These were the most interesting-boring elections one could ever hope for. Boring – as the top job was secured early on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Fascinating – as the parties, unburdened of having to compete for the top job, were free to combat one another for votes.
A few observations about the Israeli election results:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged the bruised winner of Israel\’s election on Tuesday, claiming victory despite unexpected losses to resurgent center-left challengers.
Initial Israeli exit polls show the combined Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu ticket won the highest vote total while the new center-left Yesh Atid unexpectedly came in second.
The economy was the strongest determinant for Jews who voted for Barack Obama, according to an analysis of polling data.
Israeli President Shimon Peres released a Facebook application to encourage young Israelis to vote.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi signed into law a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies, a bitterly contested document which he insists will help end political turmoil and allow him to focus on fixing the economy.
It’s never a good thing to look like a loser. That applies to countries as well as people. Consider Israel, a winning country on so many fronts: It’s on the cutting edge of high tech, turns deserts into farmlands, wins awards at film festivals and boasts one of the liveliest, most open societies in the world.
Does the Jewish vote still matter and if so, how? Exit polls indicate that 70 percent of Jews voted for President Obama, compared to roughly 39 percent of white voters overall. However, with California and New York, which have large Jewish populations, guaranteed to go Democratic, the Jewish vote may have mattered only in Florida.
The Republican Jewish Coalition called on all Americans to \”come together to craft real solutions to the very serious problems our country faces today\” after President Obama won re-election.
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