Vote!

Rabbi Portnoy came into the office beaming with pride today. She had just seen a photograph of her son voting in today's Israeli elections. After all these years of listening to American Jews opine on Israeli politics, she felt a deep, even if vicarious, sense of involvement and "naches." Her son had told her not to be overly swayed by all the pre-election coverage that augured a strong rightward shift in the Israeli electorate. Watch the votes for Yeish Atid (headed by Yair Lapid) and Yisrael Beiteinu (headed by Avigdor Lieberman). Their split will be the most telling.

Well the polls have closed in Israel and Lapid's party is the big, surprise winner between the two. Netanyahu and Likud have been re-elected to the Prime Minister's office but the rightward lurch has not materialized. Among the breaking stories by Haaretz is this one about Lieberman's conspicuous absence from public view and this one about Lapid's success.