# Has Something Happened in Israel Lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 8, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610 "2011-02-08T02:43:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/61 "2011-02-10T20:07:06Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > I > And now, for some of them facts – Right-wing parties in 2009 elections: Likud 9%, Shas 16% and Yisrael Beiteinu 9%. The differences are in name only. > > That`s 34% – one third. > > Therefore, right-wing government. I can’t imagine you’re unaware of this, but just in case, you do realize you just massively shifted the goalposts from “religious right-wing” (i.e, the entire subject of your initial post: religious Israel’s hypocrisy in being concerned that Egypt might become a theocracy) to “right-wing” in general? Also, anyone who says the differences between Likud and Shas are “in name only” lacks even a Cliff’s note version of a Wikipedia-level understanding of Israeli politics. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/62 "2011-02-10T21:22:33Z")
Stop confusing the issue with _facts_! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/63 "2011-02-10T21:28:16Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > That`s 34% – one third. > > Therefore, right-wing government. How’s that work? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/64 "2011-02-10T21:28:33Z")
When running for office in 2003, Ariel Sharon was asked whether he believed in God. His answer? “None of your business”. Hell of a religious right. Let’s see a Republican U.S. presidential candidate get away with that kind of response; hell, let’s see a _Democrat_. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/65 "2011-02-10T22:04:31Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > And now, for some of them facts – Right-wing parties in 2009 elections: Likud 9%, Shas 16% and Yisrael Beiteinu 9%. The differences are in name only. > > That`s 34% – one third. > > Therefore, right-wing government. Dude, I nearly pissed myself laughing at this. That post is how you defend your claim that Israel is: > [@](#): > > **newcomer** > a country where extreme religious right holds the power Ok, first of all, as others have pointed out, anyone who claims of Yisrael Beiteinu “the differences are in name only” knows nothing about Israel. It’s like claiming there’s no difference between Ayn Rand and Pat Robertson. Yisrael Beiteinu is extremely hostile to the idea of religious influence in Israel. Amongst other things they’ve campaigned hard for Civil marriage and argued strongly against exempting Yeshiva students from military service. In fact, at least one of Yisrael Beiteinu’s MKs(Members of the Israeli Parliament) isn’t even Jewish but is actually a Druze. That certainly isn’t something that Shas would ever agree to. One other thing. Where did you get those figures from? You think that in the 2009 elections Shas got 16% of the vote while Likud only got 9% and Yisrael Beiteinu also only got 9%? Where did you hear that? In the actual elections, Likud got roughly 22% of the vote, Yisrael Beiteinu got 12% and Shas got about 8%. [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Historic+Events/Elections\_in\_Israel\_February\_2009.htm](http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Historic+Events/Elections_in_Israel_February_2009.htm) Dude, you need to get better sources for your information. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610/66 "2011-02-10T22:25:23Z")
I’d also note, newcomer, if you’re actually against the power that the religious right wields in Israel, since they swing their votes in a block and often make or break coalitions, do something about it. Both ARZA in the US and IRAC in Israel both fight for religious pluralism in Israeli politics. I’ve contributed man-hours to the former, have you contributed anything but words on an anonymous message board to actually breaking up the religious influence on Israeli politics? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-something-happened-in-israel-lately/570610.md?page=3)