Israel Calls New Elections On November 1st

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel’s Knesset formally dispersed Thursday morning and new elections were called for November 1st, which falls on the 7th of Marcheshvan. The opposition parties including the chareidi representatives were  endeavoring to make the election a week earlier as Rabbi Gershon Edelstein had requested that they not be during the zman [semester] of the yeshivos, but the coalition together with the Joint Arab List succeeded in promoting the later date.

Prime Minister Bennett announced Wednesday evening that he would not be running for the next Knesset. “It is now time for me to step back a bit and look at things from outside,” Bennett said in his farewell speech after serving the shortest term as prime minister in Israel’s history. Bennett thanked his political allies who “stood with me even when things were difficult” and announced that Ayelet Shaked had taken over the leadership of the Yamina party.

A poll Wednesday predicted that Shaked could receive 5 mandates for the Yamina party, which would be enough to assist the right-wing in passing 61 mandates in the next Knesset. Shaked has declared that she is willing to serve in a government led by Binyamin Netanyahu.

Bennett said that he intended to assist Yair Lapid in his role as prime minister and would continue to serve as alternative prime minister until the elections. He added that although he will not run for election, “I will stay a faithful soldier of this country. The state of Israel is the love of my life. To serve this country is my destiny.”

Yair Lapid is set to become caretaker prime minister until the coming elections. He will be prime minister until a new government is formed after the elections, a process which could see him serving until the end of the year as prime minister.