In most democracies when opposition parties win the most votes, and secure(获得，确保) a majority in parliament, they strive(努力，力争) to form a government. In Israel, however, nothing is quite so simple. With 90% of the ballots counted on October 28th, the opposition parties were between them(合计，总共) sure to have more than half—probably 67—of the 120 seats in the Knesset(以色列议会), Israel’s parliament. In theory, therefore, the right-wing coalition led by Binyamin Netanyahu should be swept from office(被赶下台).
在多数民主国家，反对党一旦赢得最多选票并在议会中占据多数，便会努力组建政府。然而在以色列，事情远没有那么简单。截至10月28日，90%的选票已统计完毕，反对党合计肯定能拿下以色列议会120个席位中的半数以上——很可能是67席。因此，从理论上讲，由本雅明·内塔尼亚胡领导的右翼联盟应当被赶下台。
In practice, the opposition may well prove too divided to form a ruling coalition(执政联盟). Of those 67 seats, about 19 are in the hands of(掌握在……手中) parties representing Israel’s Arab minority. During the campaign, most opposition-party leaders explicitly(明确地) ruled out forming a government with them. When pressed, Gadi Eisenkot, a former general and the leader of Yashar, a centre-right party that took the second-largest share of the vote, was evasive.(当被追问时，前将军、中右翼政党“亚沙尔”领袖加迪·艾森科特闪烁其词。该党得票数位居第二。) Yet without the backing of Arab parties, he stands little chance of forming a stable government.
实际上，反对党很可能因分歧过大而无法组建执政联盟。在这67个席位中，约19席掌握在代表以色列阿拉伯少数群体的政党手中。竞选期间，多数反对党领袖明确排除了与他们联合组阁的可能性。当被追问时，前将军、中右翼政党“亚沙尔”领袖加迪·艾森科特闪烁其词。该党得票数位居第二。然而，没有阿拉伯政党的支持，他几乎不可能组建稳定的政府。
There is no fundamental justification for excluding the Arabs, who make up one-fifth of the population.(将阿拉伯人排除在外，根本站不住脚——他们占以色列人口的五分之一。) But they have long been sidelined(被边缘化). In Mr Netanyahu’s first election campaign as leader of Likud(以色列主要右翼政党利库德集团), in the 1990s, his supporters ran with the slogan: “Netanyahu. Good for the Jews.” When he triumphed, the defeated centre-left candidate, Shimon Peres, remarked that “Israelis lost” whereas “Jews won.”(他获胜后，落败的中左翼候选人希蒙·佩雷斯评论道：“以色列人输了”，而“犹太人赢了”。)
将阿拉伯人排除在外，根本站不住脚——他们占以色列人口的五分之一。但长期以来，他们一直被边缘化。20世纪90年代，内塔尼亚胡首次以利库德集团领袖身份参加竞选时，其支持者打着这样的口号：“内塔尼亚胡，对犹太人有利。”他获胜后，落败的中左翼候选人希蒙·佩雷斯评论道：“以色列人输了”，而“犹太人赢了”。