The Israeli 2019 Elections: A Bird's Eye View

In this podcast, Dr. Rob Geist Pinfold talks with Dr. Yehuda Ben Meir, who sketches the background to the main issues facing Israeli voters in this year’s election. As Israel goes to the polls on April 9, voters are faced with a fractious political atmosphere and a plethora of election issues – spanning social justice, the economy, and the ever-present security dilemmas that continue to dominate Israeli political discourse. As he seeks re-election, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must also contend with a cloud of corruption allegations and the entry into politics of former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. INSS senior researcher and former MK Ben Meir highlights the main electoral concerns of the Israeli public, the problems of accurate opinion polling, and the issues dividing Israel’s political parties. Are Netanyahu’s legal troubles unprecedented? What are the implications for Israeli democracy? These and other questions are discussed in the latest INSS English podcast.