Israel’s election results gave the Jewish State the type of decisiveness the electorate had been craving for after 5 elections in 4 years. Netanyahu will now once again become Prime Minister and this time he will have the stable rightwing coalition his supporters always claimed he lacked to get anything done in Israel.
The central issues in the election campaign were security and Jewish identity, both of which even centrist Israelis felt were slipping away. Jerusalem plays heavily in both of these areas. The neighborhoods in Eastern Jerusalem that were liberated in 1967 are key in reconnected a vast majority of Israelis to their past. It is no accident that these neighborhoods – The Old Jewish Quarter, Shimon HaTzaddik, Shiloach, Ir David, and more are the neighborhoods most affected by a lack of proper security.
The incoming Israeli government has a mandate to completely transform the security situation in these neighborhoods and by doing so can enable them to be put on the top of the educational agenda. Israelis of all backgrounds need to see a united Jerusalem as an integral part of their identity – Bibi’s coalition can get it done.
