HINDU EDITORIAL ANALYSIS April 12

The Hindu Editorial (Netanyahu’s Israel) 12 April 2019

Netanyahu’s Israel

The April 9 parliamentary elections in Israel have underscored the structural shift in the country’s democracy — the right wing reigns supreme. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had faced serious challenges during the campaign. He faces corruption allegations that could lead to his indictment. The Blue and White party, formed a few weeks ahead of the election, had quickly risen to become the principal opposition force, giving Mr. Netanyahu a scare. He had lost some allies even before the elections. In the event, Mr. Netanyahu has emerged victorious. While both Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White got 35 seats each (after 98% of the votes were counted), he could become Prime Minister for a fifth time with support from rightwing parties. Likud has markedly improved its performance from 2015 when it had won 30 seats and still formed the government. The orthodox Jewish parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, which won seven and six seats respectively in 2015, secured eight each this time. The Union of Rightwing Parties and the right-nationalist Yisrael Beytenu have won five seats each, while the centrist Kulanu has got four. With the support of these potential allies, Mr. Netanyahu would have the backing of 65 MPs, well past the halfway mark in the 120-member Knesset.

Mr. Netanyahu ran a contentious, ultra-nationalist campaign to drum up support for Likud and its allies. He had publicly aligned with Jewish Power, a fringe party known for its racist, anti-Arab views. If Mr. Netanyahu had said there wouldn’t be any Palestinian state under his watch during the 2015 election campaign, this time, a few days ahead of the poll, he said he would annex parts of the West Bank to bring Jewish settlements under Israeli sovereignty. He also exploited the security concerns of Israeli voters by presenting himself as the only leader capable of keeping them safe from “Palestinian terrorists” as well as Iran. Mr. Netanyahu is credited with stabilising the Israeli economy and, more controversially, clinching major diplomatic coups such as the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the occupied Syrian Golan as Israeli territory, thanks to American President Donald Trump. Mr. Netanyahu is now set to become the longest-serving Prime Minister, overtaking David Ben-Gurion, the country’s founder. But the Israel he leads today is totally different from what even Ben-Gurion and the early socialist Zionists had imagined. With Mr. Netanyahu showing no interest in the peace process and the occupation of Palestine being deepened both militarily and through Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israel, which is described by a Basic Law passed last year as “the nation-state of the Jewish people”, is a de facto apartheid state. Given his record, there is little reason to hope that Mr. Netanyahu will break the status quo during his next term.

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary Wordlist

1) ALLEGATION (Noun)  = Assertion Placing Blame , 
Synonyms =  Accusation,  Charge.
Antonyms = Exculpation ,  Denial

2) INDICTMENT (Noun) = Accusation , 
Synonyms =  Allegation, Citation.
Antonyms = Praise, Absolution.

3) JEWISH =   The Jewish people and the religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated. Converts to Judaism typically have a status within the Jewish , 
Synonyms =  Jewess.
Antonyms = Anti-Semite.

4) SOVEREIGNTY (Noun)  = Domination , ( स्वतंत्रता )
Synonyms =  Supremacy, Dominion.
Antonyms = Submission.

5) CLINCH (Verb)  = Secure a Goal, ( प्राप्त कर लेना )
Synonyms =  Assure,Cap.
Antonyms = Delay, Putoff.

6) APARTHEID = (Noun) Discrimination , ( रंग भेद/श्वेतवाद )
Synonyms =  Racism, Segregation.
Antonyms = Equal right,  Equal Opportunity.

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