Netanyahu and Herzog’s absence made them the biggest losers, leaving the stage clear for smaller parties.

The biggest losers of Thursday night’s televised debate were two people who were absent: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Union leader MK Isaac Herzog.

The leaders of eight political parties – Bayit Yehudi’s Naftali Bennett, Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, the Joint List’s Aiman Oudeh, Kulanu’s Moshe Kahlon, Shas’s Arye Deri, Yahad’s Eli Yishai, Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman, and Meretz’s Zehava Gal-On – faced off and presented their positions in the Channel 2 debate.

However Herzog refused to participate in a debate without Netanyahu, because he wants to present himself as the only other candidate for prime minister. Netanyahu refused to participate in a debate without Herzog’s No. 2, Tzipi Livni, with whom Herzog has a rotation agreement for the premiership. Continue Reading