The Other McCain

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Ultra-Orthodox Jews Boost Netanyahu to Fifth Term as Israeli Prime Minister

Posted on | April 10, 2019 | Comments Off on Ultra-Orthodox Jews Boost Netanyahu to Fifth Term as Israeli Prime Minister

 

Because Jews in America are mostly secular and mostly Democrat (71% voted for Hillary), it might surprise many Americans to know that most Jews in Israel are deeply religious and right-wing:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clinched a clear victory early Wednesday morning in Israel’s general elections.
With some 97 percent of votes in Tuesday’s contest counted, his Likud party was tied with Blue and White, but his right-wing/ultra-Orthodox bloc held a decisive lead and Netanyahu was thus safely en route to forming a majority governing coalition.
With more than four million votes counted as of 9 a.m., Likud had snagged 26.27% of the vote, or 35 seats in the 120-seat legislature — the party’s best result since the 2003 election (when it won 38 seats under Ariel Sharon), and its best under Netanyahu.
Likud’s main rival in the election, the Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, won 25.94% of the vote, which would also give it 35 seats, but had insufficient support from other parties to prevent Netanyahu staying in power for what will be a fifth term.
In actual numbers, only some 14,000 votes separated the two biggest parties.
No other party appeared to break double digits in number of seats.
With his Likud at 35, and five right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties managing to get some 30 seats together, Netanyahu could confidently work to form a government similar to his current right-wing coalition, with a solid 65 seats.
On the other side of the fence, four left-wing and Arab parties combined for just 20 seats, putting them en route to the opposition along with Blue and White.
Coming in at a surprising third and fourth places behind Likud and Blue and White were the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, with 6.10% (8 seats) and 5.90% (8 seats) respectively.

You know what would also surprise many Americans? While Democrats and the media routinely smear the 62.9 million Trump voters as anti-Semitic “white nationalists,” President Trump is actually more popular in Israel than he is in the United States. Israelis value our support and see Trump’s “Make America Great Again” message as a repudiation of the weakness of Obama’s policy. When America is weak, Israel is vulnerable.

Guess what? Israel’s enemies know this. That’s why I don’t care how often the Left in America smears conservatives as anti-Semites. If we make America stronger, Israel is safer. That’s the bottom line, in terms of realpolitik, so vote Republican, and to hell with the haters.

Oh, by the way, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Hamas) described the 9/11 attacks as “some people did something.” Another reason to vote Republican.



 

Category: Israel

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