Noa Landau in Haaretz: ‘Within a single day, the political axis that had shaped events in the Middle East over the past two years was thrown into disarray. In Washington, President Donald Trump's party lost both chambers of Congress to the Democrats, while in Jerusalem, the official election results confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government had lost their Knesset majority.’

And: ‘Most American Jews continued to favor the Democrats, even as they became more critical than ever of Israeli policy. This is hardly surprising, given that Jews themselves have grown increasingly critical of it themselves.’

Also: ‘After all, when it comes to countering the enormous global backlash against Israeli policy, having Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi in the government is far more beneficial than having one more Bibi.’

It’s cynical, admits Noa Landau, but Arab ‘whitewashing’ or ‘left-wing hasbara’ is preferable to more Bibi.

(a sf 2281)