significantly behind Isaac “Buji” Herzog. This is a reversal of last week, when Bibi bested Buji. But…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 17, 2015 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Lame Effort To Counter Generals’ Attack on Bibi

  A right-wing Israeli activist group tried today to counter the anti-Netanyahu campaign of a reserve generals’ peace group, Commanders for Israel’s Security, by announcing its own list of “Officers and Soldiers Against the Partisan-Political Use of the IDF.” The pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom reported on Monday that Im Tirtzu, best known for its attacks on…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 17, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Tzipi Livni Dropped Out of Race for Prime Minister

  Getty Images Every election cycle needs an eleventh hour surprise, and this year’s belongs to Tzipi Livni, who managed to grab the headlines from Netanyahu and change the discussion with her last-minute announcement she’s forgoing the opportunity to serve as prime minister in rotation, if her party, the Zionist Union, leads the next coalition. Livni’s…

  By Nathan Guttman Mar 16, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Ayman Oudeh Has Already Won Israel’s Election

  Ayman Oudeh with his family / Facebook According to an Arab friend who lives in the Middle East, the most exciting Arab leader is an Israeli. His name is Ayman Oudeh. He is a 40-year-old Muslim attorney from Haifa with a wife and three kids. The newly-formed political party he heads — the Joint List…

  By Lisa Goldman Mar 16, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Believe the Hype — Bibi Is Still in Driver’s Seat

  With the Knesset election season heading into the homestretch, Israelis are discussing the last week’s final polls, potential results and coalition permutations. While these polls give cause for the left to dream of a March Madness Cinderella story, recent election poll history suggests it is all going to end up in tears. The air of…

  By Steven Klein Mar 16, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  66 Years of Israeli Voting in 1 Cool Graphic

  If you want to see in one shot why many Israel observers are tearing their hair out in response to the country’s electoral process, feast your eyes on this cool infographic from the Economist. The chart shows the breakdown of each election since 1949 until the projected results of tomorrow’s vote. At the top are…

  By Gal Beckerman Mar 16, 2015 | < 1 min read