Two elections, worldwide implications
Elections in Israel and the US carry global implications, as Australians confront antisemitism closer to home.
Two weeks, two different elections with implications for Jews worldwide.
Israel’s election looks to have left the Knesset in a stalemate, with neither bloc in a strong position to cobble together a majority government.
Though 67 seats are held by MKs opposed to incumbent PM Netanyahu, the Arab parties’ stunning haul of 19 seats mean opposition leaders have pledged themselves into a corner.
They will either have to break promises not to rely on Arab support – something Yisrael Beitenu’s Avigdor Liberman has again rejected – or potentially align with United Torah Judaism, which would mean compromising on promises to draft the ultra-Orthodox into the IDF.
While Netanyahu has no path to a majority, his incumbency favours him; he remains caretaker prime minister while negotiations continue or, if no government is able to be formed, until a repeat election. And as analysts have pointed out, he may well fare better next time around.
Meanwhile, the US midterms, the results of which were starting to roll in just as The AJN went to print, could arguably have more effect on the Jewish world.
According to polls, the Democrats look set to gain control of the House for certain, and possibly the Senate as well. This would significantly weaken President Donald Trump, who – whatever one thinks of him more broadly – has been an ally to Israel during both his terms.
Additionally, as the Democrats shift further left, the election of a fresh swathe of antizionist candidates headlined by Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed could cement the party’s alignment away from Israel – and Zionist Jews – as irreversible.
As the reverberations of these two elections begin to be felt in the global environment, it has never been more important for Australian political and civic society leaders to tackle antisemitism and social cohesion here. In particular, non-Jewish Australians must pay heed to something in special envoy Jillian Segal’s newest report that we have long known – the antisemitism emanating from progressive spaces.
Cloaked in the language of human rights and social justice, it is the hardest to confront because the people spreading it believe they are on the side of good. Whoever ends up governing in Jerusalem or Washington, that work falls to Australians.