If these numbers hold, Lieberman’s party will once again be in the position to make or break a coalition
With elections in Israel only a week and a half away, the various parties have begun to campaign forcefully. Polls show that Likud and Blue and White are tied at about 32 seats a piece. After that, the Joint List of Arab parties is expected to win 11 seats, the right-wing Yemina and Yisrael Beitenu approximately 10 each, and Shas and United Torah Judaism seven seats each. If these numbers hold, Yisrael Beitenu, Avigdor Lieberman’s party, will once again be in the position to make or break a coalition. In the coming weeks, expect the right-wing block – including Likud, Yemina, and the chareidi parties – to pursue the following campaign strategies.
Netanyahu and the Likud will likely concentrate their efforts on taking votes from Yemina, the right-wing coalition headed by Ayelet Shaked. On Sunday, the prime minister appealed to right-wing voters by pledging to extend Jewish sovereignty to all settlements in the West Bank, long a dream of settlers.
Yemina intends to fight back. They will explain to voters that Netanyahu’s plan to take votes from the right wing is what led to his inability to form a government in the last election. They will also argue that Netanyahu is targeting right-wing parties in order to form a unity government with the Blue and White coalition, led by Benny Gantz.
There is concern in Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) that chareidi voters aren’t concerned enough with the coming election.
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