February 2, 2009

In an election season compressed into just three weeks due to the military operation in Gaza, during which campaigning ground to a virtual halt, Israel\’s political parties have begun to roll out their campaigns ahead of the national elections Feb. 10.

One month ago, Ehud Barak made his maiden appearance on \”Glorious Land,\” Israel\’s version of \”Saturday Night Live,\” and was roundly roasted about his Labor Party\’s poor prospects ahead of the Feb. 10 election.

When Tzipi Livni, Israel\’s foreign minister and a candidate for prime minister, spoke before a group of women lawyers last week, she received three standing ovations. Her male rivals in the race had to make do with polite applause.

On the fourth day of the recent war in Gaza, Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu hurried from one Jerusalem studio to another, doing more than a dozen TV interviews with networks from Hong Kong to New York within the space of 12 hours.