Israeli Elections | The American Task Force on Palestine

Foreigners taking over Israeli democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

An amazing fact emerged, almost by chance, from reading Chaim Levinson's report in Haaretz last week that was headlined, "Netanyahu and Romney share ideology, donors": Of the 46 people who contributed money to Benjamin Netanyahu for the Likud leadership primary last January, 37 were Americans.

News Analysis: Israeli PM's swipe at defense minister sparks election fever
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday criticized Defense Minister Ehud Barak for his involvement in Israel-U.S. relations and thereby reignited speculation about earlier parliamentary elections,possibly as early as February 2013.

If Netanyahu is reelected, history will repeat itself
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) September 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's selection as Man of 5773 - that is, of the Year to Come - is so painfully obvious that maybe it even begs to be set aside. Netanyahu is indeed the man of the year in which Iran, according to the minimalist forecast, is expected to become a member of the nuclear club - or at least to reach the threshold of the club. Unless the United States does the dirty work for him, the premier is the man who, in the next few months, will make the most critical decision in these parts since David Ben-Gurion decided to declare Israel's statehood.

Being a tomato beats being an Arab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oudeh Basharat - (Opinion) September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Correspondents who deal with tomatoes show more empathy for their subjects than do correspondents who cover Arab affairs. Channel 2's Roni Daniel, for example, so staunchly defends the subjects of his coverage, that it sometimes seems as though the IDF spokesperson is on the screen, not the network's military affairs correspondent. The Arab affairs correspondent for Ch. 10, Zvi Yehezkeli, depicts his subjects in as corrosively a negative light as he can possibly muster.

It's the elections, stupid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - (Opinion) September 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Here is why all the talk about Iran has the mind reeling: Yediot Aharonot led its front page Monday with a story claiming the United States sent secret messages – through the Europeans – to the Iranians saying that it would not stand behind Israel if Jerusalem attacks.

Israeli Politicians Court American Donors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am

For wealthy Americans these days, appeals for political contributions from candidates, party committees and now from super PACs seem never-ending. But for wealthy American Jews involved with Israel, there is, increasingly, yet one more hand outstretched, from abroad, seeking political largesse. Israeli candidates, vying for seats in the Knesset, the country’s parliament, have found a reliable funding base in American Jews willing to add their dollars to the pile of shekels fueling primary races in Israel’s major political parties.

Netanyahu Calls for Early Elections in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - May 6, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday called for early elections, vowing to win a “renewed mandate” and “form the broadest government that is possible&r

Likud official: Early Israeli elections to be announced Sunday, Sept. 4 likely date
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
May 3, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An official with Israel’s governing Likud Party says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce Sunday that national elections will be moved up. The official said Thursday that Sept. 4 was shaping up as the likely date, speaking on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement. The vote was originally scheduled for October 2013. But Netanyahu signaled in December that he might move them up when he called a snap Likud leadership race that he handily won.

Israel's prime minister is considering early elections. Why the hurry?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - (Analysis) May 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Even the sombre news of the death of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's highly influential father at the age of 102 could not quell the febrile atmosphere in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, this week. There was one topic of conversation among MKs, their aides and political journalists at crowded canteen tables: the sudden almost-certainty of a general election being brought forward from autumn 2013 to late summer this year.

An alternate agenda for elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jonathan Rosen - (Opinion) May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

The Knesset and the local media have been abuzz these past few months with talk about the likelihood of a general election being held well before the designated date of October 2013. That buzz first became audible immediately after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced his surprise decision to hold the Likud primary at the end of January, sparking a flurry of speculation among politicians and journalists that this was a sign of the prime minister’s intention to call a general election as early as the second half of 2012.

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