1. Benjamin Netanyahu’s morning – The prime minister and his advisers followed Tuesday night’s developments on a split screen – on the left side, the U.S. elections, on the right side, the primaries in the Bayit Hayehudi party. [2] The prime minister is fighting against both Obama and Naftali Bennett, and openly helped both of their opponents. In both cases, his gamble turned out to be wrong. Netanyahu woke up to a morning in which Obama is celebrating in Chicago and new Habayait Hayehudi leader Bennett is celebrating in Tel Aviv. For his miscalculations, Netanyahu will pay twice over – in the mandates that the Likud will lose.
2. Ehud Olmert’s morning – The former prime minister, who is currently in the U.S., followed the results of the election from New York. He is still on the fence about whether or not to return to politics and run in the upcoming elections, and has been consulting with Tzipi Livni, with Shaul Mofaz, with Gabi Ashkenazi and many others. Obama’s victory could be the opening shot in Olmert’s election campaign. The clock is ticking. He must decide by the end of the week.
3. Ehud Barak’s morning – While in the Prime Minister’s Office they put the champagne back in the cabinet, in the defense minister’s office they popped it open. While Netanyahu and his aides try to figure out how to deal with the enemy’s news, Barak was the first to publish a message of congratulations and to invite news teams in to tape a recorded message. In recent years, Barak has served as Netanyahu’s liaison officer to the American government. Most of the time he has relayed Netanyahu’s messages, but sometimes he’s also passed along his own. In recent weeks, in the context of the tension with the American government over Iran, Barak has distanced himself from Netanyahu, portraying himself in Washington as the mature adult, the gatekeeper of Israel-U.S. relations. For him, this is a political asset that fits in well with the election campaign. If his Atzmaut party passes the electoral threshold, Barak will be a clear candidate to serve again as the next defense minister.
4. Shelly Yacimovich and Yair Lapid’s morning – The two candidates (from Labor and Yesh Atid, respectively), who have proclaimed themselves as candidates for prime minister, lack any diplomatic experience. The most senior American actor whom they have ever met has been the American ambassador in Israel, Dan Shapiro. Obama’s victory gives them an opportunity to goad Netanyahu and to present themselves as a diplomatic alternative. From their initial reactions, it would seem they are still hesitant. Not for nothing do many think that Yacimovich and Lapid are actually competing for the role of senior minister in the next Netanyahu government.
5. Israel-U.S. relations this morning – Beyond the politics, Netanyahu’s government and the Obama administration have two weighty issues that require decisions before the Israeli elections on January 22. The first is the Palestinians’ move to seek recognition of statehood in the UN at the end of this month, and the other is the talks between Iran and the six world powers, which will reconvene within a few weeks. Obama will not forget and will not forgive Netanyahu for his support for Mitt Romney. However, ones hopes that Netanyahu and Obama manage to put aside the bad blood between them and work together to address these two challenges. Netanyahu must do everything in his power to help Obama help him.
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