- Title: ISRAEL-ELECTION/HERZOG-HOLY SITE Israel's Herzog campaigns at Jerusalem holy site
- Date: 15th March 2015
- Summary: JERUSALEM (MARCH 15, 2015) (REUTERS) MAN PRAYING IN FRONT OF JEWISH WESTERN WALL WITH MUSLIM DOME OF THE ROCK IN THE BACKGROUND LABOR PARTY LEADER ISAAC HERZOG, CO-LEADER OF ZIONIST UNION AND PRIME MINISTER CHALLENGER ARRIVING AT SITE, SURROUNDED BY SECURITY ONLOOKERS HERZOG ARRIVING AT WESTERN WALL HERZOG READING FROM BOOK OF PRAYERS HERZOG PUTTING HIS HAND ON THE WALL WH
- Embargoed: 30th March 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jerusalem
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA7RMH6HZ13D8XYXE0HHA2TWKKD
- Story Text: Two days ahead of Israel's general election, Labor leader, prime minister challenger and co-head of centre-left Zionist Union, Isaac Herzog, took his campaign to Jerusalem's sacred Western Wall on Sunday (March 15).
Surrounded by security, Herzog made a pilgrimage to one of Judaism's holiest sites where he said a prayer and inserted a written message to God in one of the wall's crevices.
While the race remains tight before the March 17 vote, the latest surveys show Herzog's centre-left Zionist Union winning 24 or 25 seats in the 120-member Knesset, 3 or 4 seats more than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, potentially enough to form a coalition.
The grandson of of one of Israel's most respected rabbis, and the son of a former president, Herzog, 54, is about as close as it gets in Israel to a blue-blood or a national scion.
Despite that, Netanyahu initially portrayed Herzog as weak, soft on security and someone who would too readily give up land to the Palestinians. Netanyahu always refers to Herzog by his babyish nickname, "Bougie".
With a reedy voice and small stature, Herzog may appear at first to be an easy target, but he has shown resilience on the campaign trail and impressed with his sharp intellect, quick wit and an ability to engage on a wide range of issues.
While Zionist Union appears to have the momentum going into the vote, no party has ever won an outright majority in Israel's 67-year history, which means coalition formation will be key.
If Herzog and Zionist Union co-leader Hatnuah's Tzipi Livni beat Netanyahu by only two or three seats, it may still be possible for Netanyahu to cobble together a coalition, especially as there are more like-minded parties on the right and far-right with which he can form an alliance.
But if the Zionist Union wins by four or more seats, the chances of it being asked by Israel's president to form a coalition first would rise substantially.
It would then have to try to bring a disparate array of parties, including the centrist Yesh Atid, perhaps some ultra-Orthodox religious groups, a united Arab list and maybe a breakaway faction of Likud into its camp.
That is a tall order, but not impossible. The best indication that it is a growing possibility comes from Netanyahu, who has said there is a "real danger" he will lose and has urged his traditional base to turn out to vote. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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