The Israeli elections are this Tuesday. They were called early because PM Ehud Olmert was forced to resign over corruption allegations.
The four leading candidates for Prime Minister, in order of the current standing in polls:
(1) Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud Party)
(2) Tzipi Livni (Kadima Party)(this is the national unity party that Ariel Sharon helped start)
(3) Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu Party)(ultra-nationalist, anti-establishment party)
(4) Ehud Barak (Labor Party)
It sounds like all of the candidates are taking a "we'll have to wait and see" approach on the relationship with Palestinians --- not wanting to come out too strong one way or the other for fear of driving away undecided voters.
39. Has Israel been affected by the economic downturn?
40. Is Tzipi Livni admired by feminists?
This is from a magazine called "Jewish Week" in September 2008: "Tzipi Livni is the best person to lead the nation, say Israel's most prominent feminists, even if women's issues aren't at the top of her priority list. "She's not my choice, she's not my party, but I'd rather have her than any of the other candidates," says Tel Aviv deputy mayor and former Knesset member Yael Dayan, who spearheaded much of the country's groundbreaking legislation to ensure the rights of women in the 1990s. While women's rights advocates admit that Livni ... isn't what they would call a flag-waving feminist, they're convinced she carries her feminist credentials proudly - in her business-suit pocket."
41. What accounts for Benjamin Netanyahu's longevity in Israeli politics? I still have vivid memories of talking about him in 1994-95 in my seminar, with Professor Garthwaite, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
