So, in keeping with the old tradition I am posting an Israeli elections guide for this year, to give those interested an "inside" look in order to counterbalance the sheer amount of nonsense being published by the "outside" media.
Main election themes:
This year's elections are focused on three main subjects, more or less in the following order of importance:
1- Binyamin Netanyahu's performance as Prime Minister over the last 6 years
2- Cost of living
3- Security
1- The main subject of elections for most parties - and people - seems to be whether or not "Bibi has to go home". That appears to arise from the fact that Netanyahu has been in the picture for so long (he is actually the second longest-serving head of state in the history of Israel after David Ben-Gurion) that at this point all the flaws of the Israeli governing system, economy and society in general are - rightfully or otherwise - perceived as his fault at least to some degree. Most of the campaigns run by the center-left (and the foreign-funded "non-partisan" groups) are either straightforward attacks on Netanyahu personally or somewhat more euphemistic but transparent calls for a "change" (the Hebrew word being used suggests replacing something rather than changing a quality of something).
2 - In recent years, the main complaint of the Israeli public has become the "cost of living". Every few months there is a major scandal when one newspaper or another publishes comparison of food prices between US, Europe and Israel, usually showing Israeli food as being several times more expensive. Another common complaint is housing costs; renting or buying an apartment in Israel is expensive even by middle class standards.
3 - Security is a perpetual concern in Israel, for obvious reasons. Recent developments such Hamas' tunneling under the Gaza border and the gains of Islamic State on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights worry a lot of people. Many have been left disgruntled at Gaza war's premature ending and limited gains, and that's going to drive their vote.
The Likud Civil War
One interesting factor, almost completely ignored by the foreign media, is that these elections's main figures are almost all present or past Likud members. That includes Tzipi Livni, Moshe Kahlon, Avigdor Lieberman,Naftali Bennett and, last but not least, Reuven Rivlin - the President of Israel who will decide whom to award the right to form governing coalition. Many of them have left the Likud either after the split initiated by Ariel Sharon or due to a feud with Netanyahu.
Parties:
The Israeli electoral map is always dynamic. Some of the old parties stay around, some new ones get formed, some fuse together and some disintegrate. This year has seen some most interesting changes yet. Most significantly, the electoral barrier (number of votes necessary for a party to make it into the Knesset) has been raised to 3.25%.
Likud - The center-right governing party to which Benyamin Netanyahu belongs. Weakened by past splintering, it lost much of its core support over the last few years. The Likud as a party is not terribly popular at present - but Netanyahu, its leader, is widely seen as the most capable Prime Minister candidate on offer, even if largely due to lack of viable alternatives. The Likid's campaigning focuses mainly on contrasting Netanyahu's reputation with the lack of experience of his main rival, Isaac Herzog, and the disastrous record of Herzog's partner, Tzipi Livni. The Likid was up until recently running a head-to-head race with Labor as far as expected number of seats, but they lose a lot of votes to the two rising stars of Israeli politics - Jewish Home's Naftali Bennet and Kulanu's Moshe Kahlon. Netanyahu has also worsened his party's standing by heavy-handed interference into the process of apppointing the jury of the Israel Prize in literature, which led to the cancellation of the Israel Prize this year as all judges pulled out. (Another high-impact event that had no mentions whatsoever in foreign press). In the last poll, Likud was expected to receive 21 seats in the Knesset. (Hard to tell if it's more or fewer than before as the Likud ran in 2013 together with Lieberman's Israel Our Home).
Zionist Camp- An awkwardly branded merger of Labor and Hatnua parties, currently under leadership of Isaac Herzog. Outside of Labor's inner circle Herzog is largely an unknown quantity and his record is meager. He lacks a personal charisma to the point that he felt compelled to ask voters to not dismiss him just because of his shrill voice, and his photos for elections campaign were airbrushed to make him appear older than he really is. For elections Herzog has partnered with Tzipi Livni who, scarcely worth any votes herself at this point, provides him with the backing of someone with actual experience in political affairs. Should Zionist Camp win the elections, Herzog and Livni are expected to rotate as Prime Ministers after 2 years. Zionist Camp is running an aggressive negative campaign against Netanyahu for his handling of economy, diplomacy and relationship with Barack Obama. The attacks are backed up by unrealistically grand promises of social and economic change (one of the Labor posters I've seen said "Zero poor elderly citizens in one year - or him!"). Occasionally, Herzog injects into this mix mentions of "the need to restart the diplomatic process", which is the most mention that the "Palestinian issue" gets in these elections outside of the Arab parties and Meretz. In the last poll, Zionist Camp was expected to win 25 seats. (A considerable gain from 17 in 203)
Jewish Home - Progeny of the National-Religious Party (MAFDAL), Jewish Home is the party representing secular and modern Orthodox right-wingers. Its leader, Naftali Bennett, is perhaps the most interesting personality on the Israeli political scene right now. A son of American immigrants, Bennett's is a veteran of an elite combat unit and a self-made multi-millionaire who founded and managed several successful start-ups. He is known as an extremely effective speaker in both Hebrew and English; his aggressive, unapologetic style and sharp-witted rebuttals to both foreign reporters and Israeli political rivals earned him considerable popularity. Bennett is a straightforward opponent of the Palestinian state who believes that the conflict cannot be resolved and Israel should learn to live with the perpetual Palestinian hostility ("I have a friend who's got shrapnel in his butt, and he's been told that it can be removed surgically but it would leave him disabled... So he decided to live with it. There are situations where insisting on perfection can lead to more trouble than it's worth."). He is a believer in a free capitalist economy and an implacable foe of monopolies, both government and of the tycoons. As an Economy Minister, Bennett pushed for a "pivot" from reliance on Europe as Israel's primary export market to greater ties with China and India. Bennett is also credited with implementing reforms to lower Israeli food prices and with helping decrease unemployment among Arab women. On the flip side, Bennett is opposed to same-sex marriage and generally avoids having to deal with the issue of homosexuality in any way. By the polls, Jewish Home is expected to win 11 seats, one less than they currently hold (although I think their performance is being underestimated). Bennett's slogan is "Let's stop apologizing".
Yesh Atid - Surprise success of 2013, the single-issue party founded by famous TV host Yair Lapid and brought to power by grand promises of lowering the cost of living and helping the middle class. Having gotten the Finance Minister portfolio he wanted, Lapid was forced to implement harsh austerity measures. He turned out to be a pretty good Finance minister and successfully reduced government deficit by half in two years, but his crowning achievement - law that would free first-time apartment buyers from paying the value-added tax - never materialized. Yesh Atid is expected to fall to 13 seats from the 19 they currently hold.
Israel Our Home - The secular right-wing party led by Avigdor Lieberman has split from the Likud yet again due to disagreement of how last year's war should have been handled. Lieberman has been completely eclipsed in his role as right-wing alternative to Netanyahu by the younger, more dynamic, better spoken Naftali Bennett, and his party's popularity has been decimated. Polls promise Lieberman only 4 Knesset seats, which means that if he falls any lower he might not enter the Knesset at all.
United Arab List - The higher electoral threshhold forced Israel's Arab parties to unite in an awkward alliance of Communists, Islamists and Palestinian nationalists. The nominal leader is Ayman Odeh - a softly spoken man who talks on TV about integration and Arab rights but finds himself unable to repudiate the odious pro-terrorist views of his political bedfellows. The party does not appear to have much of a coherent agenda other than scaring their voters with caricatures of Lieberman and Bennett. They do not intend to be part of even the most left-wing government and refused to sign a vote-sharing agreement with the far-left Meretz.
Kulanu - A new player in the field, Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu was formed only in November but is already running strong. Kulanu is a single-issue party similar to Yesh Atid, focusing on cost-of-living issues. Kahlon is tremendously popular as the man behind the wireless communications market reform that sharply brought down the mobile phone prices. He also authored a bill that reduced electricity prices for the poor, and fought a long (and unsuccessful) war to lower the bank fees. Kahlon's party has managed to attract popular personalities such as famous historian and former Israeli ambassador to the USA Michael Oren, Major General Yoav Galant and women's rights activist Rachel Azaria. Kulanu is predicted to receive 10 seats.
United Torah Judaism - The party representing Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox Jews, an inevitable presence on the popitical spectrum with utterly predictable agenda and results. They are expected to get 6 seats, down from 7 they currently hold.
Shas - Once the kingmaker who made or broke governing coalitions, the party representing Sephardic-origin ultra-Orthodox and poor has been steadily losing ground as mixed Ashkenazi-Sephardi marriages predominate and the sub-ethnic background of Israelis is becoming hard to pinpoint. The party was further damaged by the death of its spiritual leader, Ovadia Yosef, and the fierce war for leadership that followed. The party's legendary leader, Arye Deri, is out of prison (taking bribes while serving as an Interior minister) and in charge again. He added his mother's maiden name, Mahlouf, to his last name in order for it to sound more "Moroccan". Meanwhile, Eli Yishay, who led Shas during Deri's jail term has split from the party and founded a rival party called Yachad. To top it all, a movement of ultra-Orthodox women arouse within Shas threatening to boycott the elections if women are not represented on the ballot. Shas is expected to end up with 7 seats, down from 11 right now.
Yachad - The splinter group from Shas headed by Eli Yishay competes with Shas for the Sephardic religious vote. It is expected to receive 5 seats.
Meretz - The far-Left party that's all about peace now at all costs, dismantling settlements, minority rights and social justice. Despite attempts to ride the wave of popular cost-of-living tent protests (the forerunners of the Occupy movement), Meretz is expected to fall from 6 to 5 seats.
To be continued...