ABSTRACT
The social protest underlies the "new politics" promised in the 2013 elections. This chapter offers an in-depth analysis of the 2013 elections from various perspectives, while presenting an up-to-date and complex picture of Israeli democracy, including its challenges, achievements, and failures. The aftermath of the election reflects a decline of Likud and the right, a result not expected during the campaign period, when it had seemed that the agenda of the right was gaining force. Dissatisfaction with the way representative democracy functions and declining public confidence in politics and politicians is not a new phenomenon in Israel, as in other Western democracies. The old politics still predominate—not only in terms of content, but also in terms of political culture. The process of forming the coalition was entirely "old politics," and anyone following Israeli politics since the election can find countless expressions of the old politics.
