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Israeli Television Announces Exit Poll Results: Netanyahu Barely Holds On

Jan. 22, 2013 3:17pm Sharona Schwartz

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara Netanyahu and sons Yair Netanyahu and Avner Netanyahu pose for a photograph after casting their ballot at a polling station on election day on January 22, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo: Getty Images)

Israel Channel 2 has announced exit polls from Tuesday’s vote. Polls closed in Israel at 10pm (3pm eastern) and here are the exit poll results that predict how many of the 120 Knesset seats each party is likely to secure. Note: TheBlaze cannot verify the numbers, and caution should always be applied when examining exit poll results.

“Big surprises,” said Israel Channel 2 anchor Yonit Levy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Israel Beiteinu party won 31 Knesset seats according to the exit poll. That’s a huge drop from the 42 seats it won in the 2009 election, but it is still the largest party in the Knesset, indicating Netanyahu will be tapped to form the next government.

The huge story of the night is Yair Lapid, who heads the new Yesh Atid (“there is a future”) party. Yesh Atid is predicted to receive 19 Knesset seats, noteworthy considering the party was formed only a year ago and is headed by Lapid, a former journalist and political novice.

Channel 2 called the results “a real sensation.” If true, that would mean Lapid edged out the Labor Party, becoming the second largest party in Israel.

An Israeli Navy soldier casts his vote at an army Navy base in Ashdod, Israel. (Photo: Getty Images)

Lapid appealed to secular voters by campaigning on a platform of citizens sharing the burden more equitably, specifically that ultra-Orthodox Jews should be forced to serve in the military. Though there is a universal draft in Israel, the ultra-Orthodox “hareidi” Jews are exempted and even get a monthly government stipend to pursue Torah studies.

Throughout the day, Netanyahu traveled to polling stations around the country to warn of the low turnout in Likud strongholds and urged his supporters to vote. At one station, he said: “Reports are showing that voter turnout is lower than average in areas that traditionally support Likud. Likud voters of all ages – drop everything and go vote.” By contrast, Israeli media reported voter turnout in left-leaning neighborhoods was high.

The Labor Party, headed by Shelly Yachimovich is forecast to secure 17 Knesset seats. Democratic pollster and former Bill Clinton strategist Stanley Greenberg advised the Labor Party’s campaign.

(Photo: YNet News)

Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home Party – which opposes handing territory to the Palestinians in the framework of peace negotiations and promotes annexing parts of the West Bank – won 12 seats, an achievement considering this election marked Bennett’s entry into Knesset politics. A former commando and hi-tech millionaire, the 40-year-old politician attracted young, secular Israelis to his religious party.

Hatnua, a centrist party headed by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, got 7 mandates. Her world-view will likely find favor with the Obama administration as she says she wants an immediate renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians, which have been dormant for the past two years.

Also in the center is Kadima whose leader is former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and is predicted to not have passed the minimum threshold to secure Knesset seats.

On the far-left is Meretz, which obtained 7 seats, per the exit poll. Meretz supports handing over more parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control.

Channel 2 calculated that the left bloc will secure 59 seats opposite 61 for the right. Right after exit poll results were broadcast, a Likud spokesman urged caution, saying he would wait until the actual votes are counted.

In Israel, the drama continues after the election results are tallied. That’s when the bargaining with potential coalition partners begins.

If he is able to form a new coalition government, this will be Netanyahu’s third term in office, making him the second longest-serving prime minister since founding father David Ben-Gurion.

Challenges facing the next government include: How to handle the Iranian nuclear threat, rising Palestinian violence, how to contain any threat from the border with Syria which is embroiled in a two-year, bloody civil war, combating the terrorist threats from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. These were the first Israeli elections since the so-called Arab Spring demonstrations brought to power Islamist regimes in the Arab world including neighboring Egypt. Besides the security threats, Israelis face economic challenges including high taxes which cobble away at their paychecks and sky-high real estate prices which prevent many young couples from buying their first apartment.

Netanyahu campaigned on his strong security positions, adopting the slogan “A strong prime minister, a strong Israel.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague appeared to try to influence the Israeli vote, warning Tuesday that time is running out for a two-state solution, and pointing to the building of Jewish settlements as the main obstacle. “The two-state solution is slipping away,” he told the House of Commons.

An Arab-Israeli woman marks her ballot behind a voting booth at a polling station in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin on January 22, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Though Likud-Israel Beiteinu received the most Knesset seats, Netanyahu still needs to form a coalition government with smaller parties, and it could take days or even weeks for Netanyahu to cobble together that coalition. Netanyahu could join forces with the Jewish Home party, headed by Naftali Bennett – a religious party that opposes any territorial compromise with the Palestinians, or he could choose to tack left and invite more centrist parties like Yesh Atid and Hatnua into his coalition. The latter choice would likely be met with approval by the Obama administration, which has been outspoken in its criticism of Netanyahu’s decisions to build more Jewish housing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Haaretz reports that this is the first election in which citizens can follow the ballot counting in real time on the government’s Memshal Zamin website, or via a smartphone application. The paper estimates that 85 percent of the ballots will be counted overnight, with final results announced Wednesday.

Erica Ritz contributed to this report. This report may be updated.

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Comments (69)

universalphilos
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:28am
October 27, 1973: “We placed…the vision that as the fuse was lit and came from Europe and went into the land of Israel — and from the fuse entered many lands and many unto battle — and therefore, your world began to smolder — and all of those of the Jewish belief, therefore, should see before them coming from the heavens the first signs of the one you would know as Jesus Christ, yet he should come forth in a form that they would know, and they shall bow before him. Yet, your world should runneth red with blood, for there shall be in reality, in the valley of Armageddon [Meggido], so shall the valley [battle] be fought on Heaven and Earth.
If the Eagle [U.S.A.] should fail to give the protection that is needed, then the Bear’s [Russia’s] claws shall tighten upon the Earth. But as the Eagle and the Bear should come, therefore, into clutches, one into the other, the Dragon [China] should come forth and bare forth its teeth. And the whole Earth should smolder, therefore, unto the same. And therefore, the Seventh Seal will have been opened….
These things that were written, these visions that we have implanted upon the Earth, this Seventh Seal does not have to be opened in this manner. The battle of Armageddon, as we have said, may be avoided, if the Eagle acts in a valid manner. If he shows weakness, then the Eagle’s feathers shall be plucked, and he shall fall from the Heavens….
But only you, as the people of the Earth, can change your paths.”

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cranberry
Posted on January 23, 2013 at 3:04pm
Thank goodness he held on!

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searching for the Truth
Posted on January 23, 2013 at 3:25am
I’m OK with barely.

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welovetheUSA
Posted on January 23, 2013 at 1:44am
He won and its no surprise…….he is the hand of God with reguard to Israels problems…….he is the Only man who will protect Israel, period.

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ginger100
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:52pm
@tonypro
I’m not mocking the All Mighty, just sayin, don’t fall for anybody claiming to be the One and Only, JC

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stealthman
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 8:43pm
I need to write this again as its own comment because I live in Israel.

First and foremost, it is a huge mistake to declare Ya’ir Lapid a leftist. On most issues he truly is a centrist and a unifier, He truly hates the peace process and simply views it as a necessary evil to get the world off Israel’s back. He sees no possibility of it ever bearing fruit. He is the ultimate pragmatist. He is not a Fig leaf for peace like Tzipy Livni or a Communist like Shelly Yechimovich. He definitely is charismatic, and his one divisive issue has nothing to do with massive concessions for peace or taxing the rich. He wants Chareidi Jews to share the burdens of Israeli society by serving their country in the military or in some form of Civil service.

So in reality Yeish Atid is an enigma. It is not a leftist party. So the number of 59 leftist seats is misleading.

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- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:33pm
  I noticed that as well. I admit I know little about this new party but they didn’t seem like a surefire left party. In fact I was expecting them to be counted among the right. And in the event they didn’t join the coalition, that would still mean Lapid is the new opposition leader, a far more preferable scenario than a Labor lead opposition. Either way it shows a shift away from the left-leaning Labor party.
  
  Report this comment
thegreatcarnac
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:16pm
Obama tried to steal the Israeli election too????

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- db321
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:35pm
  I’m glad God allow that election to go the right way. Anyone else may have been total destruction of Israel.
  
  Report this comment
- 1unwashed
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:39pm
  Did you see the clip of one of the Israel leaders showing his ID to vote. Imagine that!
  
  Report this comment
- Grey Eagle
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:13pm
  I am sure he would have Bibi gone and that stupid woman in. The one who loves the PA so much.
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:55pm
I doubt he will come out with an agenda of gay marriage, gun control and climate change like our newly immaculated “leader” did.

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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:19pm
  He won’t repeal any ban on gays in the military either, since there never was one. 61% of Israelis support marriage equality, and Israel already has civil unions.
  
  Oh, and unlike Obama, less than an outright of the majority will have elected Netanyahu.
  
  Care to try again?
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:36pm
  Why should I? You’re the one who’s lost.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:48pm
  @tyranny lover
  Ever hear of tyranny of the majority? Obama barely got 51% of the vote leaving 49% opposed to his election whose votes have left zero impression on the Executive Branch of our government. Obama acts as though winning 51% means that the American people will support anything he does.
  
  On another point, much of Obama’s victory goes to the influence of densely populated cities to the exclusion of suburbs and rural areas. In my state, which went for Obama in the last election, most of the voting districts went for Romney with only two small Obama enclaves that dragged the whole state over to Obama.
  
  Report this comment
- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:19pm
  @TZion – so just because people live in large cities their votes shouldn’t count? I got no grief with people not wanting to live in a city, but Paul Ryan’s idea that they are all moochers off of the government is flat out BS. People go there to get great jobs, great education, and because people like the culture.
  
  Report this comment
- stealthman
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:55pm
  First and foremost, it is a huge mistake to declare Ya’ir Lapid a leftist. On most issues he truly is a centrist and a unifier, He truly hates the peace process and simply views it as a necessary evil to get the world off Israel’s back. He sees no possibility of it ever bearing fruit. He is the ultimate pragmatist. He is not a Fig leaf for peace like Tzipy Livni or a Communist like Shelly Yechimovich. He definitely is charismatic, and his one divisive issue has nothing to do with massive concessions for peace or taxing the rich. He wants Chareidi Jews to share the burdens of Israeli society by serving their country in the military or in some form of Civil service.
  
  Also Israel does not have a Gay marriage or Gay Civil Union law. It does recognize such unions performed in other jurisdictions such as in New York State. Yet, no Rabbi in Israel will perform such marriages. And there are no civil marriages in Israel…yet. In that vein if Israelis want a Civil marriage, they take a $200 boat ride to Cyprus to get one, and Cyprus grants civil marriages but not to homosexual unions.
  
  So in reality Yeish Atid is an enigma. It is not a leftist party. So the number of 59 leftist seats is misleading.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:45pm
  @Freedom
  I said no such thing. All I’m saying is that the cities shouldn’t be determining who gets my vote. People living in the inner cities have very different interests and concerns from those who don’t but because their are more of them they can make their concerns the priority and have all of the states electoral votes go towards their concerns.
  
  To put it more clearly, it is possible for the states to alter the distribution of electoral votes to be done on the Congressional District level instead of the winner-takes all system we currently have. In this scenario the two votes corresponding to the Senators would go to the winner of the state while each congressional district would get one vote that they alone would decide. In addition to eliminating the ability for large cities to determine how an entire state votes this would also eliminate swing states and force candidates to campaign on a nationwide level.
  
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Too_Far_Gone
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:28pm
Well, at least their people have some sanity left, unlike half the idiots here ..

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soybomb315_II
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:25pm
Good to see people have real choice in some countries….But not USA
________________________
Countries with multiparty system:
England, Israel, Germany, France, most of EU, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India

Countries with two-party system:
USA, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, most of Africa

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momrules
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:01pm
Hopefully Netanyahu will remain as Prime Minister. He has proven himself a strong leader who loves his country. Israel is in even more danger with the re-election of Obama and strength in leadership is definitely needed as the clock winds down on this old world.

God bless Israel.

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- john vincent
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:42pm
  well said mom
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:53pm
  Netanyahu is a neo-con, a war monger, a man that would inflame the middle east and leave the mess to the US to clean up.
  
  Report this comment
- DEFCON4
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:31pm
  @encinom, You, failed to mention, Mr. Netanyahu’s ‘I.Q.’, which is north of 180.
  That, makes him, one of 19 smartest people in the world.
  Now, where does that leave, You……
  
  Report this comment
- Keatonc333
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:41pm
  Netanyahu is awful! Hes a war monger who is completely dependent on U.S. funding. I hope israel makes a change!
  
  Report this comment
- Keatonc333
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:43pm
  Ted kacynski had an IQ of 170…. IQ doesn’t always translate to good leader… or good person for that matter.
  
  Report this comment
- Clownzilla
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:51pm
  @Encinom & Keaton
  
  The racists are back!
  
  Report this comment
- john vincent
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:11pm
  enci
  keaton-
  
  “war monger??’ Should we change your names to ‘ostrich’ for burying your head, and therefore your brain? Not too long ago, a certain Netanyahu negotiated the release of ‘one,’ did u get that, ‘one’ Israeli for a thousand miscreants. Who values life? Who makes decisions that are not popular but correct? The Arabs? The Muslims? The Egyptians? beep wrong; care to try another category for $200.00? It is the Israeli’s who target a building with regard to life you clowns.
  
  It is you boys, (or girls) who knows,…that cannot face the reality of real enemies, and while Obama ‘has a friend’ in james taylor, Mr Netanyahu surely has no friend in Obama, and certainly has no friend in either of you. You will always side with the wrong side of history.
  
  By the way, I get a kick of watching the posters here clean your clocks with humor, common sense, and American exceptional patriotism. Instead of arguing, you may want to actually read and ponder what is said here.
  
  And, did you ever notice how small of stature Obama appears before Netanyahu?? Obamas handlers know this, and no doubt tell him to ‘stay away.’ God bless Israel, again…
  
  Report this comment
- DEFCON4
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:15pm
  keaton, Another typo ? *war monger*.
  Correction: “War hero”, member of Sayeret Matkal who personally,
  led the ‘operation isotope’ which sucessfully saved the passengers
  of Sabena flight 571, among other achievements. Next, we can talk
  about his degree in architecture…….
  
  Report this comment
- momrules
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:52pm
  Mr. Netanyahu is no war monger. He is an Israeli warrior defending his country against the savages that want Israel and all Jews dead. He is a man of honor and honor is a quality sadly lacking among the liberal/progressives that hate Israel too.
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:02pm
  Mr. Netanyahu is a war monger who all to willing to spill American blood in a war against Iran.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:08pm
  @Keaton
  Considering that the vast majority of Israelis have served in the military and that nearly all Israelis know at least one person currently serving, I find it very hard to believe that a warmonger, a person who uses the military for personal gain, could even become Prime Minister. Add in the fact that Netanyahu has served in the military himself and that his brother was killed in action during the Entebbe raid and your argument becomes entirely implausible.
  
  I’m sorry, did I just call your comment and “argument”? My apologies. After all, as you failed to give any reasonable explanation for your claim, it can hardly be called an argument.
  
  Report this comment
- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:23pm
  Anti-Israel is not racist nor anti-semetic.
  
  I’m not anti-semitic but this guy is a failed leader who is leading his country toward an apartheid state. The demographics have it – either they will be a Jewish state in 20 years, or a democracy, but not both, unless they get some progress on a two state solution, which Bibi is failing on…
  
  As long as Bibi gets his checks from the US, he has no inclination to do anything. Keep the illegal settlements expanding (ticking off his allies in the process), stand up to no one on the far right (like the modern GOP, which keeps losing…)
  
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- AUsername
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:44pm
  standard of living has gone down under him just like Obama and hes a war monger, try a nationalist majority with Avigdor Lieberman as prime minister. labor and likud have failed.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:11pm
  @Auser
  Did you read the article? Labor effectively lost the election and Likud barely held on.
  
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- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:17pm
  @Freedom
  “Anti-Israel isn’t antisemitic”
  Exactly what do you define as “Anti-Israel”. In my book, it means opposing Israel’s right to exist, its right to act in its own defense, or demonizing the country as a whole. Criticizing policies is something even I do. To attack or oppose the country as I have described goes beyond disagreement and becomes antagonism, which is frequently motivated by antisemitism.
  
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progressiveslayer
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:59pm
It’s too bad for Bi bi that he has to deal with our Marxist POS fraud president,the dumbing down of America is complete. Yasser Arafat’s alter ego will do everything he can for his friends in the MB to screw with Israel. It’s not like they need our help to deal with their squatter problem because they can come up with a final solution for their infestation but Barry running interference isn’t helping Israel.

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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 8:56pm
  @ CATHYVANDYKE – Thank you; nothing has brought more peace upon the world than people holding rigidly to their religious texts and beliefs. Nothing like texts written at the dawn of civilization to solve 21st century problems.
  
  Report this comment
- Hawk69
  Posted on January 23, 2013 at 6:42am
  I think all the wuss liberal Jews should be sent to live in the Gaza strip or sent to Iran. These liberal Jews are the type that went willingly to the Nazi gas chambers. The USA is full of these weak leftist. If the Jihads exterminate the Jews it’s their own fault.
  
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neverending
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:46pm
Thoughts and prayers for PM Netanyahu – a great man, a great leader and a man of decency and integrity and deserves much respect. Too bad we don’t have that here.

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- Jim S
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:00pm
  Wow, American’s like Barry more than Israelis like Bibi…and close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades..you win or lose, safe or out…by a inch or a mile…
  
  Report this comment
- RaydocX
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:42pm
  Jim, if you were correct in your assertion about who likes who, how was Bibi reelected?
  or more accurately, if your President hadn’t been reelected, maybe there would have been sufficient belief America will stand by our true allies that Bibi would not have been reelected, if your suggestion is that he is too conservative for Israeli voters.
  
  it’s a puzzling assertion by any stretch of the imagination.
  
  Report this comment
- CathyvanDyke
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:25pm
  The leaders of the tiny nation of Israel MUST obey the Written Word and not be pressured by world opinion into conceding their God-given land to the enemy.
  
  Why I Like Naftali Bennett
  by Shaul Magid Jan 17, 2013 12:30 PM EST
  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/17/why-i-like-naftali-bennett.html
  
  Exodus 23:31-33
  I will establish your borders from the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) to the Sea of the Philistines, (Mediterranean) and from the desert to the River . I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.
  
  Report this comment
- CathyvanDyke
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:36pm
  MyJihad Is To Expose The Palestinian Myth
  January 20th, 2013
  http://www.therightscoop.com/myjihad-is-to-expose-the-palestinian-myth/
  
  The Palestine Myth
  Sunday, 18 July 2010 04:16
  http://www.islam-watch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=492:palestine-myth&catid=125:simpson&Itemid=58
  
  Report this comment
- CathyvanDyke
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:44pm
  Again … rhe leaders of the tiny nation of Israel MUST obey the Written Word and not be pressured by world opinion into continually conceding their God-given land to the enemy.
  
  “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.” (Leviticus 25:23).
  
  Report this comment
- Jim S
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:16pm
  RaydocX…Barry was reelected with a higher percentage of voters than Bibi was..wasn’t even close,unfortunately…..I didn’t vote for either,just an observation…Bibi is less popular, among voters,in his country than Barry is here…among voters..the people who decide elections…
  
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:39pm
Glad to hear that, Israel will need a great leader to see them through the madness Obama has unleashed in the Middle East.

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- Shasta
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:48pm
  I totally agree with you, even more so in that apparently OBungler said that the Israeli people don’t know what’s in their best interest if they re-elect Netanyahu.
  
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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:22pm
  Obama is the one unleashing havoc in the Middle East? By ending the Iraq war? Or by doing everything possible to get peace with Iran? Or trying to get Israel on a path to a two state solution?
  
  Or is the mythical “Muslim Brotherhood” gearing up to take over the world???
  
  Report this comment
- CathyvanDyke
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:30pm
  Appeasing the Islamic Enemy?
  
  Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal reached with Hamas, says Netanyahu
  October 12, 2011
  
  Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas announced Tuesday that they had agreed on an exchange that would free about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in return for Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip for more than five years.
  
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gilad-shalit-prisoner-exchange-deal-reached-with-hamas-says-netanyahu/2011/10/12/gIQA0gixfL_story.html
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:19pm
  @Freedomhater
  Obama may have ended the Iraq war, but he then failed to form any meaningful relationship with its new leaders, causing them to turn to places like Iran and the not-so-mythical Muslim Brotherhood. As for getting peace with Iran, peace is a two way street and when one party is calling the other the “Big Satan” that’s hardly what I’d call peaceful. A fragile peace is the best we have.
  
  And as for your two state solution, Obama’s actions would seem to suggest that neither of those states would be Israel. Why else would he not allow Israel to destroy Hamas when Hamas is nothing but a known terrorist group that has usurped authority over Gaza from the “recognized” rulers that are the PA? Or is he perhaps aiming for three states and granting official recognition to terrorists yet again?
  
  Report this comment
- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:05pm
  TZION – Sorry, I must hate freedom for not being a NeoCon like you.
  
  1. Destroying Hamas is only going to ensure it gets replaced by people who hate Israel even more – it will accomplish nothing but drawn more outsiders to their cause.
  
  2. The US can’t stay in Iraq forever – no doubt the Iranians are causing some trouble there, but most the country HATES Iran. They have challenges ahead of course, but it’s their challenge now, not ours anymore.
  
  3. Iran is a massive country with a developed air force – attacking Iran will not be as “easy” as Iraq and Afghanistan were. Containment, MAD, and sanctions are the best, and really only viable options we have with Iran. Remember, Israel brought the first nukes to the region (Dimona)
  
  4. Ask Ehud Barak or Shimon Peres how they feel about Obama’s commitment to Israeli security – the idea he has somehow “sold them out” is absurd.
  
  5. The fact is, without a two state solution, Israel has apartheid in it’s future if it wants to remain a Jewish state. The demographics just dictate it.
  
  Look, I realize it would be a lot easier if we could just say “those guys are bad and these guys are good” – but the fact is the world is more complicated and more rapidly changing than ever…
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:08pm
  @Freedom
  Your first point is a joke. By that reasoning we should just let Al Qaeda continue blowing up our embassies. Hamas is a terrorist organization that is an existential threat to Israel’s security. And your advice is to ignore them? Hamas is a threat because it is actively funded and armed by supporters, which include Iran by the way.
  
  Your point on Iran is also a dodge. First you claim Obama is making peace with Iran then you claim he’s only “containing” them. By the way, this “containment” is so ineffective that Iranian arms are still being smuggled into Gaza and Syria escalating the conflicts in both regions. If Iran can ship Fajr-5 missiles to terrorists, why not a nuke. The only people hurt by our sanctions are the citizens, not the government.
  
  Also, I never said Obama “sold Israel out”. Obama isn’t that direct. He continues to fund Israel so that he can pressure them into doing what he wants and not what’s in Israel’s best interest. Why do you think it was so easy to end the recent conflict in Gaza? Both Israel and the MB controlled Egyptian government are on our payroll.
  
  And as for your demographics issue, I’m fully aware of it. I’m also fully aware that every single time Israel has handed over land for creating a state they’ve been repaid with more terrorism and rocket attacks. A two-state solution would be ideal….if it actually solved the problem. A solution that solves nothing is an oxymoron.
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:37pm
If Netanyahu barely held on to power, it means the voters there have almost become as self destructive as the voters here.

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- Supah_Patriot
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:44pm
  Self-destructive? Self-destruction is failing to realize that we live in a changing (and shrinking) world. We must learn to play with others. That’s something that conservatives of all nationalities fail to understand, and consequently why they’re losing their grip.
  
  Report this comment
- Cavallo
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:49pm
  Their destruction is a little bit more physical than ours. Theirs will entail bullets and long Muslim knives to the throats if infant jewish children.
  
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- Shasta
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:51pm
  Sure Supah, the Israelis must learn to live peacefully with neighbors who vow to destroy us. That will work. I totally support Israel in whatever actions they take to protect themselves.
  
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- tonypro
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:00pm
  @Supah_Patriot
  The ignorance of your statement is astounding.
  
  It appears everyone in this post gets it but you.
  
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- THEDAYLIBERTYDIED
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:04pm
  I completely agree and self-destructive is a perfect way to phrase what’s going on in this country.
  
  As to Supah_Patriots remark; you can’t hardly “play well with others” when they are trying to KILL you or want your country/people totally wiped off the face of the Earth. Exactly how do you “play well” with that kind of mentality?
  
  If an animal in the wild appears weak, for what ever the reason, the predators are embolden and will strike at the first opportunity, knowing there will be little resistance. It’s the law of the jungle and since we’re dealing with terrorist/animals, we have to have that same mentality. If it comes down to an “us or them” situations, I will back “us” every time!
  
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- spfoam1
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:34pm
  @ Supah_Patriot……No one in the region is “playing”. If you are trying to say the Israelis need to learn to play with those around them you are either an ignoramous or a muslim. Your comment makes as much sense as telling lambs to learn to play with the wolves around them. Pull your head out.
  
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- Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:45pm
  Supah_Patriot
  Good luck trying to get people on this site to admit that “**** all of you, and shame on you for not liking us as much as you used to” is not a reasonable foreign policy. If it was up to them, that would be the foreign policy of this country, too.
  
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tonypro
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:26pm
Now the criminal cabal is using the same tactics in Israel.

Only a matter of time the beast shows his face, and God steps in to put him in his place.

Yahoo, I personally can’t wait.

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- ginger100
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:34pm
  He better be able to produce lightning bolts from his fingers otherwise he may as well be another wanna be dictator.
  
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- tonypro
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:56pm
  You can mock God if you want to, but it won’t change the truth when Biblical Prophesy fulfills itself.
  
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- tonypro
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:11pm
  OOOpps should be “prophecy”
  
  To bad you can’t edit mistakes here.
  
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- hatchetjob
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 4:18pm
  TONYPRO, I can’t wait either. This world is not what I signed up for.
  
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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:26pm
  @HATCHETJOB -exactly the problem religion poses to the world – people like you who act irresponsibly in this, the only life we’ll ever get, in favor of a mythical afterlife there isn’t the slightest ounce of evidence for.
  
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- tzion
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 6:28pm
  @Freedomlover
  Technically speaking, you can’t prove that this world will still exist after I die. You can argue that working for a future you’ll never see is altruistic but I can just as easily argue that you won’t be around to bear the consequences of your actions. On the other hand, should an afterlife exist, then regardless of whether one lives or dies they must be held accountable. After all, in you worldview, people like Hitler and the one behind the massacre in Newtown have escaped punishment for their crimes by dying first.
  
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- Freedomlover_US
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:24pm
  TZion – no one said life is fair…
  
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