Israel Matzav

Israelis make up their minds, spit at Obama

Friday is poll day in Israel, and the polls show that Israelis are siding with their Prime Minister, and spitting in the face of President Obama.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party reached the top spot in a Panels Research poll taken for The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew sister newspaper, Ma’ariv Sof Hashavua, on Thursday for the first time since Labor and Hatnua joined forces on December 10 to create the Zionist Union.

The poll found that the Likud would win 25 seats, the Zionist Union 24, Bayit Yehudi 14, the Joint Arab List 12, Yesh Atid 11, United Torah Judaism and Koolanu eight, Shas seven, Meretz six, and Yisrael Beytenu five. The parties polled that did not cross the 3.25-percent electoral threshold were Green Leaf and both Yahad Ha’am Itanu and Otzma Yehudit.

Last week, the Zionist Union was ahead of the Likud by two seats, and two weeks ago the lead was three.

The percentage of respondents calling themselves “undecided” fell from 30% to 18%.

...

While all other polls taken since the election season began found that the issues Israelis vote on most are the gap between rich and poor and other socioeconomic matters, the new poll found that the security situation is now the voters’ top priority, 39% to 25%. Only 1 percent of respondents said the issue that would decide the vote most would be Israel’s foreign relations.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said their personal security situation had worsened in recent days, 60% said it had not changed, and 3 percent said it had improved.

For those doing the Right-Left count it's Right 59, Left 49 plus 12 seats for the Arabs (who have never been in a coalition).

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset elections 2015

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:01 PM