Last week, something unprecedented happened in Israel: After a bruising election, no party was able to form a government. So, their legislature, the Knesset, disbanded and decided to hold an entirely new election this September. There’s a lot at stake for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the next fourteen weeks, with indictments looming and party feuds brewing. So how did this all happen? And what waits ahead for Netanyahu? Phil and Cooper break down the timeline of events and speak with Israel Pulse columnist Akiva Eldar for more insight.
- Why Israel is voting again (Danny Zaken)
- Why new elections won’t save Israel’s democracy (Akiva Eldar)
- Israel’s Knesset in limbo (Mazal Mualem)
- The final round: Netanyahu versus Liberman (Ben Caspit)
- Protests spread against Netanyahu’s immunity law (Ben Caspit)
- Will Israeli Arabs come out to vote in September? (Akiva Eldar)
- Sen. Van Hollen challenges Trump's bypass of Congress on Saudi Arabia, Iran (Bryant Harris)
Extra Listening:
- Episode #18, Netanya-Who, Me? (8/16/2017): Phil and Cooper break down the investigations into Netanyahu.
- Episode #78, Honey I Shrunk My Coalition (11/29/2018): Phil, Cooper, and Danny Zaken discuss Netanyahu’s political majority falling apart after the departure of Avigdor Liberman along with threats of other cabinet members leaving.
- Episode #89, Alliance Defiance (2/28/2019): Phil and Cooper explain the Blue & White Coalition and how it was becoming a serious threat to Netanyahu’s leadership, and talk with Mazal Mualem about Bibi’s alliance with far-right parties.
- Episode #90, Nobody Puts Bibi in the Corner (3/7/2019): Ben Caspit joins the podcast to talk about the announcement about Netanyahu’s potential indictment, and how it will affect him in the April elections.
- Episode #95, Breaking Benjamin (4/12/2019): Danny Zaken speaks with the podcast about the April election results.
Music: A-WA - “Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman” (Spotify | Apple Music)
