Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on March 5, 2015

JAFFA, Israel Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress has already beendubbedthe best election ad ever. At nearly an hour long it's certainly one of the longest ones, and considering the damage it may have done to Israel's standing in the US it's probably the most expensive one ever made.

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But the Israel election season, now in its last two weeks, has been throwing up videos that can give any speech a run for its money and make any PR adviser run for their lives.

Although there are dozens of parties running, only 11 are expected to pass the electoral threshold and enter parliament. And of those 11, only one can form a coalition government.Although Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his main contenders, the Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog, are polling neck in neck, Netanyahu is likely to remain prime minister, as he counts many more natural allies among the parties than his rival. In fact, as theMarch 17elections draw near, there are rumors that he might invite Herzog into the coalition, along with his more usual right-wing allies. This would give him a moderate gloss and badly damage his opponent's credentials in any future election.

Here's your guide to this election cycle's ridiculous campaign ads:

Netnayahu's former ambassador to the US, Michael Oren is running with a centrist party againstthe prime minister, and in that capacity he's busily criticizing his old boss. Although he's from upstate New York and a dead ringer for a villain on Power Rangers, Oren is going for Frank Underwood, with a particularly paint-stripping attempt at a Southern accent. Welcome to the new season of House of Caaaaaaa (just wait for it...):

Israel's leftmost Zionist party, Meretz, has a problem: although it's championing progressive policies, it's seen as aloof and elitist, a natural home for Israel's Ashkenazi (European-Jewish) elites. Thinly veiled insults in the direction of Mizrahi (Arab-Jewish) culture in previous campaigns didn't help. In these elections, Meretz decided to kick off their campaign with an ad shot as a generic Mizrahi wedding. The result looks like something from Dear White People:

Netanyahu's main challenger, Isaac Herzog, also has a problem: an impressive absence of charisma, compounded by an insufferable voice. Here's how he sounded while trying to challenge Netanyahu to a televised debate. The general line: "are you afraid of me, Bibi? I just wanna talk!"

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Israel's campaign season has been ridiculous here are the election ads to prove it

Category: Ashkenazi
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