The Bayit Yehudi leader is the real winner of coalition negotiations.

Mishal insisted that Bennett would not be in the next government, because there was too much scorched earth between him and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Bennett bet Mishal a felafel – even though Mishal raised an eyebrow at a hitech millionaire eating street food – that his party would be in the coalition.

Someone get Bennett a felafel. Continue reading

Yesh Atid privately updated reporters on coalition talks, and Yair Lapid denied it all on Facebook. Is this new politics?

Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi formed an alliance in coalition talks, and have been saying for weeks that they want to focus on “essential, meaningful” policy issues, not who gets which ministry. However, the clock is ticking and there’s a little over a week left for a government to be formed. It made sense that they’d get to the “dirty” stuff at this point, and that a party official would confirm it.

Why, then, did Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid publicly deny it all? Continue reading

MK Tibi asks in Knesset: Is it true an Australian citizen under a different identity committed suicide in an Israeli prison?

The citizens of Israel will soon learn information on a sensitive anonymous prisoner case that the government has kept under wraps, MKs told Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman on Tuesday. Continue reading

MKs new and old put on their best clothes and brought their families to celebratory inauguration.

Members of the 19th Knesset swore to be faithful in their new role on Tuesday, in a celebratory ceremony with red carpets, trumpeters and hors d’oeuvres.

New MKs beamed as they shook hands with each other and some of the 1,000 people attending the ceremony, expressing excitement at their first day on the job. Continue reading

Netanyahu and Sa’ar’s concerns that high voter turnout would harm the party come to fruition.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu began his Election Day with a vote and a prayer – but that was not enough to save his list from losing 11 seats.

With wife, Sara, and his sons Yair and Avner in tow, Netanyahu voted at the Paula Ben-Gurion School in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, with the prime minister paraphrasing former Likud leader Menachem Begin’s call for it to “rain Machal [Likud] voting slips” despite the sunny weather. Continue Reading 

Television election ad campaigns debut with baby pictures, aid to the elderly as major trends; Balad, Strong Israel censored by Central Election Committee.

The Likud Beytenu joint list recycled a winning strategy from 1996 in Tuesday night’s “Election Propaganda Broadcast,” as Labor stayed positive and Shas co-leader Arye Deri brought in a supporting player – his mother. Continue reading

Most of the 34 parties running in the election won’t make it into the 19th Knesset.

The Central Elections Committee opened 2013 by doing something unusual. Rather than telling parties and campaign managers how they should behave and promote themselves, the committee made a suggestion to reporters on Tuesday: Write more about small parties. Continue reading 

Knesset speaker hopes to keep his position for 3rd term, speaks out on those pulling his party Right.

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin is a man on a mission – to hold the record for serving in that position for more years than anyone else. Continue reading