Israel held another election this week after a first round in April led to a stalemate, when Prime Minister Netanyahu was unable to form a majority government. Though the results from this week are equally confusing, there’s a likelihood that Netanyahu’s grip on power is weakening. Phil and Cooper parse through the numbers: what led to this, what parties are in play, and what comes next? Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse columnist Akiva Eldar joins the podcast, along with Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
- Intel: How Netanyahu's push for redo elections backfired (Danny Zaken)
- The surprising political tactics of Israel’s Arab party (Shlomi Eldar)
- Netanyahu down but not out (Mazal Mualem)
- No talks about peace for Israel in its electoral agenda (Akiva Eldar)
- Netanyahu's plan to annex Jordan Valley kills all chances for Palestinian state (Daoud Kuttab)
Extra Listening:
- 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.
- Episode #101, Panic! At The Knesset (6/7/2019): Netanyahu fails at forming a majority government and calls snap elections for September.
Music: Yoni Bloch - “Makir Oto” (Spotify)
