From High Hopes To ”Disaster” For New Star Of Israeli Far-Right
WEDNESDAY, 23 JANUARY 2013 10:32
RAMAT GAN, Israel, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Young religious Israelis danced under showers of confetti after exit polls showed the far-right Jewish Home party winning more seats in parliament, but their leader, high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, had little to smile about.
“This is a disaster,” one party activist told another as they gathered on the sidelines of the celebrations to reflect on a disappointing outcome to an election campaign in which the charismatic Bennet and his calls to annex West Bank land had generated worldwide headlines and hopes of greater power.
The star in the end turned out to be the centrist Yair Lapid, whose new Yesh Atid party finished a surprise second.
It wasn't all bad news for the party's leader, whose American-accented English invites comparisons with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fluency in the language.
Bennett, the Israeli-born son of American immigrants, is a religious Jew and former settler leader. With a projected 12 seats in the 120-member parliament, he is also a likely partner in a Netanyahu-led coalition government.
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http://www.sundaytimes.lk/world-news/29356-from-high-hopes-to-disaster-for-new-star-of-israeli-far-right.html
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