|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/an_israeli_surprise_nQ3vcBUpYAEVRnStaz0kJL
Israel's Election Outcome
(New York Post) Benny Avni - Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Beiteinu party is still by far the largest and is likely to head the next Israeli government. The rise of former columnist and TV star Yair Lapid was emblematic of the entire Israeli campaign - which ignored the top national-security issues the country faces. Security is still Topic A. But most Israelis pretty much agree with the way Netanyahu's government has handled those issues: Awaken the world to the threat Iran poses, but don't stray too far from America. Keep a low profile on the "Arab Spring," but remain vigilant on things like the Syrian chemical weapon threat. With that sort of (near) national consensus on security, socio-economic issues dominated the campaign, such as the gap between rich and poor and the widening secular-religious rift, while security and diplomatic issues remained in the background.