 It's tempting to say about an election in any country that this is the election that really matters, that this time, the results will determine the fabric of society for generations to come. In Israel, after the second election of 2019, that's not bombast. Had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu achieved the solid victory that he sought when he had the Knesset dissolve itself almost immediately after a hair-thin victory in April, Israel could have become a different country. He had promised to annex portions of the West Bank — first the Jordan River valley, which would remain under Israeli control under any prime minister, but other places as well — which would erode any hope of an accommodation with Palestinians. He's likely to be indicted for corruption, and had thus pledged to have the Knesset give him immunity from prosecution. Since it's almost a foregone conclusion that the Supreme Court would invalidate such an action, he and his colleagues were openly discussing making the court subservient to the Knesset, essentially ending judicial review in Israel. Netanyahu, though, is a charismatic personality and political genius, and he has long had a spellbinding hold on the Israeli electorate. Most Israelis understood at least some of the dangers he represented, but they also knew that though he is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, he has almost never taken his country to war. Many Israelis, Netanyahu was sure, would hold their noses and vote for him again, because Israelis vote security first and economics second. But it seems that Netanyahu didn't pull it off. The Kahanist party he essentially endorsed did not get enough votes to win seats in the Knesset, where they might have given Netanyahu the support he needed to form a government. Read the whole thing. Yes, Iran Was Behind the Saudi Oil Attack. Now What? – Eli Lake Trump Is Cornered by the Saudi Drone Attacks – Timothy L. O'Brien Obstruction of Congress, Live on TV – Jonathan Bernstein Bad News for Three Democratic Candidates – Jonathan Bernstein India Is Dangerously Close to Becoming an Also-Ran – Mihir Sharma Saudi Arabia Drone Attack Is a Strike at Oil's Future – Liam Denning A Decline in RV Sales Is Bad News for Trump – Justin Fox Mike Pompeo Just Ended Any Hopes for Iranian Oil – Julian Lee What's Worse Than Corrupt Billionaires? Socialism – Shuli Ren This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the 10 most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week, based on web readership. | 
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