The issues facing Israelis heading for the polls on Sept. 17 will be no different from those that instructed their choice at the ballot box on April 9. Barring any surprises, the two major political blocs — one consisting of the right wing, religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, the other comprised of the center-left and Arab parties — will once again be tied.
In a best-case scenario, depending on one’s politics, a tie will allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a barely stable government. Meanwhile, Yisrael Beitenu Chair Avigdor Liberman announced on June 15 that he intends to push for a unity government of the two major political parties and rivals — Likud and Blue and White — led by a Knesset member from the party that gets the most votes. Put another way, Liberman has set his sights on a government without the ultra-Orthodox parties and thus without religious coercion.
