The 99 Day Blog – Day 1

Today is the first and last day of the Knesset’s winter session, also marking the last day of Israel’s 18th Knesset.

At 4pm, the session will begin with ceremonial addresses by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz. After several other speeches and proceeds, the Knesset will vote to dissolve itself and set a date for elections.

This is a lengthy, three-part legislative process condensed into one afternoon/evening (and possibly go on into the night).

If this sort of thing excites you, watch it live on Israel’s channel 99, our government-funded version of C-Span.

If there are no surprises, the elections will be set, before the day is out, for Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

That’s in 99 days.

This will dictate not only the makeup of Israel’s 19th parliament but most probably our next government and prime minister. More broadly — as analysts like to say around every single election — these elections are dramatic (“most dramatic ever”) and can determine our nation’s fate. In fact, while I dislike Israelis’ tendency to overstate our tiny country’s importance, the person we elect Prime Minister will most certainly make decisions that affect the Middle East and the world. At least to some extent.

I have therefore decided to dedicate this blog to monitoring news and analysis about the Israeli elections. I will not post daily, nor will I post everything that’s out there.

Instead, expect lots of links – random selections of strong and relevant news and analysis pieces, sometimes accompanied with some of my own musing.

Posting a link or quote from an election-related article does not mean I endorse it. It certainly does not mean that The David Project endorses it. It only means it is a worthwhile opinion to consider. It means it sheds some light on the complex Israeli elections and political system. Ultimately, that’s my humble aspiration here over the next 99 days.

Stay tuned.