Israel at the Polls 2015

Less than two years after winning the 2013 elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to dissolve his government, paving the way for general elections. While the initial impression was that the upcoming elections were "pointless" and "unnecessary", the campaign gradually turned into a passionate and dramatic political competition, which reflected – and reenergized – the ideological, social, ethnic and cultural divides of Israeli society.

This book describes and analyses a great variety of political, sociological and cultural dimensions of the 2015 elections for the 20th Knesset. Covering issues such as voters’ behaviour, coalition formation, figures of leadership, political identities, political communication and persuasion, this rich collection of essays offers a unique and comprehensive perspective on Israeli political culture in general, and on the Israeli society in the midst of the 2015 elections in particular. It also offers theoretical insight to anyone interested in parliamentary politics and party systems in general.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Israel Affairs.

Eithan Orkibi is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ariel University, Israel, and a member of the ADARR (Analysis of Discourse, Argumentation and Rhetoric) research group, Tel Aviv.

Manfred Gerstenfeld is Emeritus Chairman of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and has published numerous books on political, environmental, economic, and Jewish issues.