On Tuesday, Israelis went to the polls in record numbers. Monitors reported the highest voter turnout in over a decade. While most expected to see the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu re-elected, the number of seats he was projected to get was significantly greater than the 31 his alliance party won. Surprisingly, the new party of known TV anchor Yair Lapid won the second number of votes, while Labor followed in third place. Labor’s leader Shelly Yechimovich threatend this might mean the next coalition government will not be headed by Netanyahu, but many predict Lapid will join the Prime Minister, instead of the opposition. Official coalition negotiations are to begin a week after the elections. The Real News’ Lia Tarachansky spoke with regular Israelis on the streets of Tel Aviv.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
