The 2015 Israeli legislative (Knesset) election thread

[Penelope]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

and how many would that be? The total no. of Israelis abroad?

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

That would be about 4.3 million votes cast, considerably more than in 2013. Good for the Democratic process, to be sure.

4.3 million Israelies voted from abroad, I thought we only had like 5 million in the US, who all gets to vote?

I am sorry, Penelope, but your postings make absolutely no sense to adults at all. We are talking about voters eligible to vote in today's election in Eretz Yisrael, which means they must be Israeli citizens and have Israeli identification. Most all of them surely lived within the borders of Eretz Yisrael. A small percentage (as in, ambassadorial teams, etc) live abroad, but that must be a very small percentage, indeed.

You are surely welcome to post here, especially if you want to post interesting information, but trolling is not really in in 2015. Just sayin...

I'll research on my own, if we have Americans who vote here and then also get to vote in Israel that would not be right.

 

[Penelope]

so you have no idea how many Israelis are abroad, funny. I think most adults can understand that question.

 

[Dot Com]

subbed

Israelis vote as King Bibi s reign hangs in the balance Reuters

 

[Phoenall]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

That would be about 4.3 million votes cast, considerably more than in 2013. Good for the Democratic process, to be sure.

4.3 million Israelies voted from abroad, I thought we only had like 5 million in the US, who all gets to vote?

What about the rest of the world then, or do you think the universe revolves around your nation ?

 

[Hossfly]

so you have no idea how many Israelis are abroad, funny. I think most adults can understand that question.

There are only 12-13 million Jews. Around 4 million Jews live in Israel.

JewishPost.com - Israeli Citizens Abroad Necessary For Growth of Israel

 

[Phoenall]

so you have no idea how many Israelis are abroad, funny. I think most adults can understand that question.

And most children can understand that this is not the place to ask it.

 

[Coyote]

Folks, let's try to stay on topic please and not derail into flaming.

 

[teddyearp]

Wow, the polls are open until 2200 (i.e. 10 pm). So as it is 10:05 am PDT Mar 17, 2015 at the time of this posting, there are still three hours left.

Thank you Statin(will maul rest) for starting this thread, I hope for meaningful updates here as well.

Daniyel are you awake and voting today?

And another thank you to Lipush for the updates!

 

[Coyote]

In Jaffa, an upturn in Israeli-Arab voter turnout

JAFFA – In all his 36 years, local resident Maron Jiries has never voted in an Israeli election. But on Tuesday, standing outside his polling station in Jaffa – the mixed Arab-Jewish city adjoining Tel Aviv – with his daughter pulling impatiently on his arm so they can get going, Jiries explains why, for the first time in his life, he cast his vote.

It was the historical union in January of the Arab parties under the umbrella of the new Joint List – comprising United Arab List-Ta’al and Balad, the Islamic Movement and the Jewish-Arab party Hadash – that convinced Jiries to vote at the station, at the Hassan Arafeh School on Kedem Street.

One of the major stories of the 20th Knesset election has been the Arab vote, which, as a result of the confidence engendered by that merger, is expected to result in an all-time-high turnout once the ballots are tallied.

 

[Dot Com]

Candidate takes one last swipe :


As Israel votes Netanyahu takes swipe at Arabs - Yahoo News

JERUSALEM (AP) — With his political future in question, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday made a last-ditch appeal to hard-liners as the country went to the polls in a tight parliamentary election, saying that high Arab voter turnout was endangering his right-wing party's dominance.

 

[Statistikhengst]

so you have no idea how many Israelis are abroad, funny. I think most adults can understand that question.

There are only 12-13 million Jews. Around 4 million Jews live in Israel.

JewishPost.com - Israeli Citizens Abroad Necessary For Growth of Israel

But about 6 million ISRAELIS are eligible to vote today, or so was reported in the J Post.

See: OP

This is again a tribute to Democracy in Israel.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Wow, the polls are open until 2200 (i.e. 10 pm). So as it is 10:05 am PDT Mar 17, 2015 at the time of this posting, there are still three hours left.

Thank you Statin(will maul rest) for starting this thread, I hope for meaningful updates here as well.

Daniyel are you awake and voting today?

And another thank you to Lipush for the updates!

LOL.... Statin.... LOL.

Hey, Daniyel - didn't mean to forget you.

Hope you voted today.

 

[Statistikhengst]

THIS IS COOL:


Reporter s Notebook Meet the woman who voted in all 20 Israeli elections - Israel Elections - Jerusalem Post

Enjoy. THIS IS INSPIRATIONAL.

 

[Osomir]

What would be inspirational would be basic civil and political rights for Palestinians.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Some more interesting information, this time from Haaretz:

LIVE BLOG Netanyahu on election panel decision to ban his speech No one will shut us up - Israel election 2015 - Israel News Haaretz

Ballots are being cast at 10,372 polling stations throughout Israel, and will remain open until 10 P.M. There are 5,881,696 Israelis (citizens over the age of 18) who are eligible to vote today for the 20th Knesset.

The weather is good and many Israelis are likely to take outdoor advantage of the public holiday.

and:

Interesting voter turnout graphic, in 2 hour increments, from 2006 to 2015:

THAT IS COOL INFORMATION,

And, strite over election law:

6:50 P.M. Netanyahu slams election panel decision to bar his address from the airwaves

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "no one will shut us up," after the Central Elections Committee barred the media from airing his address, deeming it "illegal election propaganda."

"All day, politicians have been talking in the media. Tzipi, Bougi and Yair Lapid talked in every possible TV studio and issued obvious campaign propaganda. The only one barred from talking over the media – is me. The Likud prime minister," Netanyahu said in a Facebook post.

It should be noted that Netanyahu appeared earlier on Tuesday on a Channel 10 talk show.

 

[Statistikhengst]

so you have no idea how many Israelis are abroad, funny. I think most adults can understand that question.

That is irrelevant. Every Israeli citizen above the age of 18 has the right to vote.
Any one citizen's current geography is of no interest to anyone.
I am a US-citizen who works in Germany. I have a right to and I vote in every single US election that is relevant to me. My current geography does not change my status as a US-Citizen.

GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Google marks today with a festive doodle:

 

[Dot Com]

Sounds just like a U.S. Repub

Advertisement

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "no one will shut us up," after the Central Elections Committee barred the media from airing his address, deeming it "illegal election propaganda."

"All day, politicians have been talking in the media. Tzipi, Bougi and Yair Lapid talked in every possible TV studio and issued obvious campaign propaganda. The only one barred from talking over the media – is me. The Likud prime minister," Netanyahu said in a Facebook post.

It should be noted that Netanyahu appeared earlier on Tuesday on a Channel 10 talk show.

In his statement, posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu called on his supporters to vote, saying the margin between Likud and the Zionist Union is due to "foreign funds" funneled to "leftist groups."

 

[Statistikhengst]

Lipush Daniyel Coyote Hossfly Mertex Derideo_Te guno

Folks, I have to get to work and the prelim results will be coming in while I am still working. I would greatly appreciate it if one or all of you could be on the thread at 4 PM EDT to post the prelim results, which I am sure you can find in the Jerusalem Post or Haaretz, both very good, solid publications.

I know that the topic Israel / ME raises lots of emotions, but it sure would be great for us to simply stick to today's big event. I will remind that Arabs living in Eretz Yisrael are also voting today, as is their right. As I wrote to Hossfly earlier, this is part of what makes Yisrael a great Democracy like the USA.

I will be home about 90 minutes after the prelims come in and will do a post-mortem of the whole thing over the next day. Again, based on the prognoses, it may take a number of days to see who can build a majority coalition. Unless an unexpected landslide suddenly happens, I wouldn't place too much emphasis on the prelims....

 

[Coyote]

Some interesting comments in this article:

As Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new government, here are 11 key election analyses from Haaretz's columnists and writers:

11 must reads on Israel s election before the polls close - Israel election 2015 - Israel News Haaretz

The lack of a dominant ruling party is the standout fault in the Israeli political system. The core of any coalition is only about a fifth of the Knesset or less, and with so many voters turning to so many smaller parties, the prime minister is left beholden to potential vetoes and can't produce a coherent and cohesive policy, Aluf Benn writes.

Born in 1949, Benjamin Netanyahu is the first prime minister born in the country’s first decade of existence. Now he must yield, Amir Oren argues, to those born in the second decade, children of the 1967 and 1973 wars, who grew up against the backdrop of Jewish settlements in the territories, intifadas and shifts in government control between Likud and Labor.

Whoever forms the next government must not assign the defense portfolio, like the finance portfolio, based on a political deal. The new government, cabinet and – if Moshe Ya'alon does not continue in office – defense minister must call on the advice and experience of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Gadi Eizenkot, Mossad chief Tamir Pardo and Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, Amos Harel urges.

As Israel's citizens vote, they are casting two ballots. One is for themselves and the other is for the 2.5 million Palestinians over age 18 who live in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Our votes also determine their lives, their futures and their disasters, no less and perhaps even more than our own, Amira Hass writes.

...

Chemi Shalev makes 10 observations worth thinking about as Israel votes today. Among them: Tzipi Livni's last-minute decision to give up the planned rotation with Isaac Herzog may or may not have been a ploy but it stole Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign thunder; and if any candidate might do better than the polls predict, watch out for Moshe Kahlon of Kulanu.

Although we live in a flourishing, powerful country, the man who has stood at the top for the past six years never ceased talking about the threats we face. The threats are there. But they can be managed, and you can’t build a nation by constantly scaring the people. The 2015 election, Ari Shavit suggests, is a referendum on hope.

....

Can't imagine how a "rotation government" would have worked effectively.

I like this picture from the article