Shalom,

Nine days before the end of the period she had been allotted to form a new government, Tzipi Livni notified President Shimon Peres that she had not succeeded in this task and it was time to hold new elections.

Over the past 40 days, Livni negotiated with several parties in the Knesset, but could not build the firm majority she needed to form a ruling coalition. The main difficulty was with the religious parties, which demanded she reinstate monthly allowances for children. Livni said this would cost far too much and would not be feasible in Israel's current economic climate.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party also insisted that the future of Jerusalem would not be included in negotiations with the Palestinians.

Yesterday, Livni met with Peres and said the Israeli public is fed up with petty politics, that it wants stability, and that she is not willing to mortgage the economic and political future of the country. Thus, Israel will enter the process of elections, unwillingly, and at a very bad time. The elections will most likely be held on February 17, 2009.

The polls predict a close race between Livni and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, while Labor, Shas and Avigdor Lieberman's extreme right-wing party are expected to lag behind. However, all this is mere speculation.

Israel will now spend hundreds of millions -- perhaps over a billion -- Shekels on elections that will take place two years before they were scheduled, in order to choose a new prime minister and government. Some think the price is too high, while others believe this is the price of democracy.

In the meantime, Israel does have a government, headed by Ehud Olmert, and he will now remain in that position until the elections have been held and a new government has been established. 

B'Shalom,

Nachman Shai
Senior Vice President, UJC
Director-General, External Relations, UJC Israel