Netanyahu Uses Biblical 'Shiur' to Defy Peres' Criticism

Back on offense, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized President Shimon Peres on Tuesday, after the President called him to renew peace negotiations with Abbas.

"Contrary to voices I'm hearing over the last few days, urging me to rush forward, to give up, to withdraw, I think that in a political process one should act responsibly and not in a rush, with a realistic approach and not a hasty one," Netanyahu said during a bible study group at the prime minister's residence.

Likud Beitenu Losing Steam, Bennett Maintaining Momentum

Had the elections been held on Sunday, Likud Beitenu would have dropped to 34 seats, according to Walla News poll conducted by  TNS Teleseker, as compared with 35 seats in the same poll a week ago.

Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home appears steady with 15 seats, Shas also maintains it rise from 10 to 11 seats, and Torah Judaism rose to 6 seats.

On the Left things have remained about the same this week in this poll: Labor with 18, both Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid with 10 each, Meretz with 4, and Kadima is back in the race with 2. The Arab parties are down to just 10 seats from their previous projections of 12 and 11.

Almost Half of Israelis Place Themsleves on the Right

48 percent of Israelis classify themselves politically as Right 48%, 28% as Center and 26% as Left, according to a panels politics poll conducted for Channel 2. 

When respondents were asked what party loyally represents the Right in Israel? 33% said the Bayit Yehudi party, 32% Likud-Beitenu 32%, 16% Otzma L'Yisrael (Stength to Israel) and only 2% said Shas.

Eretz Nehederet: Who's Genuinely Right? Bayit Yehudi vs. Likud Party

FYI Netanyahu Stands By Bar Ilan Speech

h/t IMRA Updates

Eretz Nehederet's Version of Sarit Hadad Singing To Netanyahu "Ata Totach"

Dem Strategist Greenberg Accuses Netanyahu of Ordering Office Break-in 'Without Evidence'

Former Bill Clinton strategist and Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who is today advising the Israeli Labor Party campaign, is accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having ordered the break-in of his Washington office almost fourteen years ago, The Blaze reports.

Likud Officials Indicate Peres is 'Senior Diplomatic Source' Behing Yedioth Quote

Senior Likud Beitenu officials have indicated that non other than President Peres is behind the headline in Yedioth Ahronoth last week, which quoted a senior diplomatic source as saying "Netanyahu is leading Israel to tragedy.” 

 According to Likud Beitenu, Peres had invited journalists for an off-the-record conversation, in which he voiced his criticism of Netanyahu, Haaretz reports.

"Peres' behavior with regard to the elections is inappropriate," the Likud Beiteinu officials added.

Tzipi Livni On The Go -The Movement's LIVE Bus Tour

Tzipi Livni has launched a 3 day Bus Tour across the Southern party of the Country, presenting the Hatnu'a campaign of Hope over Fear, beefing up the meaning of her party's name: "The Movement."

The tour kicked of on Monday at Ben-Gurion's grave, and will continue to spots relevant to the national agenda. A Live Feed of the tour is available on her new website: http://www.hatnua.org.il/#!thebus/c1f1e

Letter Reveals Rabin Opposed the Creation of a Palestinian State

Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin remained opposed to the creation of a Palestinian State more than a year after his historic handshake on the White House lawn with PLO leader Yasser Arafat in September 1993, a new letter obtained by Times of Israel reveals.

The brief response letter to a private Israeli Citizen, dated December 25, 1994, and signed by Rabin’s adviser and bureau chief Eitan Haber, states: “Concerning your letter to the prime minister with regard to a Palestinian state I am replying: The prime minister is of the opinion that there is no room for a Palestinian state.”

Fischer told the Times of Israel that he also received, in 1994, a letter from Uri Savir, a former aide to then-foreign minister Shimon Peres, in which Savir states that it was the current government’s policy to “reject the creation of a Palestinian state.”

Fischer, a writer living in Petah Tikva, told The Times of Israel that he had written the letter to Rabin “simply to inquire what the government’s intentions were vis-à-vis a Palestinian state — yes or no.”

VIDEO: Tzipi Livni Loses It on Live TV

Tzipi Livni loses her cool during a channel 2 debate with Naftali Bennett, calling the moderator's name time and again in an attempt to respond.

Shteinitz: No Substantial Tax Hikes In Plan; Labor's Plan is 'Plan of Economic Destruction”

Shelly Yechimovich’s economic plan would make the Israeli economy look like Spain’s and even worse,” Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told The Jerusalem Post.“Those naive suggestions will ruin the Israeli economy.”
 

Steinitz criticized Yechimovich for proposing expenditures of around NIS 140 billion, adding that he could not recall any Israeli leader making such extravagant commitments prior to an election.

Yair Shamir: What the Goyim Say, They Can Keep It for Themselves

Yisrael Beytenu's #2 and #4 on the joint Likud Beitenu list, Yair Shamir told English-speaking voters in Bet Shemesh (12/30/12) that his entry to politics was motivated by the interest to care for ourselves. Peace is not in our hands, he said, "It's in God's hands." http://www.facebook.com/beytenuenglish?ref=hl

Yechimovich Hosts Voters in Kitchen Sitting on Counter

Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yechimovich hosted dozens of l voters in her kitchen on Sunday evening for an open conversation about her party's platform.

The meeting in Yechimovich's Tel Aviv house was held as part of a new concept in which the Labor party's candidates open their homes and invite voters to their living room, kitchen, garden or study room.

Balad's Hilarious Video: Lieberman Forces Israeli Arabs to Sing HaTikvah - Middle Eastern Style

Livni Introduces Campaign of Hope and Opposition

Amid rumors of quitting right after the elections, Hatnu'a Chairwoman Tzipi Livni presented her campaign, in an attempt to replace Netanyahu.

“There are a number of possibilities after the election,” she told reporters at a news conference introducing her party’s campaign, “and the first is replacing the driver. This is our goal.” 

After the election, she continued, “it is possible that if Netanyahu stays in the driver’s seat, we would work to alter the course, influence the wheel, hit the brakes and direct the vehicle to a better place, from within the government. A second possibility, if we see it’s unrealistic [to join the government], would be to stay in the opposition,” she said. “The issue is not personal, but the policy of that government.”

“I take into account that this struggle may have to be conducted from the ranks of the opposition, and my colleagues and I will be there to do so,” she declared.

At Sunday’s news conference, Hatnu'a introduced its slogan: “Hope will overcome fear,” stressing that the key word in the campaign will be “hope.”

Likud Beitenu: President Peres Encourages International Condemnation of Israel

The Likud Beitenu campaign issued a statement on Sunday in response to remarks made by President Shimon Peres criticizing Prime Minister Netanyahu for not finding in Abbas a partner for peace.

"It is regrettable that the president chooses to express a political opinion that is detached from the Israeli public's position regarding Abbas, who refuses to make peace," the Likud Beitenu statement read. "It is even more regrettable that the President chooses to present [these opinions] in front of foreign diplomats, a political stand that encourages condemnation for Israel in the international community."

"It is a shame the president did not explain to the foreign diplomats how his comments on Abbas reconcile with the fact [Abbas] did not even condemn the firing of rockets on Israeli citizens," the statement said.

HaRav Ya'akov Yosef: Voting For Likud-Beitenu Violates Torah Law

Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef, a son of Shas'spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yoseftold his followers that anyone who votes for the Likud-Yisrael Beitenu list in those upcoming elections has violated a biblical commandment, Failed Messiah reports.

During his weekly public class, Ya’akov Yosef explained that the transgression fell under the biblical transgression of lifnei iver lo titen michshol, you must not put a stumbling block before the blind.

Deri Apologizes for Racist Comments on Likud Beitenu

Shas's Aryeh Deri apologized on Friday for the comments he made Thursday, calling the Likud-Beitenu a party of "Russians and whites."

Speaking to Gali Israel radio, Deri said, "I apologize fully. It was a grave mistake, this comment on Russians and whites."

“This was a big mistake,” Deri said. “Unfortunately, yesterday, under pressure of the conflict, I didn’t pay attention to my words. I apologize. That’s not my style. I never speak like that. They are my brothers.”

Panels Poll: Likud's Voter Base Has Expanded Since 2009

Only 11% of Likud Beitenu voters are open to vote for the Bayit Yehudi since last week's debacle, according to a Panels poll conducted for the weekend Hebrew newspaper Sof Hashavua. Among the general public, 15% said they were more likely to vote for the Bayit Yehudi, and 11% said they were less likely to vote.

An analysis of Likud Beitenu’s voters by Panels pollster Menahem Lazar found that out of the joint list’s 34 projected seats in the latest Panels poll, only five of them came from people who had voted Yisrael Beytenu in the 2009 election. Yisrael Beytenu’s other 10 seats have been lost since the merger with Likud, with 27% of its 2009 voters supporting Bayit Yehudi, while 22% remain undecided.

Prof. Asher Cohen: Netanyahu's American Advisor Misled Him Twice

Professor Cohen, a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Bar Ilan University, told Arutz Sheva that he is convinced the merger between the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu, which was encouraged by political adviser Arthur Finkelstein, will end up being the biggest mistake in the upcoming election. 

"Arthur Finkelstein misled Netanyahu twice: the first time was about Obama being re-elected in the United States and again now with the merger of the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu," said Cohen. 

Yair Lapid Live TV Gaffe: We Are at 11-12 Seats, While Poll Shows him at 7-9

Bibi Goes for the Beer!

Likud Beitenu Campaign Ads Are the Most Viewed on YouTube

Jeremy Gimpel (Bayit Yehudi) Hopes to Chair Knesset Diaspora Committee

Will Israelis send their first American Immigrant to the Knesset since Meir Kahana? Naftali Bennett is not the only rising star in Israeli politics, emerging as an unexpected threat to Netanyahu’s vision of a strong and large Likud party, You may have heard of him or not, but Jeremy Gimpel might end up in the next Knesset, thanks to another well spoken English politician, non-other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Deri: Likud Beitenu - Party of Russians and 'Whites'

Aryeh Deri is getting nasty and divisive by letting the genie of Sephardic rage out of the bottle, playing the race card to a minority base of voters, and to a large base of Likud voters who are Mizrachi but feel less represented in Israel's government.

"Today we have learned who truly controls Likud," he said, after a comment by Lieberman to the Mishpacha magazine made clear that Shas's balance of power in the next government would be diminished, and that their portfolio positions would be downgraded. "Yisrael Beitenu has carried out a hostile takeover of Likud. From the party of the people, Likud has become an arrogant, smug party that represents Russians and whites," said Aryeh Deri. "They humiliated [Moshe] Kachlon, and now they want to humiliate the rest of the Sephardic ministers. This is a wake-up call to all Sephardim: come home, Likud is no longer your home. Shas is your natural and true home. Only a strong Shas will safeguard the Sephardim in the next Netanyahu government," he added in the written statement.

Communication Minister Kachlon, who took a break from politics, dismissed Deri's statement. "I suggest that Aryeh Deri find other gimmicks and that if he decides to use my name, that he at least say true things and stick to the facts. I am a part of Likud and Yisrael Beytenu, and I will remain that way," Kachlon, who Bibi calls 'Moishe' in a yiddish pronouncement, said.

3 polls Show Likud Beitenu Losing Seats to Bayit Yehudi

"Don't waste your Vote," Netanyahu plead to the Israeli public on Tuesday. That call seems to fall on deaf ears, at least at this point of the campaign, with latest opinion polls showing the Likud Beitenu losing votes to Bayit Yehudi and Shas, both parties that are lead by popular and charismatic leaders, such as Bennett and Deri. The bear hug by Bennett and Deri seems to indicate that voters believe Netanyahu will be strengthened by strong sectoral parties at his side.

The Thursday Reshet Bet Radio elections poll conducted by Mano Geva from Midgam Institute, predicts Kadima, Am Shalem, and Power to Israel failing to reach the threshold needed to get into the next Knesset.


The poll is devastating for Likud and Yisrael Beitenu: Likud-Beteinu would get only 34 seats, if elections were held today, Labor falls to 16 projected seats, while the Jewish Home rises to 15 seats and Shas party from 11 to 13. That would grant the Right-wing bloc a majority of 69 seats, including UTJ's 6 seats.

Netanyahu: Livni Will Not be My Foreign Minister

Prime Minister Netanyahu laid to rest the rumors circling around about indirect contact with the Tzipi Livni, over joining the government after the elections as Foreign Minister or as a special appointment to lead peace talks with the Palestinians.  

Not only will Tzipi Livni not get the foreign affairs portfolio in the next Likud-led government, she won’t be allowed anywhere near the diplomatic realm or be involved in talks with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Likud ministers on Wednesday, according to Haaretz.

Netanyahu Gets Yesha Council Much Needed Endorsement

Wooing votes on the right, Netanyahu got the a much needed boost with the Yesha council's support of the Likud Beitenu list.

In a meeting call by Netanyahu with the heads of the Yesha Council, Yesha mayors promised they would support Netanyahu and call to vote for the Likud Beitenu party.

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Satmar's Heretic Campaign Against Participating in Israel's Election

"The [Satmar] Rebbe viewed the Zionist movement and subsequent state as a heretic enterprise," Orthodox Pundit, a known Orthodox Blogger from the Satmar community, told BibiFeed in an exclusive view of Satmar's Knesset Election ban. By joining the parliament and participating in elections, one recognizes and partners in such an enterprise, violating the first of the 10 commandments, according to the late Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum in the V'Yoel Moshe. 

 

This explains where Satmar, the Eda HaHaredit and it's affiliates, differ from the rest of the Ultra-Orthodox communities, who do in fact participate in the elections and send their representatives to serve as members of the Knesset.

Likud Beitenu Shift Appeal Strategy In Remaining Weeks

Originally adopting President Obama's reelection campaign, the Likud sought to let Netanyahu use his power of incumbency to launch a negative campaign against it's rival parties, and cruise to victory. But with Naftali Bennett's rise and the center-left votes remaining staying split between Lapid and Livni, The Likud Beitenu campaign has shifted strategy to a more positive campaign emphasizing the achievements of Prime Minister Netanyahu rather than the faults of his political opponents.

The change came amid public opinion polls indicating that the Likud had steadily fallen in support 

Likud Beitenu unveiled two new election ads, one featuring ordinary Israelis from all sectors saying they would vote for the list, and the other under the slogan “When Netanyahu talks, people listen,”

Fundraiser in Brooklyn for Anti-Zionist Election Boycott Campaign

 

Earlier this month, we reported that the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg has offered $25K to Yeshivas who will hold back their students from going to vote on election day. The Rebbe who is due to arrive in Israel on the week of the Jan. 22 Knesset election, reportedly offered $100 cash for each Bucher or Yingerman who would abstain.

In order to justify their actions and promote their anti-Zionist message explaining those who have not yet followed the Satmar Rabbis forbidding to participate in the Knesset elections, the Satmar congregation in Williamsburg is organizing a fundraiser this Saturday night in Brooklyn, in an attempt to raise 500,000 dollars, JDN reports. 

Superstar Eyal Golan Refused to Publicly Endorse Netanyahu

Likud Pollster: Likud Beitenu and Right-Wing/Religious Parties Strong; Labor and Livni Collapse

Likud Beitenu dropped a few seats since the Bennett debacle, but remains steady at 36 projected seats, according to a survey conducted by Professor Avi Degani of Geocartographia, the Likud Party's pollster.

The survey found Likud Beitenu with 36 while HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) dropped by nearly 3 mandates to 12.5, since last week's 16 projected seats. On the other side of the aisle, Degani found the Labor party losing support, dropping to 14 mandates. Hatnu'a (The Movement) party led by Tzipi Livni collapses literally from 8 mandates to 4.5. 

Likud Releases First Campaign Ad: When Bibi Speaks, The World Listens