Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s worst nightmare became reality today when his hated faction rival Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin was elected to be Israel’s 10th president. Netanyahu pulled out all the stops to avoid a Rivlin presidency including attempting to do away with the position all together and offering the job to Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel who doesn’t even have Israeli citizenship.
Netanyahu’s worst fear would have been an axis formed by Rivlin and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar that could have mustered enough political strength to replace the prime minister. Sa’ar, a main architect of Rivlin’s victory on Tuesday, will now be the front-man in the Likud party.
Along with MK Chaim Katz, Sa’ar provided Rivlin with steady behind-the-scenes political support in the elections acting as the head of his campaign. When Netanyahu pushed to cave the Presidency erased from Israeli policy to prevent Rivlin from winning the post, it was Sa’ar who thwarted the initiative.
At the moment, whispers are running through the political crowd that Sa’ar could stand as Netanyahu’s eventual successor as prime minister. Since the president holds the power to pick who will have the chance to build a coalition during elections (considering of course that no party wins a majority of Knesset seats), the close connection between Rivlin and Sa’ar does, and should motivate Netanyahu to fear for his job.
This will, of course, be a difficult and complex process, one that Sa’ar and Rivlin may not decide to act on, but sources around Netanyahu are taking the threat seriously.
Tensions between Netanyahu and the president elect were obvious even in Rivlin’s body language during the Prime Minister’s congratulatory speech. Rivlin barely took a moment to turn his head to look at Netanyahu. At the same time, Netanyahu’s wife Sara was absent from the ceremony and some are guessing that this was a silent, but purposeful protest.
Even members of Netanyahu’s own Likud party were insulted by his moves to exclude Rivlin from politics as he is seen as a uniting figure in a divided coalition. Lead by Naftali Bennett, Bayit Yehudi (generally considered to be one of Netanyahu’s closest allies) supported Rivlin.
In wake of the elections, it has become clearer than ever that a feeling of disappointment is slowly gathering influence within the coalition. Individuals and parties within the coalition are fearlessly daring to take stances against Netanyahu and the Likud with increasing frequency.
Senior members of Likud are opening discussing the days after Netanyahu and the lack of his ability to lead and make decisions. It appears, someone said, that politicians are already dismissive of Netanyahu and when that becomes a reality in action by MKs, Sa’ar needs to prepare for future battles against others who will also try to force their way into Netanyahu’s position including current Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Contemplate Today`s Big News
Rivlin is elected president
He is real rare breed :
well liked ,well respected,tradition, a classic `Old` Likud
integrity
So let`s now break down the voting results
After the first round of voting,it was assumed he would lose to
Meir Sheetrit, corrupt,a political chameleon
Glance at some news sites ,
they already were printing Sheetrit`s Bio
So what happened?
let`s break down the voting results
63 vs 53
Likud 31 (despite Bibi’s machinations)
Almost all voted Rivlin
Bayit Yehudi 12
All voted the same
Labor 19
almost all voted Sheetrit
Meretz 6
5 voted Sheetrit
Hatnuah 6
All voted Sheetrit
Yesh Atid 19
Almost all voted Sheetrit
Arabs 7
Kadimah 2
Unclear still
It is presumed that almost all voted Sheetrit
So who were the deciding factor?
Even though Ruby had recently voted for the Draft (he felt coerced) and other bills that were detrimental to the Charedim
(1 or 2 may have cast blank ballots,and one was abroad)
They looked and chose for Betterment of the country as a whole
Here’s a challenge:
Find a Single news Site
or closer to home ,a single one of your neighbors or acquaintances
who will care to acknowledge that important fact.
But as we shouldered abuse for all these generations..
Despite being a member of Netanyahu’s party, the election is being seen as a defeat for the prime minister who had gone to extraordinary lengths to oppose Rivlin before finally giving him his lukewarm endorsement. That included a campaign to have the election delayed, or even have the post of president abolished or stripped of its only real constitutional role determining who is first invited to form a government after national elections.
It reached a moment of high-farce when Netanyahu called the Elie Wiesel in New York to press him to stand, apparently unaware that the Nobel laureate was not an Israeli citizen and, therefore, ineligible to stand for office.
Commenting in a recent interview in Haaretz, Wiesel said: “Failing to get the positive answer [Netanyahu] wanted, he started putting pressure on me through mutual friends. The pressure was heavy, but I know how to withstand pressure.
“One of the people who put pressure on me said, ‘Your father in heaven will see you elected president of the state of Israel. Don’t you want him to be proud of you?’ But to say yes? To be the president of Israel? Oh, come on. That’s not for me. I write books. I’m not cut out for that.”
We can’t say why things happen, but maybe, just maybe this is the beginning of the punishment the leadership is facing for having undermined Chareidim and the Torah HaKedosha
This is excellent news. May the Betrayer of Hevron soon be cast out of the Knesset and into a prison, where he belongs.
so what does this mean for the charedeim? is this good news or bad? is he better then peres for the charedeim or worse?