JERUSALEM (AP) — Peacemaking with the Palestinians, once the main issue by far in Israeli politics, has been strikingly absent from the campaign for next month’s general election. After years of public frustration with failed peace efforts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s badly divided challengers are trying instead to tap the economic angst of the middle class and a widespread resentment of perks enjoyed by fervently devout Jews.
Shelly Yachimovich, the ex-journalist leader of the Labor Party, traditionally the main grouping on the center-left, has appeared especially determined to ignore the Palestinian issue in favor of socialist-tinged economic proposals — and she has started to draw fire from her allies as polls show Netanyahu and his allies maintaining a significant lead.
