Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) talks with representatives from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu Party in Jerusalem Jan. 30, 2013. [Xinhua Photo]

With his party winning the largest number of seats in the 19th Knesset election, Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be appointed as Israeli Prime Minister for a third term. However, despite his victory, the election also indicated that his personal political attraction and the philosophy that the Likud has long cherished are gradually losing shine.

The success of Benjamin Netanyahu as the first Israeli Prime Minister born after the founding of modern Israel state can be attributed to many reasons, among which the tactic of taking advantage of the country's national security situation is most critical to achieving his current political status.

Occasional pogroms and persecutions in the 2000 years of Jewish history have created a special sensitivity to collective security in the minds of Jews. Decades of struggle for survival in a hostile environment since the creation of the State of Israel have further enhanced such sensitivities. This "victims' mentality", as scholars call it, is reasonable in many cases, but often it leads to an overestimation of external threats.

However, today the security environment in Israel is no longer what it used to be sixty years ago, when neighboring Arab countries intended to destroy the newly independent state shortly after its birth. In today's world, the legality of Israel as a modern state has been recognized by the UN as well as all major powers across the world, despite frequent criticisms of Israel's violent retaliations against the Palestinians. The U.S., the world's only remaining superpower, in particular is committed to protect Israel's security.

What's more, Israel has built the most capable modern defense forces in the Middle East, and is the only state that has nuclear deterrence in the region. Neither the Arabs nor Persians are qualified rivalries that can pose a substantial challenge to its military power.

Proper assessment of the security situation and confidence about security issues should reasonably benefit Israel as a nation and facilitate benign interactions between Israel and its neighbors. Unfortunately, Israeli politicians including Benjamin Netanyahu are still using the security issue as instruments to seek personal or factional political profit.

It is true that the security issue did and does sell well to the Israeli people. A Palestinian suicide bombing shortly before the 1996 election pushed Israeli voters to choose hawkish Netanyahu instead of Shimon Peres, the then incumbent Labor moderate prime minister. The majority of Israeli voters believed that only Likud's hard line policies could protect their security. Also, targeting the threat of Iran led Netanyahu to victory during the elections of 2009 and 2013.

However, the recent election result also pointed to the gradual decline of the ability of the security issue to influence Israeli politics. In 2009, Netanyahu finally was authorized to form a cabinet since Likud was most likely able to form a rightist one. But his Likud party only got 27 seats while Kadima, a central rightist party, got 28.

The 2013 election further weakened Likud's standing. Though Netanyahu secured his position, the combined ticket of the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu is a sharp decline from the 42 seats held by the two parties in the outgoing 120-member legislature. Realizing that it might lose its number one place, Likud led by Netanyahu decided to form an election coalition with Yisrael Beiteinu, another rightist party, shortly before the election.

This ballot actually signifies a gradual but fundamental change of Israel's political psyche. That is, the dominance of the security issue is fading away in Israel's domestic politics. More and more Israelis have realized that security is not the only critical issue the country faces.

Moderate politicians have even strongly criticized Netanyahu for abusing the country's defense budget. For instance, Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused Netanyahu on January 11 of spending billions of shekels on unnecessary defense projects related to Iran. In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 News, Olmert said that the current prime minister "wasted" NIS 11 billion on "harebrained adventures that haven't, and won't, come to fruition".

In contrast, social equity and people's livelihoods have become more prominent concerns in the latest election. The Yesh Atid, or "There is a Future" party, led by Yair Lapid, a former television news anchor, though a rather new party, won second place in the election with 19 seats. Analysts believe that Lapid ran the right election campaign. He based his campaign on easing the burden on a struggling middle class, which resonated with many secular Israelis.

All in all, the 19th election demonstrates Israel's change from a state overemphasizing its security issue to an ordinary state. Its voters will pay more and more attention to domestic issues including social equity and economic welfare in the future. Nevertheless, given Israel's unique geopolitical position, security will still be relevant.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/jinliangxiang.htm

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