In his celebratory speech as the effects became clearer, Netanyahu thanked those who supported him and called the victory “a great vote of confidence from the Israeli public. “He also said he would form a coalition with the “national camp,” a collection of questionable devout right-wing parties and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that have pledged to join him in forming a strong and solid government.
NETANYAHU’S PLOTS RETURN AS ISRAELIS VOTE FOR NEW GOVERNMENT
“The way I see it is that this is the biggest political victory Netanyahu has gotten, at least since his first victory in 1996 and at least in terms of numbers,” said Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and former Netanyahu leader. in an interview with journalists.
In the days leading up to the vote, Netanyahu traveled the country to urge the Israeli public to faint and vote after predictions of public weariness and apathy warned there would be low voter turnout. Israeli voting patterns appeared to be the highest in 20 years and many of those who voted came from the right of the political map.
The rise of a conglomeration of far-right, once marginalized nationalist parties, united under the banner of devout Zionism, has also given it a major boost. in this election with the strength to crown Netanyahu as prime minister.
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Two prominent members of devout Zionism are Bezalel Smotrich, a former shipping minister in Netanyahu’s previous government, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, a corrupt lawyer and disciple of U. S. rabbi and parliamentarian Meir Kahana. Kahana was killed by a terrorist in New York in 1990. Both men generated controversy in Israel and for their extremist views, specifically toward Israel’s Arab population and plans to reform the country’s judicial system, which they claim are corrupt, biased and overly powerful.
While Israel’s parliamentary formula means that no political party can win an election, the largest party has the first chance to form a coalition with other factions. It’s a confusing puzzle of small parties aligning with similar ideologies.
However, Netanyahu, who is also on trial for breach of trust, bribery and high-profile fraud, has struggled for the past four years to build an ideologically aligned coalition, as many of his classic allies have refused to forget their legal troubles. .
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Now, however, Netanyahu has a chance to strike up a friendship with devout Zionism, which he has pledged to do in his campaign, despite considerations raised by Israel’s supporters in the United States, in addition to President Biden’s administration.
Gayil Talshir, a political scientist who in the past headed the Advanced Training Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s School of Public Policy and Government, said the rise of the devout Zionist party in Israeli politics was similar to what happened in some European countries. Countries.
“We call it current populism and what happens is that the ruling party ends up adopting the kind of national conservative ideology that pushes its ideology to the right,” he said.
“What we saw with yesterday’s elections is the emergence of a far-right component in Israel, as we know in other national democracies in Europe and I think it will now be an integral component of Israeli politics,” Talshir said. This will not happen far even as Netanyahu, who is 73, nevertheless withdraws from Israeli politics. “
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Ruth Marks Eglash is a veteran journalist based in Jerusalem, Israel. He reports for Fox News Digital and covers the Middle East and Europe. Originally from the UK, she has also worked as a freelancer for media outlets adding Huffington Post, USA Today and Christian Science Monitor. Ruth can be followed on Twitter @reglash