Netanyahu Wins
By
Stephen Lendman
March 18, 2015 "ICH"
-
Pre-election and exit polls were wrong.
Netanyahu emerged a much stronger winner
than predicted.
He'll likely be able to form a
hard-right coalition and become Israel's
first ever four-term prime minister.
Headlines explained:
New York Times: "Netanyahu Soundly
Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli
Elections"
London Guardian: "Netanyahu claims
'great victory' after last minute surge
in support"
Haaretz: "Netanyahu's Likud scores
decisive victory in Israeli election"
Times of Israel: "Netanyahu scores
crushing victory in Israeli elections"
Jerusalem Post: "Israeli elections take
dramatic turn as official tally gives
Likud sweeping victory"
Pre-election polls had Isaac Herzog/Tzipi
Livni's Zionist Union winning 24 of 120
Knesset seats to Likud's 20.
Exit polls showed a dead heat. Final
results surprised with Likud winning 30
seats to Zionist Union's 24.
The Joint (Arab) List party finished
third with 14 seats. Yesh Atid got 11,
Kulanu 10, Bayit Yehudi 8, Shas 7,
United Torah Judaism 6, Yisrael Beytenu
6, and Meretz 4.
Early Wednesday morning, Herzog
conceded. He congratulated Netanyahu on
winning. He told reporters:
"I
wished him luck, but let it be clear,
the problems are the same problems.
Nothing has changed."
Zionist Union will continue serving as
"an alternative in every area."
Final results will be announced Thursday
morning. They'll include a record number
of female MKs - 28 won seats, one more
than the previous Knesset.
Turnout exceeded 70% of Israel's 5.9
million eligible voters. Israelis vote
for parties, not individual candidates.
Knesset seats are allocated according to
the voting percentage participating
parties win.
Netanyahu has up to six weeks to form
new coalition governance.
Likud said he hopes it will include
Naftali Bennett's Jewish Home party,
Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu, Avigdor
Lieberman's Yisrael Beytenu, Aryeh
Deri's Shas, and Yaakov Litzman's United
Torah Judaism.
Combined would be a 67-seat Knesset
majority - six more than needed.
Reports indicated heavy Arab turnout
hoping to oust Netanyahu. Joint (Arab)
List party head Ayman Odeh called
Tuesday "a historic day for the Arabs."
"Today we are giving our answer to
racism and to those who want to exclude
us," he said.
He
ruled out participating in coalition
governance. At the same time, he
indicated keeping his cards close to his
chest, saying:
"After the elections, we will listen to
what Herzog has to say and then we will
decide."
"The right wing has taken over, so I'm
hoping the Arabs can be part of a bloc
formed against Netanyahu."
Despite emerging as third largest
Knesset party, Joint List has no say
whatever under either a Netanyahu or
Herzog-led coalition.
Believing otherwise is foolhardy.
Israel's 20% Arab population is
powerless, persecuted, and denied rights
afforded solely to Jews. Election
results changed nothing.
Israel is like America. Democracy is
pure fantasy. Not a dime's worth of
difference separates major parties on
issues mattering most.
Voter choices are largely bad or worse.
For Israeli Arab citizens and most Jews,
Netanyahu or Herzog makes no difference.
Election results changed nothing.
Government headed by either leader
assures ugly business as usual.
Both and likely coalition partners
support:
-
apartheid worse than South Africa's;
-
militarized occupation harshness;
-
settlement construction on stolen
Palestinian land;
-
war, not peace;
-
Arabs denied virtually all rights
afforded Jews; and
-
continuation of decades if
institutionalized racism.
Bottom line: Whenever things change in
Israel they stay the same. It's been
this way since 1948 - especially under
nearly half a century of militarized
occupation.
Netanyahu openly campaigned against
Palestinian self-determination.
Doing so and election day Facebook
fear-mongering about "Arabs heading to
the polls in masses" got him last minute
support enough for decisive victory.
Fascists rule Israel. Left of center
governance is too inconsequential to
matter.
Israelis are as mindless as Americans.
They have themselves to blame.
Reelecting Netanyahu assures hardening
extremist governance - ideologically
over-the-top and then some.
Belligerence, state-sponsored terrorism,
militarized occupation, racist
persecution, settlement expansions, and
neoliberal harshness reflect official
policy.
Netanyahu is a world-class thug - a
ruthless demagogue. He spurns rule of
law principles. He abhors democratic
values.
He
prioritizes stealing all valued
Palestinian land. He deplores peace. He
calls pursuing it a waste of time.
His likely coalition partners are
militantly hardline, racist,
anti-democratic, and offensive to all
values progressives and civil
libertarians hold dear.
On
Tuesday, ugly business as usual
triumphed. Right-wing extremist rule
continues. Neoliberal harshness remains
official policy.
Long denied justice for Palestinians
hasn't changed. Israel's political
system remains a blight on humanity.
It's just a matter of time before more
naked aggression erupts. Maybe war on
Iran before Netanyahu's tenure ends.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can
be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His
new book as editor and contributor is
titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive
for Hegemony Risks WW III."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at
sjlendman.blogspot.com.