American Jewish groups congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday on the Likud’s victory in Tuesday’s Knesset elections, expressing hope that the Israeli leader would work to resolve the nation’s burning issues, and bettering the welfare and security of Jews residing within the country and abroad.
“Israel is one of the world’s great democracies and once again, its people have shown this through a free and open democratic election,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated his tremendous leadership abilities over the years along with his incredible dedication to the Jewish state of Israel,” Lauder added.
“At a time that has seen a dangerous increase in anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world, the next few years will be a challenge for Jews everywhere, and I look forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu to make the world a safer place for all people.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition chose to focus on Netanyahu’s vehement opposition to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and assessed that the Israeli public had expressed its trust in the prime minister.
“Given the consequential issues facing the voters of Israel, such as a nuclear Iran and Israel’s security in a troubled region, they chose Netanyahu to lead them forward despite some international opposition,” a statement released by the group read. “The RJC looks forward to continuing its work to enhance and strengthen American-Israeli relations.”
The Anti-Defamation League also extended its congratulations to Netanyahu and the Likud party for their strong showing.
“With the highest turnout in 15 years for national elections, the people of Israel selected their parliamentary representation for the next four years,” the anti-Semitism watchdog said. “The proud demonstration of Israel’s open and vibrant democracy over the more than 67 years since its founding stands in stark contrast to every other country in the Middle East.
“Now the work of forming a governing coalition begins. We wish Israel’s leaders success in establishing a new government that will be able to effectively address the many domestic and security issues facing Israel.”
On the other end of the political spectrum, the liberal Jewish lobby J Street expressed disappointment over Netanyahu’s victory, blasting his pre-election renunciation of the two-state solution and resort to a campaign grounded in “fear and tinged with racism.”
The statement also claimed Netanyahu did not win a broad mandate to lead.
“The policies that the prime minister articulated in order to win — outright rejection of the two-state solution and territorial compromise — should and will be rejected by the international community, including the United States,” the group wrote in a statement.
“Sadly, the results of this election will only deepen Israel’s growing isolation,” the statement said.
With over 99 percent of the votes counted by early Wednesday morning, the Likud party appeared set to win a resounding victory with 30 seats compared to 24 for Zionist Union. Next came the Joint (Arab) List with 14 seats, Yesh Atid with 11, Kulanu with 10 and Jewish Home with 8. They were followed by Shas, 7, United Torah Judaism with 6, Yisrael Beytenu with 6 and Meretz with 4 seats.
Votes from military bases and hospitals have yet to be counted, but likely won’t change the math significantly.
The Likud party said in a statement on Wednesday morning that Netanyahu had called the Jewish Home’s Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman, Kulanu’s Moshe Kahlon, Shas’s Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism’s Yaakov Litzman.
Based on the current count, a coalition between these parties would be 67 seats strong.
Netanyahu said he hopes to form a coalition “within two to three weeks,” a party statement said.