Center Left Pulls Ahead of PM Netanyahu's Likud Party...

March 11, 2015

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Good news on the world stage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be losing ground politically with elections just around the corner. We hope the trend continues and Bibi, as well as his Likud party, are swept from power. Far from certain, but the signs are at least hopeful.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Less than a week before Israel's second general election in two years, Isaac Herzog's centre-left Zionist Union opened up a lead on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud, polls showed Wednesday

The March 17 vote comes as Israel faces major domestic and international challenges, all of which will have to be addressed by the next government - among them the Iranian nuclear threat, the deadlock in peace efforts and a looming Palestinian legal move at the International Criminal Court.

Experts say the vote will largely be a referendum on the six-year tenure of Netanyahu, who has made security the centrepiece of his campaign.

The Israeli leader last week gave a controversial address to the US Congress on the threat that would be posed by a nuclear Iran, in a move he hoped would boost his support ahead of the vote.

But a series of polls published this week show an erosion in support for Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, which for weeks had been neck-and-neck with its centre-left rival, with both hovering at around 23 or 24 seats.

According to a survey by Israel's army radio, Herzog's list was seen taking 24 seats to Likud's 21, indicating an erosion in support for Netanyahu's faction.