Israel legislative election, 2006

The Elections for the 17th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 March 2006, following an agreement between the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and the new leader of the Israel Labour Party, Amir Peretz.

Background

The decision to hold early elections followed Peretz's election as Labour leader and his immediate decision to withdraw from the Coalition government, in which Labour under its outgoing Leader, Shimon Peres, kept Sharon in office. It also followed Sharon's split from Likud to found his new party, Kadima, which Peres subsequently joined.

"I'm letting him [Sharon] choose a date in that period between the end of February and the end of March and whatever date he chooses is acceptable to me, the earlier the better," Peretz said.

Sharon said: "As soon as it became clear that the existing political framework was falling apart, I came to the conclusion that the best thing for the country is to hold new elections as soon as possible."

At the 2003 elections, Likud under Sharon's leadership had a convincing win by Israeli standards, winning 38 seats in the 120-member Knesset (parliament). Labour, led by Amram Mitzna, won only 19 seats and did not initially join the new government.

Following the 2003 elections, Likud suffered severe divisions over several positions taken by Sharon, mostly notably his adoption of a plan to withdraw Israeli settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip. [1] This position, similar to one taken by Labour in the 2003 elections, caused tension within the Likud party and in January 2005 Peres led Labour into a Coalition with Sharon to allow the Gaza withdrawal to go ahead despite opposition from a majority of Likud members.

On 20 November Israeli media reported that Sharon would resign from Likud and form a new party, more politically centrist than Likud, to lead into the elections. Sharon would almost certainly have faced a leadership challenge from former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the right to lead Likud.

The formation of Kadima turned the election into a three-way race against Labour and Likud, marking a shift from Israel's recent tradition of elections dominated by two major parties.

On January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a hemorrhagic stroke leaving him in a coma, and on 31 January 2006 the Kadima party list of candidates for the upcoming election did not include the incapacitated Prime Minister. Ehud Olmert became Acting Prime Minister, acting chairman of Kadima and the party's candidate for Prime Minister. Polls conducted from January through March showed Kadima still enjoying a commanding lead over both Labour and Likud, though somewhat reduced from polls taken under Sharon's leadership.

Former Labour party leader Shimon Peres, who joined Kadima citing Ariel Sharon's leadership skills, remained in the party and was placed second on the list of candidates. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was placed third on the Kadima list, with the understanding that she would be the senior Vice Premier if Kadima formed the next government.

In the Shinui primaries, Tel Aviv council member Ron Leventhal defeated Avraham Poraz for the number 2 spot. Poraz, a close ally of party leader Yosef Lapid, subsequently resigned from Shinui, as did most Shinui Knesset members, forming a breakaway party called Hetz (ha-Miflaga ha-Hilonit Tzionit or 'the Secular Zionist Party'). Lapid resigned as party leader on 25 January 2006, and Leventhal was subsequently elected the new party leader. Neither Shinui nor Hetz received sufficient votes to win any seats in the 17th Knesset. Shinui won 15 seats in the 2003 election and was the third largest party in the 16th Knesset.

On 30 January 2006 the right-wing National Union (Halchud HaLeumi), a coalition of three small parties (Moledet, Tkuma, Tzionut Datit Leumit Mitchadeshet), submitted a joint list with the National Religious Party (Mafdal). The merged list is headed by Binyamin Elon. The largely Russian immigrant Yisrael Beytenu (Israel, Our Home) party has separated from National Union and is running a separate list.

This separation was conducted due to polls that predicted that, when running separately, these two major rightist blocs will receive between 20 to 25 seats (in the previous elections, they had received only 7), and it turned out to be true: the National Union bloc received 9 seats and Our Home - Israel got 11.

Key issues

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Fighting Palestinian militancy

During the al-Aqsa Intifada, more than a thousand Israelis were killed in Palestinian militant attacks. Israel's security policy during that time was focused on arresting or killing members of the militant organizations, through frequent military excursions into the Palestinian territories and (somewhat controversially) targeted assassinations, and to curb the movement of suspected militants - especially would-be suicide bombers - through the use of checkpoints. This policy won the support of the Jewish mainstream, but elements in the Jewish left, as well as the vast majority of the Arab population, vehemently opposed what they saw as excessive response to the security threat. Some claimed that Israel's policy was in fact encouraging more violence from the Palestinian side.Despite the decrease in violence during 2005 and 2006, or perhaps because of it, popular support for the security policy remained high among the Israeli public, which continued to fear suicide bombings and Qassam rocket attacks.

During the 2006 electoral campaign, the center and right parties are vowing to continue the relentless fight against the Palestinian militants. Even Labour, which was traditionally known for its dovish views, has put "combating terrorism" at the top of its agenda on the Conflict. Opposition to the current security policy, especially the use of targeted assassinations and the existence of checkpoints on Palestinian soil, comes mainly from Jewish left parties such as Meretz and from the Arab parties.

Solutions to the conflict

In the wake of the Disengagement Plan, the political field in Israel split into two roughly distinct groups: those who are in favor of withdrawing from most or all of the West Bank (unofficially nicknamed "Blues"), and those who wish for that area to remain under Israeli control (so-called "Orange"). In particular, Ariel Sharon and his faction left Likud to form Kadima because of their support of ending Israeli control over the West Bank. However, the two groups are also divided internally as to what practical steps need to be taken during the next few years.
*Meretz supports bilateral negotiations as the only path towards peace.
*Labour and Kadima both advocate further negotiations, but the supposed non-existence of a partner for peace on the Palestinian side (following Hamas victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections) brings them to strongly consider "shaping Israel's permanent borders" through a unilateral withdrawal from most of the West Bank, leaving in place the large settlement blocs and the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. These borders will be marked by the completed separation barrier. Kadima leader Ehud Olmert used the term "Convergence Plan" (תכנית �"�"תכנסות).
*Yisrael Beytenu supports continued Israeli control of most settlements, but offers to cede some Israeli Arab cities and uninhabited territories to the Palestinian Authority in exchange.
*Likud advocates an expansion of the separation barrier to include more territory on the Israeli side, and continued Israeli control of the Jordan Valley, the whole of Jerusalem and the settlement blocs.
*National Union-National Religious Party vehemently opposes any more unilateral withdrawals, and supports the strengthening of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
*Herut and National Jewish Front, two fringe nationalist groups, support a massive population transfer of the Arabs under Israeli control - both Palestinians and Israeli citizens - to neighboring Arab countries as a solution to the conflict. While Herut supports "voluntary transfer" through the creation of a compensation mechanism, the Front does not rule out forced transfer.

Economic and social issues

Peretz Labour campaign billboard in Tel Aviv, "Ki Higiyah Hazman" - Because The Time Has Come

Since Israel's establishment, the political scene has been dominated by security and peace issues. The major parties were mainly divided by the different approaches with regard to the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.

The 2006 elections mark the first time a major party - the Israel Labour Party - has placed economic and social issues on top of its agenda. This is mainly attributed to Amir Peretz's surprise victory over Shimon Peres in the November 2005 ILP leadership election; Peretz had left the party a few years earlier to form the socialist Am Ehad, which had only recently merged into Labour.

Labour's social democratic approach, which includes promises to raise the minimum wage and allocate a pension for every worker, now stands in sharp contrast to the neo-liberal agenda promoted by Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu. Serving as Finance Minister from 2003 to 2005, Netanyahu led a policy that encouraged economic growth and lower taxes at the expense of Israel's long-running welfare mechanism. This has alienated him from many Likud supporters, which traditionally hail from the lower and middle classes. In the campaign, Netanyahu claimed (backed by several economics experts) to have done this to "save the Israeli economy from collapse."

In addition to Labour, the orthodox religious Shas, which has always claimed to champion the poor in Israeli society, also attacked Netanyahu's policies during the campaign, as did a number of small (and often new) socialist parties.

Israel as a Jewish and democratic state

Relations between the Jewish religion and the state

From 1948 to 2003, religious parties played a part in every coalition formed in Israel. Zionist religious parties focused on maintaining the balance between observants and seculars in issues such as education, Kashrut, keeping the Sabbath and matrimonial law, while Haredi parties demanded funds for religious scholars and the continued exemption of their followers from military service (decided on by David Ben Gurion in 1951.) All of this alienated many secular Israelis, who felt their personal freedoms were being infringed upon and that they were unfairly carrying most of the burden. This led to the rise of Shinui, which at the 2003 elections won 15 out of 120 seats and joined Ariel Sharon's coalition. Shinui failed in making significant changes to the status quo on religious issues, and quit the government in 2005 after Sharon decided to transfer funds to the orthodox United Torah Judaism party. An internal quarrel caused most Knesset members from Shinui to form a new party (Hetz); both parties ran in the 2006 elections, although neither of them received any mandates.

Shinui, Hetz, Meretz, and Ale Yarok wish to promote what they see as key secular and democratic principles:
*Allowing businesses to remain open and public transportation to operate during the Sabbath;
*Abolishing the orthodox monopoly on conducting marriage and divorce between Jewish couples (which in fact prevents many couples from getting married in Israel) by instituting civil marriage, including for homosexuals;
*Allowing the public sale of pork (forbidden under Kashrut laws);
*Committing orthodox religious scholars to military service.

The various religious parties, both Zionist (Mafdal) and Haredi (Shas, United Torah Judaism) strictly oppose these changes. They wish to see Israel's Jewish character strengthened through further enforcement of the Sabbath and changes in the educational system.

Relations between Jews and Arabs

Israeli Arabs constitute roughly 20% of the population in Israel. There is continued institutional and social discrimination against them in Israel. Because they are not Jews and identify ethnicaly with Palestinians their identity often clashes with their citizenship in the Jewish state. There are large disparities in general living standard and education between Israeli Arabs and the non-Arab Israeli population; they also have a lower participation rate in the workforce. Discrimination and a lower proportion of females in the workforce are often cited as reasons for this. See Israeli Arab.

The Arab parties, the largest of which are Raam, Balad and Hadash (a Jewish-Arab communist party, with mostly Arab composition and electorate), advocate abolition of all forms of ethnic inequality, and the establishment of a democratic bi-national state.

Most Jews in Israel see the clear inequality that exists as a natural result of Israel being a Jewish state. They lament that the Arabs, who demand equal rights, do not take on equal obligations (especially military service), and that some of them are disloyal and show solidarity and offer aid to the Arab terrorists which fight Israel. For example, one Arab member of the Knesset publicly called for Israel's destruction, a number of Israeli Arabs have been convicted in court of collusion with terrorists. Herut and National Jewish Front, two extreme right-wing parties, support transferring the Israeli Arabs to Jordan and other Arab countries. Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beytenu party advocate an exchange of territory which would place most Arab settlements currently in Israel in a future Palestinian state, in exchange for Jewish settlements in the West Bank which would become an integral part of Israel.

Procedures

See also: Elections in Israel

The elections will allocate the 120 seats in the Knesset by party-list proportional representation, using the d'Hondt method. The election threshold is set at 2% (up from 1.5% in previous elections), which is a little over two seats.
Once the official results are published, the President of Israel will delegate the task of forming a government to the Member of Knesset with the most chances of doing so (usually the leader of the largest party.) He will have up to 42 days to negotiate with the different parties, and then present his government to the Knesset for a vote of confidence. Once the government is approved (by a vote of at least 61 members), he will become Prime Minister.

Official list of participating parties

Party (Hebrew)	Letter/s in the ballot	Arabic	English	Number of seats before election	Leader	Remarks
Kadima (ק�"ימ�", Qādīmāh)	כן	'Forward'	14	Ehud Olmert	new party (split from Likud)
Avoda (�"עבו�"�", ha-`Avōdāh)	אמת	Hizb al-`Amal (حزب العمل)	'Labour'	21	Amir Peretz	social democratic
Likud (ליכו�", Līkkūd)	מחל	'Consolidation'	29	Binyamin Netanyahu	nationalist
Hetz (�"מפל�'�" �"חילונית ציונית / חץ, Ha-Miflāgāh ha-Hīlōnīt Tsiyyōnīt)	חץ	'Arrow' ('Zionist Secular Party')	9	Avraham Poraz	new party (split from Shinui), anti-clerical, liberal
Shinui (שינוי, Shīnūy)	יש	'Change'	2	Ron Leventhal	secular
Shas (ש"ס, Hit'ahdūt ha-Śfāraddīm ha-‘Ōlāmīt Shōmréy Tōrāh)	שס	'World Union of Sephardi Torah Keepers'	11	Eli Yishai	orthodox religious, Sephardi
Yahadut ha-Torah (י�"�"ות �"תור�", Yahadūt ha-Tōrāh)	�'	'United Torah Judaism'	5	Yaakov Litzman, Avraham Ravitz	orthodox religious, Ashkenazi
HaIchud HaLeumi-Mafdal (�"איחו�" �"לאומי-מפ�""ל, ha-Īhūd ha-Le'ūmī - Miflāgāh Dātīt Le'ūmīt (MaFDaL))	טב	'National Union-National Religious Party'	10	Binyamin Elon	nationalist, mostly Zionist religious; joint electoral list composed of National Union and Mafdal
Yisrael Beytenu (ישראל ביתנו, Yisrā'el Béyténū)	ל	'Israel Our Home'	3	Avigdor Liberman	mostly Russian immigrants
Meretz-Yachad (מרצ-יח�")	מרצ	'Vigor-Together'	5	Yossi Beilin	social democratic
Raam-Ta'al (רע"ם-תע"ל \ רשימ�" ערבית מאוח�"ת-�"תנוע�" �"ערבית ל�"תח�"שות, Reshīmāh ‘Aravīt Me'ūhedet - ha-Tnū‘āh ha-‘Aravīt le-Hithadshūt)	עם	Al-Qa'imah al-Muwahiddah al-`Arabiyyah li-Taghyir (القائمة الموحدة العربية لتغيير, Al-Qā'imah al-Muwahiddah al-‘Arabiyyah li-Taghyīr)	'United Arab List for Change'	3	Ibrahim Sarsur	Arab, Islamist; joint electoral list composed of Raam (United Arab List) and Ta'al (Arab List for Rejuvenation)
Balad (ברית לאומית �"מוקרטית / בל"�", Brīt Le'ūmīt Demōcratīt)	�"	At-Tajamu` al-Watani ad-Dimuqrati (التجمع الوطني الديموقراطي, At-Tajamu` al-Watanī ad-Dīmūqrātī)	'National Democratic Alliance'	3	Azmi Bishara	Arab, nationalist
Hadash (�"חזית �"�"מוקרטית לשלום ולשוויון / ח�""ש, Ha-Hāzīt ha-Demōcratīt le-Shālōm ū-le-Shiwwyōn (HāDāSH))	ו	Al-Jabhah ad-Dimuqratiyyah l-is-Salam w-al-Musawāh (الجبحة الديموقراطية للسلام ولمساواة, Al-Jabhah ad-Dīmūqrātiyyah l-is-Salām w-al-Musāwāh)	'HaDaSH' ('The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality')	2	Muhammad Barakah	Jewish-Arab, based on the Communist Party of Israel, anti-Zionist
Tafnit (תפנית, Tafnīt)	פ	'Turnaround'	Uzi Dayan	new party, anti-corruption
Ale Yarok (על�" ירוק, `Aleh Yārōq)	קנ	'Green Leaf'	Boaz Wachtel	advocates legalisation of marijuana and ecological issues, legalising same-sex marriage
Brit Olam (ברית עולם, Brīt `Ōlām)	�"	'Eternal Union'	Ofer Lifshits
Gil - Gimla'ey Yisrael LaKneset (�'יל / �'ימלאי ישראל לכנסת, Gimlā'ey Yisrā'el la-Kneset (GĪL))	זך	'Age - Israeli Pensioners for Kneset'	Rafi Eitan	retiree (pensioner) rights
Da`aM - Mifleget Po`alim (�"ע"ם - מפל�'ת פועלים, Da`aM - Mifleget Pō`ālīm)	ק	'Democratic Action Organisation �" Workers' Party'	Agbariyyah Asama'	communist
HaYeruqim (�"ירוקים, HaYerūqīm)	רק	'Greens'	Peer Waysner	environmentalist
HaLev (�"לב - �"מפל�'�" למלחמ�" בבנקים, ha-Miflāgāh le-Milhamāh ba-Bānqīm (Ha-LeV))	פץ	'The Heart (The Party for the War against Banks)'	Eliezer Levinger	consumer rights
Ha-Miflaga ha-Leumit ha-Aravit (�"מפל�'�" �"לאומית �"ערבית, Ha-Miflāgāh ha-Le'ūmīt ha-‘Aravīt)	קפ	Al-Hizb al-Qawmi al-`Arabi (الحزب القومي العربي, Al-Hizb al-Qawmī al-`Arabī)	'Arab National Party'	Muhammad Kanan	Arab
HaTzionut HaHadasha (�"ציונות �"ח�"ש�", Ha-Tsiyyōnūt ha-Hadāshāh)	צ�"	'The New Zionism'	Yaakov Kfir	advocates rights of Holocaust survivors
Hazit Yehudit Le'umit (חזית י�"ו�"ית לאומית, Hāzīt Yehūdīt Le'ūmīt)	כ	'National Jewish Front'	Baruch Marzel	Jewish nationalist, Kahanist
Lev (לב)	פז	'Heart'	Ovadia Fathov
Herut (חירות, Hérūt)	נץ	'Freedom'	Mikhael Kleiner	nationalist
Lehem (לוחמי חבר�" מאוח�"ים / לחם, Lōhamey Hevrāh Me'ūhadīm (LeHeM))	ז	'Bread (Fighters for a United Society)'	Yisrael Tvito
Lider (לי�"ר, Līder)	ף	'Progressive Liberal Democratic Party'	Aleksandr Radko	Russian immigrant, related to Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Oz LaAniyim (עוז לעניים, `Ōz La`Aniyīm)	פכ	'Strength to the Poor'	Felix Angel	socialist
Atid Ekhad (עתי�" אח�", `Atīd Ehād)	ז�"	'One Future'	Avraham Negusah	Ethiopian and American immigrants
Tsedeq l-Kol (Ra`aSH) (צ�"ק לכל - רע"ש, Tsedeq l-Kōl (Ra`aSH))	קז	'Justice for All �" Men's Rights in the Family'	Yaakov Shlosser	Men's rights
Tsomet (צומת, Tsōmet)	כץ	'Crossroads'	Moshe Grin	nationalist''

Note: traditional left-right divisions in Israel are different than in most countries, being mostly based on the different positions with regard to security and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. For example, the left-wing Meretz-Yachad mainly advocates negotiations with the Palestinians along the lines of the Geneva Initiative, while the right-wing National Union is opposed to any territorial concessions, yet both parties have strong histories of tabling social/welfare laws.

Pre-election opinion polling

Numbers in the table below are seats, out of a total of 120, as predicted by opinion polls prior to the election.

As the electoral threshold stands at 2%, it is impossible for a party to receive only one seat in the Knesset.

Note: Most Israeli pollsters lump the "Arab" parties together, so that the listed number is the total number of seats that the three main Arab lists (Raam, Balad, Hadash) are expected to obtain. In the event that one or more of the three lists does not pass the 2% threshold, the representation of these parties will be one to three fewer seats than listed by the polls.

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