Israel’s much anticipated election results are anything but clear; the political equivalent of a Rohrschach test.
asserted
results → anticipate → test
One can see what they wish in the results, which will not be final until Friday afternoon, when all votes will be tallied.
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votes → see → afternoon
Meanwhile, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the unofficial leader of the change bloc, Yashar! leader Gadi Eizenkot each claimed to have emerged as the front-runner early Wednesday morning.
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Netanyahu → claim → runner
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A few hours later the sands had shifted, dramatically.
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sands → shift → ?
To reach a majority of 61 Knesset seats always entails the formation of a coalition led by a dominant party, historically the one with the largest number of seats.
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reach → reach → seats
In the coming days, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet with each party represented in the new Knesset.
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Herzog → come → Knesset
They will make their case, either as to why they should lead, or who they would support to head a coalition government.
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they → make → government
A critical part of this effort requires Herzog to sift through the irreconcilable competing interests of the various parties.
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part → require → parties
It is a challenge demanding Solomonic wisdom and extreme fortitude.
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It → demand → wisdom
Netanyahu’s Likud faction holds 27 seats.
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faction → hold → seats
Eizenkot commands 20, as of midday Wednesday, Israel time.
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Eizenkot → command → midday
The gap between them widened significantly since the earliest reports that were based on exit polls.
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that → widen → polls
And it appears that they were very rough numbers.
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they → appear → ?
Shortly after 1 a.m., Eisenkot took to the stage with unmitigated energy.
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Eisenkot → take → energy
“We made history,” he told his supporters.
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he → make → supporters
“The public voted in favour of change…(and) against Netanyahu’s continued tenure as Prime Minister of Israel.”
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public → vote → Israel
Soon after Eisenkot’s remarks, Netanyahu told his supporters that “the right-wing bloc has a clear, strong majority among the Zionist public, the Jewish public, and all those who support the Jewish state.”
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who → tell → state
Hours later, things look quite different.
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things → look → ?
Netanyahu leads what has come to be known as the right-wing bloc in the Knesset, which until now included the ultra-orthodox parties.
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which → lead → parties
His claim of dominance and clarity is based on the assumption that all parties included in the previous coalition will constitute a part of his bloc going forward.
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parties → base → bloc
It is a flawed presumption, because the ultra-orthodox are furious with Netanyahu for having failed to pass a law exempting ultra-orthodox men from military or national service.
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orthodox → fail → service
That was their primary reason for supporting his coalition and they have very publicly denounced him as a “liar” who they no longer trust.
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they → support → who
Eisenkot claimed victory because late Tuesday night, the parties supporting a change government reportedly held more Knesset seats than Netanyahu.
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parties → claim → Netanyahu
When he made his speech, the tally was 52 to 50 for the change bloc.
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tally → make → bloc
They turned out to vote in record numbers — 80 per cent — and were motivated to do so in large part due to what they consider to be the racist tendencies of Netanyahu’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
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they → turn → Security
He controlled the Israeli police force and transformed it into an institution that many believe has been soft on a wave of Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, and done nothing to address an alarming crime wave in Israeli Arab cities and towns.
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many → control → cities
The irony of the Arab vote holding the balance of power in this country is not lost on anyone.
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vote → hold → anyone
Just a half hour after the polls closed at 10 p.m. Tuesday and early results were being reported, Israel’s most-watched television station — channel 12 — pivoted to Eretz Nehederet (“My Beautiful Country”).
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station → close → Nehederet
they delivered hilarious parodies on the various party leaders and possible outcomes, giving us all a much-needed laugh.
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they → deliver → laugh
At one point in the sketch, the actor playing hardliner Avigdor Lieberman, who insists that he will never sit with a coalition that includes Arab or ultra-orthodox parties, is cuddling up to Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab Ra’am party.
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that → play → party
Lieberman is perceived to be ideologically resolute, while Abbas is generally regarded as being a pragmatic politician who will consider supporting either bloc, with the right terms, of course.
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who → perceive → course
In fact, following the closing of the polls, Abbas disclosed that both the Netanyahu and Eisenkot camps had been in contact with him regarding the upcoming negotiations.
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camps → follow → negotiations
The Arab Joint List — an amalgam of several small parties, is projected to win 12 seats.
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List → project → seats
Together, with Abbas’ Ra’am party, Israeli Arabs may soon command 19 seats, an unprecedented game-changer.
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Arabs → command → seats
Due to their make-up of communists and overtly anti-Zionist interests they are a far less palatable option for any coalition to include.
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coalition → include → communists
Included in this cohort are diplomats, soldiers and reservists, Israelis displaced domestically by October 7 and ensuing conflict, election workers (an astonishing 100,000), police officers, prison employees and others.
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diplomats → include → October
What many are seeing in this murky outcome is a need for national unity.
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seeing → see → unity
Finessing that is somewhat unfathomable, given the conflicting priorities and deep domestic schisms roiling Israel.
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that → finesse → Israel
A coalition headed by Netanyahu and including change parties led by Eisenkot, former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Ya’ir Lapid comes to 58.
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coalition → head → 58
After that, it gets very tricky.
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it → get → that
…and 10 more, not listed.
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