Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 02/2015

Will the Next Israeli Election Be About Regional Challenges or Netanyahu's Leadership?

David Makovsky

December 2014

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

On December 3, the Israeli Knesset voted to hold early elections on March 17, only two years since the last election. The move followed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's announcement that he was disbanding his governing coalition because his political partners -- led by Finance Minister Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid Party and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni of Hatnua -- were colluding with ultraorthodox factions behind the scenes to replace him. Both ministers have denied even the plausibility of this claim and criticized the move to early elections as superfluous. These and other competing narratives could shape not only the upcoming campaign, but also the direction of Israeli politics once the election is decided.