Israelis look for 'anyone but Bibi'

[Israeli]

SUMMARY

Support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dropped sharply and his opponents are joining forces against him, thus threatening the possibility of his becoming prime minister for the fourth time.

Public opinion polls just conducted in Israel indicate a steep drop in the popularity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It may be a temporary process, it may be a transient phase, but as of this very moment the numbers do not lie and reflect a clear trend. Support for Netanyahu is in steep decline.

The results of two surveys publicized in Israel, one for the “HaMate” program on Israeli TV Channel 10 and the other for the Knesset TV Channel (“Panels”), point to an amazing fact: more than 60% of the Israeli public does not want Netanyahu to serve another term as prime minister. Almost two-thirds of the Israeli electorate have had enough of Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s key strong point is rooted in the popular question asked in Israeli polls: The respondents are asked regarding the suitability of various candidates for the premiership role. Until recently, Netanyahu led on this question with a tremendous gap over his competitors. His score ranged around 45-50%, while his competitors were in single digits. But in the last poll by the Knesset channel on Oct. 29, the percentage of “suitable for the position” voters dropped drastically to only 27% (in comparison, Netanyahu garnered 48% after the Protective Edge campaign). The man lost half of his support within a few weeks.

And the tidings aren’t encouraging for the premier regarding the number of Knesset seats that Netanyahu’s Likud Party is likely to receive: At the moment, the Likud would win only 21 seats. In addition, the Likud historically tends to lose around four additional seats in the course of the Knesset election campaign (due to the problematic primaries process and an anti-Netanyahu campaign). In such a setup, it would be altogether possible that, should Knesset elections be held in a few months, Netanyahu might win only 15 to 17 seats. With such a result, it is doubtful that he would be able to assemble a government.

Continued @
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/netanyahu-drop-public-support-elections-opposition.html

[oberliner]

1. Be careful what you wish for

I don't think PM Lieberman would be a step in the right direction for example.

[Israeli]

2. agreed oberliner.....

....but at least he has the balls to point the finger in the right direction ....which is more than I can say for Bibi ....

Israel FM faults hard right for Jerusalem tensions

Israel's foreign minister has berated right-wing politicians for exploiting tensions in Jerusalem.

Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio on Thursday that some Israeli politicians were "seeking cheap headlines."

Right-wing members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and other hard-line lawmakers are pushing the government to remove restrictions preventing Jews from praying at the Jerusalem holy site at the center of the tensions, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4588774,00.html

[Israeli]

3. Welcome to the end times.........

How Likud became the Almighty's contractor at the Temple Mount

Religion and politics have been entwined since the dawn of time, but in the last few centuries the Western world has chosen to separate the estates in order to promote a democratic and tolerant public sphere. What we are witnessing, before our very eyes, is an attempt to re-couple the religious myth with the political-diplomatic sphere. The political discourse is undergoing a transformation: It is adopting mythological aspects, reestablishing itself not on the foundation of security but on that of salvation tales, and is coated in religious folklore and messianic shmaltz. Whether it is out of naïve faith, or precluding any possibility of political compromise, one hears talk of the Jewish prayer, diaspora, and an age-old yearning. Before you can say “a national home for the Jewish people,” the government of Israel has been turned into an agent of the messiah and a contractor of the almighty. Welcome to the end times.

http://972mag.com/how-likud-became-the-almightlys-contractor-at-the-temple-mount/98402/