Legal Insurrection rightly points out that it is tough to draw parallels between Israeli and American politics.
The Knesset holds 120 seats and no party comes close to majority, Bibi's Likud leads with 30, so coalitions start from the center and work their way... right.
Israel has not had a left government since Aerial Sharon bulldozed Ehud Barrak in 2001.
These days two issues are important in Israel, security (Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran) and Haredi Laws.
Haredi is the Israeli term for 'ultra' Orthodox Jews, like the Hasidim in New York.
For the most part Hassidic Jews are not a bother here in America. But in Israel the Haredis are a problem. Traditionally they control Israeli religious life. Also they are except from the draft. Yeah...everyone else serves over there, but not them. They are also getting more bellicose about Israeli secular society around them. Periodically planes are delayed becuase some Haredi doesn't want to sit next to a woman.
Netanyahu tried and failed to get a Haredi draft law passed.
We cannot say how the Israeli elections will turn out. We'll be betting on another Netanyahu government as we just don't see anyone with the chops to take him down. This January will be Bibi's tenth year in office. At some point one has to ask when enough is enough.
As far as Haredi issues go, we suspect these won't be solved until Israel elects a center-left government, perhaps one led by Yair Lapid, but that probably wont be for a while, probably not till Hezbollah gets Final Solutioned.
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