New poll puts Jewish Home tied as second-largest party

[bemildred]

The Jewish Home party will become the second-largest party in the next Knesset, according to a new poll published Thursday, which gives the right-wing party 18 seats, putting it on par with Labor.

The poll, conducted by the Geocartography Institute on behalf of Israel Radio, shows Naftali Bennett’s nationalist faction making strong gains with less than three weeks to go till voting day on January 22.

The number represents an unprecedented surge for the nationalist-religious party, already making large gains in pre-election polling. Earlier polls had shown the party winning 12 to 13 seats, up from the three it currently has in the Knesset. (It has also merged with the National Union, which had four seats in the outgoing Knesset.)

The new ultra-nationalist Otzma Leyisrael party polled at six seats, according to the survey. This is the first time a survey has pegged it at above three seats, with a number of polls showing it not gaining enough votes to enter the Knesset.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-poll-puts-jewish-home-tied-as-second-largest-party/

[oberliner]

1. Schism in Israel mirrors the one in the US

Just as the so-called "moderate" Republicans have become an endangered species here in the US, replaced by Tea Partiers and the like, the same is happening in Israel. The religious right is growing both here and there, which does not bode well in either case. I think there are two Israels - the leftist/socialist, primarily secular one and the far-RW/pro-settler, generally religious one. As the latter grows, it becomes harder and harder for the two to co-exist. In fact, for the most part, they don't. I think we have a similar situation here, but since the US is so much larger, it's a little easier for the two to stay out of one another's way. In Israel, the rubber is about to meet the road, and it won't be pretty. I don't see how the ideologies can avoid coming into conflict.

[bemildred]

2. Yes, I keep thinking of comparisons.

But the differences stand out too.

Not good though.

It would be momentarily amusing to see Bibi kicked out from the right though.

This is the basic problem with militarism, it's much easier to get into than to get back out of, or to scale back, and as a steady mode of existence it is expensive, dangerous, and inevitably one finds the limits of what one can get away with; after that it's all downhill, and the neighbors all hate you.

[Jefferson23]

3. +1

[azurnoir]

4. Well it is certain the Rightist/religious block is and has been carrying the lead

but this is a new high for them, however I really don't see either of Israel's two rising political stars Moshe Feiglin or Naftali Bennett being made PM-yet

IMO this trend is a sadly predictable 'circling of wagon's' among the Israeli public in the face of the UN vote on Palestine and international pressure over settlement construction, the same sort of thing happened in US but to a lessor extent after the Iraq invasion

[bemildred]

6. Yes, predictable, I've been watching it happen since Arik decided he'd had enough

of all that peace and compromise and Oslo stuff.

Happy New Year.


Edit: you're prob. right, Bibi again, but I've not given up hope yet.

[azurnoir]

7. it seems the harder it is pushed one way

the more intrenched Israel becomes we hear so often of Palestinian nationalism in disparaging terms but we to ignore the Israeli nationalism driving that, it seems so

Happy New Year to you

[Scootaloo]

5. That can't be!

I've been assured by experts - experts, you hear?! - that Israel is an ultra-progressive place and nobody supports Likud, much less the really far-right parties, because of how progressively progressive the progressives of progressive Israel are, and they're getting progressively more progressive every day!

Were those experts wrong?!

*Pearl clutch*