Yesh Atid is hardly a new Shinui. It includes both Piron (Religious Zionist) and Lipman - an American-born haredi with a Masters from Johns Hopkins. (That's a model Israeli haredim can't comprehend.) It also includes Calderon, a professor of Talmud - secular, but who wants even secular students to be exposed to classic Jewish texts. Netanyahu made a serious mistake here. He should have built the core of his coalition around the Israeli consensus - represented by Likud-Beitenu, Yesh Atid, Jewish Home, and Kadima. That's a majority of 64. Tenuah and Shas could have been added to make a broader-based coalition, but as second-tier partners, and only if they could abide the majority's decisions. Instead, Netanyahu sought to build a coalition with Labor, Shas and UTJ - one that would have been contentious from Day One. Why? Because he fears open dispute with the haredi sector more than he fears one with Obama. The haredi parties, he knows, can be bought off - with money, military exemptions and religious control - and in return they'll give him a free hand in other matters. But their 19 votes aren't enough. So he goes into left-field looking for the still needed votes. It was a doomed and foolish strategy from the start. Maybe having been chastened Netanyahu will work over the next two weeks as he should have from the beginning.

Bibi will do and say ANYTHING as long as he stays Prime Minister. Israel deserves better.

the fact that they need to include 2 token jews on their roster proves that they are a little slicker, but the hatred of religion is the same. i seem to recall neturei karta hassidim visiting ahmidinijad. of course that means that ahmidinjad loves jews, right?

I think you're forgetting that Likud-Beitenu + Shas + UTJ > Yesh Atid + Bayit Yehudi More people in Israeli public voted these parties so if Netanyahu wants to use them in his coaltition because hw works well with them then he certainly should. Lapid and Bennett aree trying to blackmail Netanyahu but I think he will still be re elected even if there is another election. Lapid has done nothing in his political career and needs to sit back and let Netanyahu do his work, not scapegoat haredim to get votes

Both parties are led by a man named Lapid, both parties were Anti-religious, and both parties appeared and vanished. We cannot allow Lapid to blackmail Bibi and hold our nation hostage.

If Lapid is Obama, and Bennett is with Lapid, then NO WONDER Bibi wouldn't deal. Obama has stated that Netanyahu is THE PROBLEM in the Middle East and that he must be removed. Obama continues with his campaign in the countries surrounding Israel while continuing with destructive economic policies in the US. It's urban legend, if not reality, that Israel is totally dependent on the US for survival, and the activist Moslems and their supporters have always wanted to diminish the US so they could ultimately eliminate Israel.

The secular political Zionist prophet Jabotinsky argued for One State for Two people 55-60% Jewish with the Jews managing security and immigration being the severe minority in the Region.This is the Future Aim.an interim enclave of two states is not contradiction .

bla, bla, bla, empty rhetoric, zero facts, hating Obama just cause his middle name you don't like and Lapid cause he wants reform, and crowning the chameleon Bibi... the only one blind here is you.

First thee of their Knesset members not two are shomer shabbat.(The third is a woman) That is 1 out of every 6 of their Knesset members hardly a token number.Unlike Labor and Meretz which has 0 religious Knesset members. Second their argument is against those people who refuse to work. It is quite interesting if one hear Mr Lapids shiur to the charedim and Kiryat Ono college where his argument is you won and we cannot build Israel with charedim fully being a part of the leadership of israeli society. Not exactly the language of a hater. Shas and UTJ would happily leave Habayit HaYehudi out of a coalition and give the entire Judea and Samaria to Hamas in return for funding. Remember how they sold out the country for bribes and supported Oslo. Neither Shas nor UTJ are torah parties, only Habayit HaYehudi represents Torah True Judaism

Yair Lapid is already predicting he will be Israel's next prime minister. Unfortunately, he never finished high school.

Keep religion out of politics. Reduce the influence of the Rabbinate on public life. Put the haredim in their place where they belong to: The yeshivas.

The Settlers should just remember one thing: Israel can and will survive without the territories but the settlers in the territories will NOT survive without Israel! I am not against the settlers, just those who send girls to attack and spit on our soldiers and who attack the Palestinians but condemn them when they attack the settlers! They have sunk to the same level of the terrorists! Israel is now more hated than ever by the international community and the anti-Zionist Jew hating Jews of BDS are winning because the extreme right wing is fueling the fire of hatred against Israel! The world does not need an excuse to hate Jews but the violence of the settlers only turns more against us. No one, except for Meretz, B'Tzelem and Peace Now, says withdraw from the West Bank but we have to negotiate with the Palestinians, but only after they elect a proper government which recognizes Israel!

Now we say the British what or the Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Britanistan! Once there was the Likud. Then Bibi created the Empire of Likud-Beiteinu under Emperor Bibi. Now we have the fall of the Bibi Empire. The reason: Lust for Power, just like the others! Bibi doesn't learn from his mistakes or those of others!

Yesh Atid and Habbayit Hayehudi are the beginning of the change. Avoda members closer to the center should start pressuring on the party to start changing or just leave. On the right also, Livni and parts of Likud will move more to the center eventually. Israel has had enough of the old fashioned splits that created paralysis and waste in its politics. Centrist parties represent what the voter wants. Eventually, there will be three or four parties in Israel with Centrist the dominant.

#14. Can you read a map? Not only do Judea and Samaria legally belong to Israel. They are absolutely necessary for Israel's survival. Can you read a map? This fact is obvious to any child capable of reading a map. You have clearly been blinded by leftist mind rot.

They are living in a movie and like the Wizard of Oz all the tricks, lies, misrepresentations, and tom-foolery will be revealed.

My personal opinion is that Bibi can run rings around Yair and Naftali, both of whom are rank amateurs. Livni won most seats last time around and Bibi ended up as PM. I wouldn't want to play poker with either Bibi or Ehud! My original forecast was, Likud-Yisrael Beitenu, Yesh Atid, Habayit Hayehudi, Shas and Livni and I'm still expecting Shas to somehow slip in at the very end. Lieberman? DM?