JTA — Israel held a national election seven weeks ago. It will hold another one in September.
If that sounds weird to you, you’re right: Israel has a famously raucous political system, but it’s never held national elections twice in one year. Until now.
Just to be clear, no one really wanted this to happen, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his main rival, Benny Gantz; or the president, Reuven Rivlin. Nor do Israeli political journalists, who just finished covering a vicious campaign.
So why is it happening? It’s a result of Israel’s fractious parliamentary system, strong egos and lingering resentments.
Here is the Jewish state’s unprecedented political quagmire, explained in plain English.
Israelis voted on April 9. But the election isn’t really over yet.
Remember when Netanyahu won re-election last month? Turns out he didn’t really.
Netanyahu’s Likud party did win the most votes, but not an outright majority in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset. In order to govern in Israel’s parliamentary system, Netanyahu needed to persuade other parties to form a coalition with him. He needed to reach 61 members, or a majority of the Knesset.
After Election Day, that seemed simple. Right-wing parties had won a clear 65-seat majority in Knesset, and they all agreed that Netanyahu should continue serving as prime minister.
But seven weeks later, Netanyahu has failed to form a coalition. Some would-be partners have refused to compromise. He needed to form a coalition by midnight Wednesday. READ MORE
