world >> opinion Left's Demonization Of Bibi Backfired H ere's a story about a famous man. A settler from the old genera- tion. A moderate settler, who totally settled in the Tel Avivian world, too. He has become a popular personality. Moderation, gentleness and openness are his banner. On Sunday, two days before the elec- tions, we had a friendly chat. It reached the topic of politics, of course. "My daughter was going to vote for Moshe Kahlon," he told me, "because she did a year of national service in an economically depressed area. Her sensitivity developed. "My son" he added, "was going to vote for Yair Lapid. He is religious, but he is afraid that the country is becoming more and more ultra-Orthodox. He wants a more liberal Israel. He wants someone to fight the radicalization:' What do you mean, "were going td'? I asked him. Have they changed direction? "Yes" he told me, "they will vote for the Likud" I was convinced that this was a matter involving one family, which didn't repre- sent anything. I was wrong. When I tried to understand why, I heard a surprising explanation. One of the tics of identities. Occasionally, things he mentioned was the letter it has strange, puzzling and written by the IDF's chief education exaggerated aspects. But it's officer against rabbis' participation here, and it has no intention of in military graduation ceremonies. I disappearing. We didn't want to was surprised for a minute. understand, but it's more deci- And then he explained: "We sive, much more, than the cost of living or housing prices. sensed an attack on the Jewish identity" Those days, Netanyahu turned Be n-Dror Ye mini It wasn't because of the left, he into the original Likudnik, Yne t News said. It wasn't because of the Zionist Menachem Begin. It's not that Camp's Tzipi Livni or Isaac Herzog. Begin improved the Second It wasn't because of the leftist Meretz or the Israel's situation in any way. But the Second Israel, which includes not only Mizrachim Joint Arab list. It was something in the air. Something that joined something else. (Sephardic Jews), but also religious Jews and It was the left's — or the center-left's — joy settlers, didn't like the scorn, the contempt, that they are about to defeat the "amulet the hostility of the First Israel, the more lib- camp" and Benjamin Netanyahu was this eral citizens of European ancestry. Because camp's most hated representative, he said. It Begin gave the people of the Second Israel was the exaggerated attack on Netanyahu, affection. He gave them pride. It's unclear which deserves a more thorough discussion, whether he knew anything about politics of an attack that turned him into a monster. A identities. It's clear that he managed to take lot of things can be said about Netanyahu, off on its wings. but he is not a monster. Suddenly, precisely This is probably what happened to because of the attacks, he turned into a leader one should identify with. We disregard the poli- Netanyahu. He was not the only one under attack. The "handful of amulet kissers who have taken over the state" were under attack, too. And Netanyahu is their leader, even if he has never even touched an amulet, and even if he employs an electrician on Yom Kippur. There was no need for Herzog or Livni or the leftist candidate Zehava Galon to identify with whoever made that com- ment. It's reasonable to assume that they didn't identify with him. But in the politics of identities, it came from their side. It may be too early to understand how Netanyahu hit the jackpot. And when we say "the jackpot" we are only referring to those few Knesset seats which mostly moved from the right to the Likud, and a bit less from the center to the Likud. There is no need for more. Five or six or seven Knesset seats — the issue will be told and analyzed — moved or came home. And that was enough. So we haven't turned into two nations again. The dispute is mainly political and practical. A dispute for a purely spiritual purpose. But it was actually the left-wing camp, or center-left, which turned it into a much less practical dispute. A dispute over a person and over identity. The results cor- respond with that. ❑ For more on the election, see page 39. The New Government Right-leaning and Orthodox parties align with Netanyahu. Times of Israel M oshe Kahlon's center-right Kulanu party and Avigdor Liberman's Russian-oriented Yisrael Beiteinu party on Monday recom- mended that President Reuven Rivlin choose Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu as the next prime minister, giving Netanyahu a 67-seat bloc in the Knesset. A minimum of 61 members of Knesset (MKs) in the 120-member parliament is needed to form a government. The center- right Likud surprised pollsters, taking 30 seats in the election, as opposed to 24 for the center-left Zionist Union. Members of Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid party told Rivlin earlier that it wouldn't recommend anyone for the premiership and that the centrist faction would sit in the opposition. Following Monday's meetings, Rivlin is expected to task Netanyahu with form- ing a government. Coalition negotiations between various parties were expected to begin in earnest Wednesday, March 25, and Netanyahu will have four weeks to form his government, with an option to extend talks for another two. The leftist Meretz party, like Yesh Atid, 36 March 26 • 2015 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Zionist Union and the Joint (Arab) List, was expected to sit in the opposition. On Sunday, Rivlin met with the Likud, Zionist Union, Joint List, Jewish Home, Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, urging party members to form a broad, inclusive coalition able to withstand growing interna- tional pressure on the Jewish state. Instead, of the 88 MKs representing the first group to meet with Rivlin on Sunday, a total of 51 nominated Netanyahu to lead the government. The two ultra-Orthodox parties in the Knesset, United Torah Judaism (six seats) and the Sephardic Shas party (seven seats), joined in nominating Netanyahu to lead the government. Naftali Bennett's Jewish Home party also nominated Netanyahu. The right-wing party affirmed its support for the prime minister's leadership, calling for increased construction in the contested areas of the West Bank and Golan Heights. On Sunday, the Zionist Union, with 24 MKs, nominated party leader Isaac Herzog, but did not have enough support to form a government. The Joint (Arab) List (13 seats) opted to not nominate anyone, due to its rejection of Zionist parties. ❑ greets suppporters at Likud election night headquarters in Tel Aviv. PM's Apology "Never my intent" to offend Israeli Arabs. Times of Israel p rime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday apolo- gized to the Arab citizens of Israel for comments he made about their voting turnout on Election Day, which were sharply criticized as being racist and offensive to the community. "I know the things I said several days ago offended some of Israel's citizens, hurt the Arab citizens," Netanyahu told representatives of the Arab community at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. "This was never my intent. I apologize for this:' However, the Joint (Arab) List, which swept into the Knesset with 13 seats last week, rejected Netanyahu's overture. Joint List leader Ayman Odeh called the apology a duplicitous "zigzag:' So long as Netanyahu "advances racist leg- islation ... and does not promote real equality" for Israel's Arabs, the prime minister's apology would not be accept- able or credible, he said. In a video published on Netanyahu's Facebook page on Election Day, the PM said Arab voter turnout was high, in a warning intended to increase voter turn- out among supporters of his right-wing Likud faction. "The rule of the right is in danger. Arab voters are coming in droves to the ballot boxes," Netanyahu declared in the video. "Left-wing NGOs are bringing them in buses:' The remarks drew sharp condemna- tions from Israelis across the political spectrum, including President Reuven Rivlin, as well as from the White House. Netanyahu said the video was not rep- resentative of his record. He said he saw himself "as the prime minister of each and every one of you, all the citizens of Israel, regardless of faith, ethnicity or gender': ❑