From the Newsletter

The Deal of the Century Finally Revealed

February 28, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“NO! God’s Word says not to divide the land.”

This was the first reaction of many believers in Yeshua/Jesus to President Trump’s “Deal of the Century.” The Israeli right-wing parties also chimed in,

“NO! there can never be a Palestinian state.

Israel’s claim to the land, including Judea and Samaria is based on the Bible and God’s promises to His people Israel. (Gen. 12:7; 15:18; 17:8; 28:13, and 35:12.) Consider, though, that in the long history of the Jewish people, God has had to repeatedly discipline His people, individually, as a nation, and as a people.

One of the most recent examples is the 2000 years of diaspora Jews spent in exile separated from the land of Israel. However, He has also promised to gather the people of Israel and bring them back to the land of Israel. Today, we witness these promises being fulfilled before our eyes. Israel has returned to the land of Israel as a nation.

While in exile, foreigners have occupied the land and lay claim to the land for themselves. Now Israel has a dilemma–how to deal with these non-Jewish occupants, all the while having the international community watching and ready to condemn any meaningful effort at compromise.

Israel liberated Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six-Day War. These are all lands Palestinians now want for a future state.

The First Plan designed with Israel’s interests as a priority

President Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley stated,

“The top priority of the plan’s architects is always the national security of Israel. We knew that we couldn’t do anything that was going to compromise the security of Israel. But we also knew that the Palestinians deserve a better way of life.”

The reality is that for years Israel and the world have tried to deal with the reality that there are a few million Palestinians living in established cities and villages in Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Every previous plan proposal focused on Palestinian interests as a priority. For the first time, there is a plan designed with Israel’s interests as a priority.

No one has been able to come up with a perfect plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. President Trump’s peace proposal is not perfect. But for Israel, there are many positive reasons to accept it.

As of today, the concept of two states for two peoples, living side by side in peace and harmony, with Israel going back to the borders of pre-1967 has never materialized. Any peace initiative suggested by world powers pressured Israel to make most of the concessions and compromises. At the same time, the Palestinians’ constant refusal was overlooked and Israel was always blamed for the failure of executing the plan. Israel has always expected to give up some land in exchange for Palestinian promises even though all previous “Land for Peace” deals have been quickly abrogated by the Palestinians.

Requirements and Conditions for the Palestinians

*A short summary of requirements for the Palestinians.*

President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” goes against the previous formulas, and places on the Palestinians the responsibility of either accepting ALL of the conditions before any negotiations for a Palestinian state can even begin, or to have no deal. It states that the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea-Samaria must stop the incitement to violence. They must show complete financial transparency and must completely stop payments to terrorists who harm Israeli citizens, including payments to families of suicide bombers–so-called Martyrs Payments. It calls for complete demilitarization of the West Bank and the disarmament of Hamas, the terrorist organization controlling the Gaza strip, which maintains a huge arsenal of Iranian rockets and missiles. It also requires the disarmament of all other terrorist organizations, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Palestinian government is required to end its attempts to brand Israel as a war criminal in international courts; and mandates the elimination of the teaching of genocidal anti-Semitism in Palestinian schools and media. It requires respect for human rights and religious freedoms, by all parties, and the support of a free press. These conditions must be implemented before America’s recognition of Palestinian statehood. The conditions have an expiration period of 4 years.

There are two central conditions that Palestinians have never accepted nor will they accept. First–the recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People in the land of Israel. Second, Palestinians must give up the “right of return” to Israel for so-called Palestinian refugees, by which they mean the 1948 Arab refugees and their descendants who now reside in countries all over the world.

Trump emphasizes that historically there were similar numbers of Jewish refugees from Arab countries, whose possessions were taken by the regimes, most of them were absorbed into Israel’s population. Established after 1948, the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East, which Trump stopped supporting recently) perpetuates the refugee problem instead of solving it. The Palestinians are the only refugees in the world who have not been assimilated into the countries they immigrated to, which include many Arab countries. Trump’s Peace to Prosperity plan creates various funding structures to help Palestinian refugee families living in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria achieve citizenship where they reside.

Trump is offering the Palestinians the sum of $50 billion to build their future state’s infrastructure and boost its economy. However, they must give up their ‘destructive ideology,’ as previously explained.

Palestinian Rejection of the Deal

It is notable, the Palestinians rejected Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ even before it was announced, even before reading it. They continue to reject it. This is consistent with their rejecting any plan since partition was first proposed in 1937. Their reason for rejection has been consistent. No plan that results in a Jewish nation in the Middle East can ever be accepted. Every Palestinian leader and/or negotiator has always maintained it would mean personal political and physical death to ever accept an agreement that resulted in a Jewish state. If the Palestinians persist in rejecting negotiations, Israel will likely proceed with annexations as called for in the deal.

The plan gives Israel the right to security control of the entire territory of Judea and Samaria, including areas under Palestinian authority. This includes security at all international crossings. [Read more here about Judea and Samaria.] If there is eventually a Palestinian state (most unlikely, because they will refuse to accept ALL the conditions) it will have to be a completely demilitarized state, and Israel will have the right ‘to dismantle and destroy any facility in the State of Palestine that is used for the production of prohibited weapons or other hostile purposes.’ How will Iran and their proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, feel about having their missiles removed?

The plan gives Israel sovereignty over 30% of Judea and Samaria, to begin with, and gives an agreement-in-principle to a Palestinian state eventually (when they agree to ALL the conditions, which they will not.) They have four years to decide after which the offer expires. Israel, however, will not wait long to implement their portion of the agreement which are steps to secure and further enhance Israel’s security.

The Jordan Valley will be Israel’s permanent eastern border, based on historical Jewish settlement rights and in consideration of Israeli security needs. And Israel can declare these borders without Palestinian approval. [Read more here about the Jordan Valley.]

President Trump declared all 150 Israeli towns and settlements in Judea and Samaria legal. With the annexation of that area into the State of Israel, Israeli military rule will end (as well as the term “occupation”). Israel will be free to build more homes in these towns and settlements without restriction. Not one person will be forced out of his home, ever, anywhere in the Land of Israel.

The Next Four Years

*Here is a map showing the previously designated A, B, and C areas.*

The Palestinians have four years to fulfill these requirements. Should the Palestinians refuse to accept the conditions, resulting in no negotiations with Israel, any territories set aside as part of a future Palestinian state will revert to their current disputed status, resulting in no Palestinian state. Israel keeps the annexed territories.

In the next four years, Israel promises to freeze new settlements in 50% of what has been designated “Area C”. (Area in Judea and Samaria under Israeli military control.) This will help Israel act against pirate Jewish building as well as illegal Palestinian settlements building in strategic areas, which they have been doing illegally with the support of funds from the European Union.

As a result, it changes Area A that is currently under Palestinian security control into Area B, which is under Israeli security control. This will completely change the map of Judea and Samaria.

As complicated as it will be, the plan is to build and construct infrastructure—roads, railroads, bridges, and tunnels in Judea and Samaria—to connect Jewish towns to one another and Palestinian cities and towns to one another. This is preferable to the evacuation and transforming of Jews from their homes, as would have been required under the two states’ plan. Also, the road construction will give many Israelis as well as Palestinians, much-needed employment.

A Misunderstanding

*Here’s a map of “the Deal”* *as it stands today. It is a work in progress.*

After revealing his ‘Deal of the Century’ on January 28, US President Donald Trump said among other things, “We will form a joint committee with Israel to convert the conceptual map into a more detailed and calibrated rendering so that recognition can be immediately achieved. The United States will recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory that my vision provides to be part of the State of Israel.”

That is where the misunderstanding between Israel and the US started. Israeli reporters announced right away, based on what they heard from PM Netanyahu’s aides in Washington, that the PM intends to bring the annexation issue to a cabinet vote immediately upon his return to Israel. However, it became clear to Netanyahu that he misunderstood President Trump. Trump’s statements meant ‘recognition can be immediately achieved’ only after the work is completed ‘to convert the conceptual map into a more detailed and calibrated rendering.’

Special adviser to Trump and ‘architect’ of the peace initiative, Jared Kushner came out with a statement right away for Israel to wait with the annexation. Later on, he reportedly told journalists, following a briefing at the UN Security Council, that the process could take ‘a couple of months’.

US Ambassador to Israel, David Freedman told reporters that it will be a process to correct the general map of the plan to make it more precise. The border between Israel and a possible future Palestinian state is about 800-kilometers (497-miles).

The map shows the greater Israel extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, with a small Palestinian enclave in the West Bank which is cut off from the rest of the world and surrounded on all sides by the State of Israel. This enclave, even if given the title of “state”, could never be considered one in a conventional sense.

It will have no army nor control of its border or airspace and therefore, and, in complete contrast to the wording of the proposed peace plan, would not be freely open to commerce and investments. Israel will permanently retain all Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria as well as the areas surrounding them including the Jordan Valley.

What about Jerusalem in this Deal? See the next newsletter…

Please pray for wisdom for Israeli and US leaders on how to implement the plan, complete the revision of the map with Israel’s security as a priority, and in accordance with the Word of God and His plan for the restoration of the Land of Israel and the people of Israel in the Land.

46 World Leaders in Jerusalem to Attend the World Holocaust Forum

January 23, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you. The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. . . .Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride . . . and the joy of all generations.”

Forty-six world leaders arrived in Israel for the World Holocaust Forum. The Fifth World Holocaust Forum, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting AntiSemitism,” took place today at Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

The leaders included numerous heads of state and government, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, US Vice President Mike Pence and British Prince Charles. [Pictured: German Chancellor Merkel in Jerusalem]
Israeli PM Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media: “I welcome the leaders from around the world who are coming here, to Jerusalem, to mark with us 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp. It is important that they remember where we came from, and it is important that they see what we have achieved.”

This historic event takes place as hateful and violent expressions of antiSemitism around the world are on the rise. A spokesman for the Yad Vashem Institution stated that “efforts to educate about the dangers of antiSemitism, racism, and xenophobia, and foster Holocaust commemoration, education, and research have made this event more crucial and relevant than ever.” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also said that the event must concentrate on “what steps we must take to ensure the safety and security of Jews all around the world.”

However, AntiSemitism, Even in Israel Remains a Fact of Life

         Israel was not happy, with the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prince Charles used this visit to also meet with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, finding it shameful, intolerable and disrespectful for them to do so during an event intended to commemorate the Holocaust. Abbas believes that the Holocaust either did not happen or was wildly exaggerated. Abbas wrote, “The number of Jewish victims is supposed to be six million. But it was likely much smaller, perhaps less than a million.”
          Regarding the gas chambers, Abbas accepts as fact the claims of Faurisson, who is one of the world’s most famous venomous Holocaust deniers, that they were not intended to kill Jews but, “they were intended only for the cremation of corpses due to the fear of spreading disease in the surrounding areas.”
          Faurisson was eventually prosecuted and convicted for racist incitement. Yet Abbas uses the same incitement with his people.
          Abbas has continued to make vicious anti-Semitic statements about the Holocaust up to the present day. He gives what he calls “history lessons” in which he blames the Jews for causing the Holocaust because of their “social behavior, and financial matters.”
          The world leaders’ desire to meet with Abbas during a Holocaust memorial ceremony at this time is totally disrespectful to the victims and holocaust survivors as well as to the state of Israel.
          The official Palestinian Authority Daily published an opinion piece on Saturday that called for a terrorist attack on this major memorial ceremony in Israel marking 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, saying, “One shot will disrupt the ceremony and one dead body will cancel the ceremony.”
          Palestinian columnist Yahya Rabah wrote in PA Daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that Israel was “now energetically planning to hold a ceremony for the Holocaust in occupied Jerusalem.” Rabah came against the international leaders for recognizing that the “Jews’ Holocaust is terrible” while accepting as “insignificant, beautiful, spectacular” what he called the “Palestinian holocaust by Israel that still continues.” Rabah warned that the Palestinians would surely “resist the ceremony being held in Jerusalem itself, as Jerusalem is theirs, despite Trump, who gave it to Israel as part of the ‘filthy deal of the century’.” His suggested solution to stop the international ceremony from taking place was to use violence and terror.
          Abbas warned Israel and the U.S. not to cross “red lines,” saying that the Palestinian government will continue to “refuse and resist any American claims of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.”
          “The Palestinian position supports ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories whose capital is East Jerusalem,” said an official statement from the Palestinian President. “If the U.S. publishes the ‘Deal of the Century’, the authority will take steps to protect its basic rights.”
          “It is obvious to us that the presentation of the peace deal is meant to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his elections, we know when personal interests are at play,” said the senior official.

Is Christmas really a Jewish Holiday?

December 26, 2019 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Most Jews in Israel and around the world reject the idea that Christmas is a Jewish holiday. As far as they are concerned, Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of someone they don’t believe to be the Messiah and is in direct opposition to their Jewish faith. Many Holocaust survivors claim Hitler and the Nazis were Christians and that the Christian church is anti-Semitic; that in the name of Jesus the Church persecuted Jews as “Christ-killers.”

Even many non-Jews around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day do not realize that He is the Messiah of Israel, as well as the Savior of the world. The prophet Isaiah made this Messianic prophecy to Israel about the Jewish Messiah, Who also fulfilled the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that through Him all nations would be blessed. Therefore, the prophecies of Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice for humanity, His resurrection and return to earth apply to Israel as well as to all nations.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on His shoulders, and He will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz (wonderful counselor), El Gibbor (mighty God), Avi-‘Ad (everlasting Father), Sar-Shalom (Prince of Peace)”. Isaiah 9:6

The world celebrates Christmas with cheers, decorated evergreen trees, flickering lights, manger scenes and baby Jesus, all the while unaware of its Jewish roots. That the story took place in Israel with Israelites and angels who spoke Hebrew seems far away. But the fact is that Mary was Miriam, Joseph was Yoseph and Jesus was Yeshua – all Hebrew names. Yeshua was born in Beth Lehem (the house of bread in Hebrew) fulfilling the Hebrew prophet Micah’s words as recorded in Micah chapter 5:1 “But you, Beth Lehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting days.”

The story of Christmas starts with God’s angel appearing to the priest Zecharya (Zechariah in English which means God remembers in Hebrew) who was chosen by lot to enter the Temple of the God of Israel for the incense offering (Luke 1:9-11). This was in accordance with the law God gave to Moses for the priests from the tribe of Levi. Exodus 30:7-8: “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.” The angel announced to Zecharya that his barren wife Elisheva (Elizabeth means in Hebrew my God promises) would bear him a child to fulfill the prophecy of Malachi 4 to “go as a forerunner before Him (the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:16-17). His name would be Yohanan, meaning God pardons (known as John the Baptist in English.)

A short time later the angel Gavriel (Gabriel, means God is my strength) appeared to Miriam, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit of God. Miriam was a young Jewish virgin from the Jewish village of Natzeret, Israel, engaged to a Jewish man, Yoseph, of the house of David. The angel Gavriel told her (in Hebrew) “Do not be afraid, Miriam; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua (meaning Salvation in Hebrew.) (Jesus is the English letters of the name Yeshua.) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and God will give Him the throne of His father David (the Jewish king.) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:26-33).

It is no coincidence that the Savior of the world would have a Hebrew name and would be born of a Jewish mother in a Jewish town near Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. He is Emmanuel (God with us in Hebrew) Who will sit on King David’s throne forever and rule from Jerusalem. All nations will come to hear the Word of the Lord from Zion (Jerusalem). (Isaiah 2.)

When Yoseph (Joseph) learned Miriam was pregnant, he feared she had been unfaithful to him. As a righteous man, he didn’t want to expose Miriam to public disgrace and planned to divorce her in secret. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said (in Hebrew), “Yoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife because what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua (meaning Salvation) because he Yoshia (will save) his people (Israel) from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means in Hebrew, God with us.) Matthew 1:18-25. Only in Hebrew does it make sense that His name Yeshua – Salvation in Hebrew – has the root word for what He will do: – He will save, Yoshia. Even the word Christmas itself comes from the word Christ, which is a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, a totally original Jewish concept.

We present this holiday to our Jewish people in this Jewish setting with Jewish characters, saying that Yeshua is our Jewish Messiah, as well as the Savior of the world and that he didn’t come to start a new religion. As a matter of fact, Yeshua was against man made religions as well as men’s traditions.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors to see that Christmas celebrates the birth of our Jewish Messiah Who came to the world in Israel.

From the first verses in the New Testament, we see how Jewish it is. “This is the genealogy Yeshua the Messiah (a Hebrew word), the son of David, the son of Abraham“ (the father of the Jewish nation). Yeshua’s birth and incarnation were prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, written in Hebrew, by Hebrew prophets. Yeshua’s Jewish parents took him to the Jewish Holy Temple when He was eight days old to be circumcised; how much more Jewish can you get?

URGENT! Israel Needs Your Prayers

December 11, 2019 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Why is there no functioning government in Israel, and why is Israel going for yet another election, the third in one year?

Surely I will gather the children of Israel from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land… of Israel…they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.“ Ez. 37:21-22

After the second and most recent election, the major candidates, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz were unable to form a coalition government. There was a period of 21 days in which any Knesset member could be given the mandate to form a government, provided he was able to get 61 Knesset members to back him up. This period of time will end at midnight, December 11th. In the event no one is successful in gaining the required 61-member support, the Knesset will have to dissolve itself and the country will hold new elections.

Netanyahu has no plans to resign as PM of Israel despite the series of criminal indictments against him. This tough leader is standing strong, proclaiming his innocence while his opponents from the left, from the media and even from his own party, attack him relentlessly in an attempt to force him to step down. In the last two elections, Netanyahu didn’t receive the sufficient majority necessary to form a coalition but did receive enough votes to validate him as the Israeli politician with the strongest block.

Israeli basic law does not require a prime minister to step down while under indictment, nor his resignation if convicted, but only after all appeals are exhausted. Under the law, he remains innocent until proven otherwise in a courtroom after all appeals are exhausted. His opponents maintain that the reason he wants to stay in power as PM is to receive immunity, while he maintains the reason he wants to remain PM for at least the next 5 months is because he considers himself most qualified to lead the state of Israel in this period of critical security challenges and strategic opportunities with Iran and Hezbollah looming.

Netanyahu’s main concern is the challenges of the belligerent Iranian dictatorship that continues to threaten Israel’s very existence. There are also opportunities that include a strong and productive relationship with the most pro-Israel American president in US history. Astonishingly, even after Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced his intention to formally indict the PM, Netanyahu continued to conduct business as usual on all fronts, and deal with repeated military actions launched against Israel from Gaza and Syria. Simultaneously he conducts ongoing diplomatic meetings with world statesmen and asserts Israel’s interest in Judea and Samaria.

A week ago, Netanyahu said, “I spoke yesterday with President Trump, a very important conversation for Israel’s security. We talked about Iran, but we also talked at length about historic opportunities that stand before us in the coming months. Among them are the official annexation of the Jordan Valley as the recognized eastern border of the State of Israel, as well as a defense treaty with the United States; things we could only dream of previously, but now we have the opportunity to realize.”

Under Netanyahu’s leadership, as he conducted talks with world leaders to advance Israel’s strategic interests even when strong statements were necessary, Israel has emerged in the last 10 years as one of the world’s most influential nations. Israel today is considered to be the 8th world superpower. Netanyahu doesn’t want to lose this momentum. This is the time of the window of opportunities for Israel, this is the time of Trump. It is the most valuable time for Israel in its 72-year history. President Trump in a very short time, has done what no other US president has done for Israel;

moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem,
pulled out of the bad Iranian deal,
cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority and UNRAH,
acknowledged Israel’s right to the Golan Heights and settlements in Judea and Samaria.

Now Trump expects Israel to do her part, take action against Iran and Turkey and stand firm against the Palestinian Authority and Gaza. For this Israel needs a strong leader and a stable government.

In the past 21 days, there were meetings between Likud and Blue and White without results. Each accusing the other of unwillingness to compromise. Likud officials, however, accused Blue and White of continuous refusal to accept Likud’s “far-reaching concessions”, mostly that Netanyahu will serve first as PM for only 6 months instead of a year, with Gantz taking over for the next year and a half. Blue and White refused, claiming it didn’t fit Netanyahu’s legal status.

Blue and White also complained that Netanyahu refused to commit not to seek personal immunity in his corruption cases. Netanyahu accused Gantz of giving in to his partner, Yair Lapid, who wouldn’t permit him to form a joint government with Netanyahu, believing it would be a betrayal of their very reason for existing – anything but Bibi. So, this Wednesday at midnight (Israel time), if a miracle does not happen, the 22nd Knesset is expected to disperse, and Israelis will once again, for the third time this year go to elections. This means that Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to serve as prime minister for at least another five months as the head of a transitional government.

The miracle would be if Netanyahu were able to convince Avigdor Liberman in the last moment. “I am calling on Avigdor Liberman to undertake negotiations in ‘high gear’ in the 48 hours we have left to establish a strong unity government for Israel,” Netanyahu’s tweeted yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Knesset was voting Wednesday on a fast-tracked piece of legislation that would allow lawmakers to dissolve parliament and hold elections on March 2, 2020. If the bill isn’t passed by midnight, new elections will automatically be set for March 10.

The Elections – Round Two

October 6, 2019 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

What just happened? Who’s in charge? How can this end?

The outcome of the September 17, 2019 election:

The election results were that the Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) party, headed by Benny Gantz won 33 out of 120 parliamentary seats; Netanyahu’s Likud party won 32. However, in the bloc of supporters, Likud had 55 party members, mainly the religious and right-wing, and Blue and White had 54, mainly center and left parties, including the Joint Arab List party. Israel’s Joint Arab List party announced its endorsement of Gantz’s party.

In between the two major parties and their blocs is Liberman’s Israel Beytenu (Israel our home) party with 8 members. He supports neither Netanyahu or Gantz. He again likely to be kingmaker with the power to send the country into yet another round of elections.

“The picture is clear. There is only one option and it’s a broad liberal unity government,” he insisted, referring to a potential coalition composed of his Yisrael Beiteinu, Likud, and Blue and White. He doesn’t care who would be prime minister first. “They can flip a coin for all I care.”

Who is Liberman?

Liberman, born in the Former Soviet Union, was previously a member of the Likud Party until 1999 when he left to form his own far-right Yisrael Beytenu (Israel our home) party, appealing to fellow Russian-speakers with his secularist agenda and tough talk against Palestinians.
Liberman served in several Israeli cabinets, most recently as Netanyahu’s defense minister. He resigned last year because Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas after a massive attack from Gaza which was in his opinion “surrendering to terror.” Liberman’s pull-out toppled the government and forced an early election in April this year, in which Liberman’s party gained five seats. Even though he recommended Netanyahu’s Likud party and Netanyahu to be the one to form a government in that election, in the negotiations he refused to join the coalition because he didn’t get all his demands, mainly anti-religious legislations.

Liberman’s party gained 8 seats in this election.

Liberman is now promoting a national unity government that would include his party.

After the president gave Netanyahu the mandate to form a government, Liberman was invited by Netanyahu to a meeting. He still insists that there be a unity coalition with both Likud and Blue and White.
[See Composition of the Israeli Electorate]

Who is the President of the State of Israel?

The Nassi (President) is in the office of the presidency which is above and beyond party politics. The President is elected by Knesset (parliament) members for a single term of seven years.

Presidential duties, which are mostly ceremonial and formal, include among other things opening the first session of a new Knesset; nominating a prime minister after national elections to form a new government; accepting the credentials of foreign envoys; signing treaties and laws adopted by the Knesset, and; pardoning prisoners.

Current Israeli President Reuven Rivlin gave Benyamin Netanyahu the mandate to form a new government after Netanyahu received pledges of support from 55 ministers out of 120 parliament members. Benny Gantz, leading the other large party Kahol Lavan (blue and white), received 54 recommendations including 10 of the Arab members. Neither Netanyahu’s Likud party nor Kahol Lavan has a majority of at least 61 Knesset seats needed to form a coalition.

Should Netanyahu be unable to get a majority on his side, he returns the mandate to the President who would then most likely give Gantz the task of attempting to form a coalition.

After Netanyahu received the mandate to form a government, he called for a unity government with Kahol Lavan, adding that “national reconciliation” was needed in light of threats from Iran and the unveiling of US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” plan for peace in the Middle East. Gantz, however, said he would not join a government led by a Prime Minister facing possible indictment on corruption allegations. Another issue is who will be the first to serve as Prime Minister in the rotation government. Blue and White officials say Netanyahu must deal with his legal issues first and allow Gantz to lead initially. Gantz also insists that Netanyahu join only with his Likud party and not his entire bloc of the right and religious parties.

Meanwhile, the Joint Arab List party has announced its endorsement of Gantz’s party. By supporting the Blue and White leader, the Arab bloc broke with its own precedent of withholding support for either of the top Israeli candidates they consider Zionists since bringing down Netanyahu was its primary objective. “We want to bring an end to the era of Netanyahu, so we recommend that Benny Gantz be the one to form the next government,” said party head Ayman Odeh. By joining together to one Arab Joint List, gained 13 seats in this election, making it the third largest party in the Knesset . Netanyahu came against the Arab party’s support for Gantz, claiming their main leaders are anti-Zionists and suppor Palestinian terrorists. He said Israelis were now faced with two choices: “a minority government that leans on those that reject Israel as a Jewish, democratic state” or a “broad national government” composed of his and Gantz’s parties.

So, What Might Actually Happen Next?

Most heads of parties have made promises to their voters that they will not be able to keep; each one will have to make compromises if they want to avoid another election. The election results seem to indicate the only option is a unity coalition government led by Likud and Blue and White. The political reality requires the entire right-wing bloc to sit together on one side of the coalition, while Blue and White brings in parties from the Left that will contribute to a broad, inclusive government. This, on its face, seems unlikely as Blue and White received the votes it did based upon the promise it would not join a government with the religious parties in participation.

As compromises, Netanyahu will have to share power as Prime Minister in rotation and Gantz will have to join a government that includes Netanyahu, even though he promised not to do so. He will have to accept Netanyahu’s natural partners like the religious and the far right parties which is a violation of his promise to have a secular (no religious) government.

Due to the results of the election, there was a struggle over who would be first or second to assemble a government. If the first candidate fails, it will be the second candidate’s turn to attempt to form a government.

Initially, Gantz wanted to be the first candidate but was advised against it for tactical reasons. If Netanyahu goes first and fails to form a government, and with the threat of a third election, Gantz can appeal to Likud members to defect to his side. Thereby Gantz can lead a government with Likud but without Netanyahu. For that reason he had the Joint Arab List party give up 3 seats leaving only 10 to recommend him, making his bloc less than Netanyahu’s. Therefore, President Rivlin gave Netanyahu the initial mandate to form a government.

Should Gantz also try and fail, it doesn’t mean there is automatically another election. The law allows another 21 days for any of the candidates, even those who failed (Netanyahu in this case) to form a coalition of at least 61 MKs and swear in a new government.

In this case, Gantz may have to compromise and agree to a united coalition with Netanyahu and his religious affiliates.

Another possibility (unlikely) is that Gantz fails to hold onto his allies, either from Blue and White or the other left-wing parties, and Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister with a coalition of right-wing and religious parties, including elements from the Left.

A further possibility, is Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman concedes to joining a Netanyahu government, along with his religious political partners, who will also have to make compromises in Liberman’s direction. Such a government–and the most desirable–could potentially be the most stable since Liberman would re-join the Right, which was his natural place until he departed resulting in the last election. Knowing his strong and stubborn personality, it will take a miracle for this to happen.

There is the always the possibility that Israel will be required to hold a third election. We all pray that it won’t happen.