By Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM –We’re getting closer to August 1, when the parties will have to finalize their candidates for the September 17th election.
Currently, the leader of the Labor Party has aligned himself toward the right with Orli Levy-Abekakis, the attractive daughter of Likudnik David Levy. Amir Peretz has provided her with the second place on the Labor ticket, and has given her party two other places in the Labor Party’s first 10 candidates.
Orli Levy-Abekakis had run at the top of her own party in the last election, but didn’t make it into the Knesset. Earlier, she had been a member of Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Beitenu, which marks her as somewhat to the right of Labor’s key constituency, whatever remains of it.
This union pretty much closes Labor to an alignment with Meretz, or with Ehud Barak, somewhat tainted by an association with accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
What the Labor-Levy alliance does to Labor is something of a question. Will she be enough attract some additional seats to a party struggling to stay in the Knesset? And what’ll she do to party regulars with a concern to maintain party traditions clearly left of center.
And at the same time, we’re hearing of maneuvers on the right, Rafi Peretz, currently the nominal head of Jewish Home is said to be contemplating giving first place on his ticket to Ayelet Shaked, the former Minister of Justice. She is firmly right of center, but not overtly religious, while Peretz is an Orthodox Rabbi. Guesses are that Shaked is sufficiently attractive to be worth several Knesset seats in the election.
Shaked and Bennett have recreated the New Right, but with Shaked as the leading candidate.
Sara Netanyahu and Benjamin have worked against Shaked, keeping her out of Likud and now a report that Sara called the wife of Rafi Peretz and urged her, to urge her husband to oppose any leading role for Shaked.
So far we haven’t heard much about party platforms, or how they are going to face up to what are Israel’s problems.
Palestinians? Not in the headlines.
Social justice? What’s that?
Bibi?
That’s an issue, but he’s also showing strength, despite the prospect of three indictments hanging over his head, and waiting on hearings scheduled for early October.
Ehud Barak is the most outspoken critic of Bibi, while defending himself against Likudniks accusing him of associating with the pedophile-pimp Epstein. It’s not been easy for Barak to distance himself from an Epstein investment of several million dollars in a Barak company. There’s also been a photo showing Barak entering Epstein’s apartment building with his face hidden in a scarf, said to be there against New York’s winter cold.
Benny Gantz occasionally speaks as the head of Blue and White, but he lacks the fire seemingly required for a major political leader. Current polls show both Likud and Blue and White below the levels they reached in the recent election.
With Naftali Bennett maneuvering to find himself a party, he has indicated that he might not support Bibi as the next Prime Minister.
And Ehud Barak’s place in the Knesset is by no means assured.
So we’re neither here nor there with respect to who’ll succeed in this election, and whether Bibi will find himself retired or restored.
Meanwhile there are some other things on the headlines.
First of all, a case of gang rape in Cyprus. Twelve Israelis youths are accused of raping a British young woman. It’s a mixed plot. We hear that the victim was employed as a sex worker, with an earlier claim of being raped and receiving compensation. And that she had agreed to relations with one of the young men. Then with some of his friends. But it got out of hand and perhaps 12 one after the other was too much for her. Parents of the young men are screaming innocence, and the Cypriot police are at work.
Whatever the outcome, it was not 12 of our best in the Cypriot hotel.
The Ethiopian, whose death from a shot fired by a police officer began several days of demonstrations-riots-property destruction, was found to have high levels of alcohol and drugs in his body. Not an innocent. But not one who deserved to die.
There is also a continuation of Iran vs lots of others, with a British oil tanker being seized by Iran near the opening to the Persian Gulf. The US is strengthening its position in Saudi Arabia, and talking about talks with Iran. Israelis are talking with Russia, and we’re wondering about an Iranian response to Israeli attacks on their positions in Syria.
We’ll see how all these issues develop, along with the political maneuvers, and Bibi’s hope to remain in office forever.
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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. he may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com
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Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Department of Political Science
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
irashark@gmail.com