Transcript [00:00] The election season in Israel is right [00:02] around the corner and things are [00:03] definitely starting to heat up. New [00:05] polls are indicating that things are not [00:07] looking so good for BB Netanyahu, [00:09] prompting conversation about a unique [00:11] path forward for the Israeli government. [00:15] Also, a surprising new party is formed [00:17] on Israel's right, throwing further [00:19] complications into this election season, [00:21] as well as BB's path to staying in [00:24] power. [00:26] Walla is a news agency in Israel and [00:28] they just published a new poll on the [00:30] Israeli elections and in this poll Gaddy [00:33] Eisenot's Yeshar party which is a [00:36] left-leaning party takes 25 seats in the [00:38] Knesset. BB's Lood party which is right [00:41] takes only 21 seats and Naftali [00:44] Bennett's Bayad party takes 15. Also, [00:47] it's worth noting that Bennett projects [00:49] himself as a right-wing politician but [00:51] most people would consider him left. And [00:54] to be honest, it's really hard to say [00:56] exactly who he is because he's [00:58] flip-flopped so many times. And last [01:00] time he was in power, he broke a solemn [01:02] promise that he made on live TV and sat [01:05] with the Muslim parties in his [01:07] coalition. Now, these these latest polls [01:10] are not necessarily good numbers for [01:12] BB's coalition as when you add up all [01:15] the parties who would join with him, he [01:17] would be left with just 43 seats, which [01:19] is well below the needed 61 to form a [01:23] majority and take the prime minister's [01:25] office. Once again, just for context, [01:28] this latest poll is a drop in 10 seats [01:31] for Lood from previous polls, which is a [01:33] pretty devastating number, especially [01:36] when we're less than uh 2 months away [01:39] from the elections. Now, according to [01:41] reports, BBE has said in closed [01:43] conversations that he doesn't know how [01:45] to move forward to win back those 10 [01:47] seats, along with some healthy [01:49] skepticism as to if this these poll [01:52] numbers are even that accurate because [01:54] BB does have a history of polling lower [01:57] than how he actually performs in the [01:59] elections, as well as he has a a an [02:02] amazing track record of coming in at the [02:04] last moment and rallying lots lots of [02:07] support for his party. Regardless, BB [02:10] and the others involved have to operate [02:12] as if these polls are accurate, meaning [02:14] that he needs to quickly connect with [02:16] the Israeli voters. Uh, and in an effort [02:19] to do this, last Sunday, Prime Minister [02:21] Netanyahu actually gave out what he said [02:23] was his personal phone number to the [02:25] public. Basically, he posted a video to [02:27] social media, and maybe you've seen this [02:29] already with his phone number saying he [02:31] wanted to hear suggestions, questions, [02:33] and problems from the Israeli public. [02:35] This is a classic BB Netanyao uh thing [02:39] that he does in the election season, [02:41] especially as he gets closer and closer [02:44] to election day. Obviously, the results [02:46] were chaotic. Hundreds of messages and [02:48] calls arrived almost instantly and the [02:50] number was actually temporarily shut [02:52] down by what or his WhatsApp account was [02:54] actually shut down because it was so [02:56] overwhelmed. His team continued taking [02:58] messages, switching to Telegram as a [03:00] better form of mass communication. [03:02] Regardless, BB Netanyao is faced with [03:05] the growing re reality that he might [03:07] very well not be able to take back the [03:09] majority of the vote. And to prepare for [03:11] this, he and his team have been [03:13] discussing options. One very real [03:16] possibility would be a situation where [03:18] neither BB nor Eisenote would be able to [03:20] form a majority. And as a reminder, they [03:22] are the two largest parties that are or [03:25] at least parties that are pulling the [03:26] largest right now. Uh but in this [03:29] scenario, both Eisenote and BB would [03:32] have the incentive to form a joint [03:34] government together with a rotation [03:36] between the two of them as prime [03:38] minister. And yes, you do remember this [03:40] from before with Bennett and Leed. [03:43] Obviously, the government didn't make it [03:45] long enough for Leed to actually serve [03:47] his term as prime minister. Obviously, [03:49] this is a situation where neither leader [03:51] would see would would see this situation [03:53] as optimal because BB would probably [03:55] serve for about 2 years. It'll be [03:57] followed by Eisen Coat serving for an [03:59] additional two years. And this is based [04:01] on the premise that BB actually keeps [04:03] his word and doesn't just send Israel [04:05] back to elections at the end of that [04:08] period because as the political system [04:10] works here, the government can be [04:12] dissolved at any time and go to snap [04:14] elections. Israel has seen this before. [04:17] A rotating government with a promise [04:19] that the opponent would serve at the end [04:20] of a specific time, but when that time [04:22] approaches, it's easy to create an [04:23] excuse to dissolve the government and go [04:25] back to elections. Basically, if they [04:28] went forward with something like this, [04:30] it would be pretty much a handshake [04:31] agreement and not anything legally [04:33] binding, which in the world of politics [04:35] over the course of several years is not [04:38] optimal. Uh, one possibility being [04:41] floated right now is that the idea that [04:43] Netanyahu could serve until July of 2028 [04:46] when Isaac Herzog is slated to end his [04:48] term as president and then BBE could [04:50] move from being prime minister of Israel [04:52] to president of Israel. The president [04:55] position in Israel is largely honorary [04:57] and they're kind of just a figurehead [04:59] for the country. They don't actually [05:01] have much power. So considering how long [05:03] BB has served as the leader of Israel [05:05] and the outside impact he has had on [05:07] shaping the country as a nation, this [05:10] could be a fitting and dignified end to [05:13] his long political career. It may also [05:16] give Eisenote the assurance he needs to [05:18] be able to agree to a rotational [05:20] government if BB has a clear path [05:22] forward at the end of 2 years. In a [05:25] second, we'll get into a new [05:26] controversial party that's currently [05:28] being formed in Israel and some [05:29] interesting information on Eisenote [05:31] himself. But first, do you know what [05:34] actually keeps our work in Israel going? [05:36] Every month, people partner with us by [05:38] giving any amount they choose, becoming [05:40] part of our exclusive Israel guys member [05:42] program. 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And your [06:32] monthly contributions make those things [06:34] possible. Guys, click the link in the [06:36] description below or scan the QR code on [06:39] the screen and choose any amount to get [06:41] started. It just has to be a monthly [06:43] commitment. So, there's a new party on [06:46] the block that's making waves in Israel. [06:48] Brigadier General Ofair Winter just [06:51] officially launched a new right-wing [06:53] party called Amha Israel, which [06:56] literally translates to your people [06:58] Israel. According to a launch speech by [07:01] Winter, the upcoming election is a [07:03] referendum, a choice between a military [07:05] doctrine based on initiative and [07:07] decisive action. He also made comments [07:09] about integrating the ultraorththodox [07:11] into the IDF, judicial reform, [07:14] addressing organized crime, and [07:15] relations with Arabs who support the [07:17] state of Israel. And to that end, one of [07:20] the candidates who has already joined [07:21] Winter's party is Ysef Hadad, a [07:24] well-known Christian ArabIsraeli [07:26] activist with a history of being a [07:27] strong pro-Israel voice in the [07:29] international community. This new party [07:32] forming has some pretty interesting [07:34] implications. While it's true that [07:36] Winter is very conservative, he's making [07:38] it very clear that he's also running as [07:40] an independent, at least for now. [07:42] Meaning he's not making any commitments [07:43] to join either with Netanyahu or with [07:46] Eisenote. And this could be concerning [07:48] because another small conservative party [07:50] like this could easily split the vote [07:53] for smaller parties on the right-wing [07:55] side or it could draw in more [07:57] conservative votes which could help [07:59] build a conservative coalition [08:00] government. Only time will tell. It's [08:04] also very possible that you could have [08:05] people who would have voted for either [08:07] Ben Gavier or Betsel Smootrich's parties [08:10] and now they might vote for Winter and [08:12] uh both Winter and Smootrich could fail [08:14] to cross the threshold, the electoral [08:16] threshold in the election, meaning the [08:18] votes will be wasted. As a reminder, you [08:20] have to win at least four seats, enough [08:22] votes for four seats for your party to [08:24] cross the threshold and be part of a [08:27] governing Knesset. There's lots of calls [08:30] on Israel's right for some of these [08:31] small parties to unite. Just this past [08:34] week, NetanyO called on Bengavir to [08:36] unite his party with smotches, but Ben [08:39] Gavir refused. I think he's finding lots [08:42] of popularity just on his own. Something [08:45] interesting to know about Eisenote is [08:47] that he is running on a neverbe [08:49] platform, which gives cause for a lot of [08:52] concern. Also in a statement just this [08:53] week, he said that he now opposes the [08:55] creation of a Palestinian state. But he [08:58] also opposes the E1 settlement expansion [09:00] project which is happening just outside [09:02] Jerusalem, which gives us cause for [09:04] concern. Also, I've talked to people [09:06] boots on the ground here who say that [09:08] Eisenote would create a Palestinian [09:10] state in a heartbeat. If a lot of the [09:13] conservative vote in Israel gets split [09:15] between small parties that fail to meet [09:17] the electoral threshold, Israel will [09:19] probably end up with a very divided [09:20] government and possibly in a very [09:22] suboptimal rotational agreement for the [09:25] prime minister's office. And I say [09:27] suboptimal because if a rotation is [09:30] agreed to, both prime ministers would [09:31] basically serve two years with their [09:34] hands tied. They wouldn't have the [09:35] support in the Knesset to really get [09:37] anything done. And at the end of the [09:38] day, much of that what they would do [09:40] would possibly get reversed by the [09:43] incoming prime minister after them. [09:46] Israel now more than ever needs our [09:48] prayers for unity, peace, and strength [09:50] no matter who wins this election. As [09:52] Psalm 122 says, pray for the peace of [09:56] Jerusalem. Guys, if you want to keep [09:58] standing with Israel through media and [10:00] boots on the ground initiatives, [10:02] consider becoming an Israel guys member [10:04] and uh give any amount as long as it's a [10:07] monthly commitment. Click the link below [10:09] or scan the QR code to join our team [10:11] today. If you want to help this video [10:13] reach more people, click the thumbs up [10:16] button, leave a comment, and subscribe [10:18] if you haven't done so already. As [10:20] always, thanks for watching.
