The recent general election in Israel, the second this year, has confirmed the country’s political gridlock. Veteran prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been left with no obvious majority, but it will be even more difficult for his opponents to secure one.
The major dividing line, apart from the divisive figure of Netanyahu, has been religion. Avigdor Lieberman, the Netanyahu ally turned enemy who represents Russian-speaking Israelis, refuses to join a coalition that includes ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. More specifically, he wants to end the ultra-Orthodox exemption from compulsory military service. The religious parties, without which nobody can form a majority, are fiercely defending their position against this and other secularist proposals.
