(JNS.org) Reacting to news of Israel’s election results, American officials praised Israeli democracy and promised to work with the new government, the Jerusalem Post reported. In a tweet, U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro congratulated Israelis on a successful election day.
“Mazal tov to the Israeli people on their just completed elections! Always inspiring to see democracy in action!” he wrote.
While the U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said “Israel demonstrated once again that it is the only flourishing democracy in the Middle East.”
However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was a bit more cautious in his reaction, saying the Obama administration would wait until a new coalition is formed before tackling some critical issues. “The United States remains committed, as it has been for a long time, to working with the parties to press forward the goal of a two-state solution. That has not changed, and it will not change,” Carney said.
The White House’s tepid reaction is not surprising. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have clashed over several critical issues including the peace process and Iran. Just last week, columnist Jeffrey Goldberg reported that Obama said that “Israel doesn’t know what its best interests are,” in an apparent jab towards Netanyahu over continued Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.
However, despite their personal clashes, the U.S. and Israel have remained committed allies over their tenures. The U.S. stood with Israel at the UN against the Palestinian vote, increased military aid to support the Iron Dome system and have cooperated in covert activities against Iran.
(Israel Hayom/ Exclusive to JNS.org) Voting patterns in Israel’s two biggest cities, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, were almost reverse mirror images of each other, according to final election results released Tuesday by the Central Elections Commission. The largest bloc of Tel Avivians voted for Yesh Atid, the party led by former Israeli journalist Yair Lapid and dedicated to equalizing the national burden and integrating Orthodox Jews into the military or national service and the workforce. On the other side of the coin, the largest voter bloc in the country’s capital, Jerusalem, voted for a party with the exact opposite platform: United Torah Judaism.
According to the figures, Tel Aviv had 394,134 eligible voters, of whom 246,890 (62.64 percent) voted. Yesh Atid led with 50,778 votes (20.3 percent of valid votes), Likud-Beytenu was second with 42,873 (17.51 percent), Labor was third with 41,212 (16.83 percent), Meretz was fourth with 35,121 (14.34 percent), Hatnuah was fifth with 17,799 (7.27 percent), Shas was sixth with 14,372 (5.87 percent), and Habayit Hayehudi came in seventh with 10,482 (4.28 percent).
For its part, Jerusalem had 373,238 eligible voters, of whom 243,038 (65.12 percent) voted. United Torah Judaism received the largest share of votes with 53,143 votes (22.04 percent), with Likud-Beytenu coming in second with 49,468 (20.51 percent), Shas third with 37,513 (15.56 percent) and Habayit Hayehudi fourth with 28,418 (11.78 percent). Yesh Atid was fifth with 16,810 (6.97 percent).
Some 250,000 Israelis voted for parties that did not cross the electoral threshold, an increase of 150,000 from the 2009 elections. The combined “wasted” votes amounted to nine mandates.
In Israel’s south, a large shares of votes went to Likud-Beytenu, showing that residents were happy with the results of the last Gaza war:
The election results also show that residents of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) favored Naftali Bennett’s Habayit Hayehudi, with Likud-Beytenu and Strong Israel fighting it out for second and third place.
Jordanians to head for the polls
(JNS.org) Israel is not the only Middle Eastern country headed to the polls this week, as neighboring Jordan will also elect its next parliament, but with different stakes. In the face of growing unrest and protests over the slow pace of democratic reforms and a stagnate economy, Jordan’s King Abdullah has scheduled an election for Jan. 23.
Nevertheless, most Jordanians do not have high hopes for the election. Unlike Israel’s democratic election system, Jordan’s system is known for its corruption, with most of the power residing with the King and his tribal supporters.
As a result, many in the Jordanian opposition, including Palestinians – who comprise nearly half the population – and Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood are boycotting the election. “The elections are a theatrical comedy, which we will not take part in,” said Zaki Bani Irsheid from the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, the Associated Press reported.
However, King Abdullah views the process differently. In a region awash in revolution and threats from Islamists, Abdullah hopes to stave off instability by gradually reforming the system toward a constitutional monarchy. Last year he introduced reforms that will hand over more power to the newly elected parliament. Jordanians will also be able toelect their prime minister directly for the first time.
“The system of ruling in Jordan is evolving … and the monarchy which my son will inherit will not be the same as the one I inherited,” he told a French magazine, the Associated Press reported.
Netanyahu congratulates inaugurated Obama
After being formally sworn in Sunday at the White House, Obama gave his inaugural address to 700,000 people Monday. Though he did not mention Israel, Obama emphasized his administration “will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
Just days ago Jewish American columnist Jeffrey Goldberg reported Obama has said in private conversations that “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are” when it comes to construction beyond the Green Line. Netanyahu responded in an interview that he is “confident that President Obama understands that only a sovereign Israeli government can determine what Israel’s interests are.”
“There are good reasons to believe that tension between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will continue to simmer during their respective terms,” wrote Senior Online Editor of Commentary magazine Jonathan S. Tobin. “The disconnect between the president’s view of the region and the consensus of the overwhelming majority of Israelis about the future of the peace process has created a gap between the two countries that continues to cause trouble. The fact that the two men don’t like each other also doesn’t help.”