Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government lost a no-confidence vote this week and then continued about its business.
Monday’s vote in the Knesset underscored how the government has been strengthened by Israel’s new electoral law.
The outcome of the vote, submitted in response to the government’s economic policies, was 45-43 against the government.
Under the law on direct election of the prime minister, a majority of 61 is needed to bring down the government.
Before the law went into effect for the May elections, a simple majority voicing no confidence in the government would have caused it to collapse.
The oppostion claimed a moral victory and called the outcome a “birthday gift” for Netanyahu, who on Monday was celebrating his 47th birthday.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
