Israel

Command of Arabic can be an advantage when enlisting in the IDF, increasing students' chances of being selected for the military's Intelligence Unit's language track upon enlistment.

With Blue and White's Benny Gantz focusing his attacks mainly on Ehud Barak, who will remember that he promised not to join a Netanyahu government? And when Netanyahu designates Shaked, Bennett and Smotrich enemies of the Right, who could blame him for leaving them out of the coalition to join forces with Peretz instead?

The Yisrael Beytenu leader sends different messages depending on whether he is speaking Russian, Hebrew, or "Rightish." Don't be surprised if after the election he rushes to join a government made up of the Left and the haredim.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz's professed agreement to a potential leadership rotation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done voters a favor.

Bezalel Smotrich decries "baseless hate" after Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Lieberman declares United Right will not be part of the next coalition government.

Given how crafty Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman is, the Right is facing an uphill battle if it wants to stop him from plunging Israeli politics into utter disorder.

Despite Netanyahu's troubles, polls show that most Israelis still consider him the top candidate for prime minister. His opponents remember that he used his political skills to overcome hopeless situations before.

Former PM Ehud Barak cannot forgive Netanyahu for being a better leader than he was. Barak is obsessed with exacting revenge on Netanyahu, whose successes highlight Barak's failures.

Itamar Ben-Gvir's far-right Otzma Yehudit party declares merger negotiations with United Right a "failure." Moshe Feiglin's Zehut party has also decided to run independently rather than merge with United Right.

The Left has made sure all of its small parties pass the electoral threshold. The Right has to close its ranks right away if it wants to avoid losing critical votes and remain in power.