Tuesday, March 17, 2015

There is a little more at play than a Prime Minister in Israel.

The people of Israel do not want a unity government. The President, Reuven Rivlin, may have the final say. We hope President Rivlin guides Israel to a productive path to peace. He also believes Israeli Arabs are an important partner to that goal.

March 17, 2015
By Gil Hoffman

...Polls in The Jerusalem Post (click here) and elsewhere have found that the people of Israel do not want a national unity government. In past elections they did, but this was the "it's us or them" election, in which everyone pushed for their own team.

Perhaps now that the election is over, the people will change their minds and favor unity again. But it does not matter, because the role of the people in the election is over.

It's now Rivlin's turn to take over, and Rivlin wants a unity government. It's his job to bring about the strongest and most stable government, and he thinks that is a coalition of Likud and the Zionist Union together.

The leaders of Likud and the Zionist Union, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog, will push Rivlin to give them a chance without the other. But Rivlin will push back for unity....