纽约时报 以色列选举投票结束 内塔尼亚胡险胜(4)（在线收听）

Despite the broad margin of support for a Netanyahu government,

尽管民众中让内塔尼亚胡组建政府的呼声遥遥领先，

coalition negotiations may still prove difficult,

联合谈判可能依然困难重重，

with several small parties acting as kingmakers and Mr. Netanyahu vulnerable to political extortion.

因为几个小党派发挥着决定性的作用，而内塔尼亚胡又很容易被政治敲诈牵制。

“The question is whether people will climb down from their trees or not,”

“问题是人们是否愿意松口。”

said Abraham Diskin, a professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,

针对某些政党领导人作为加入联合谈判的筹码而提出的高额要求和条件，

referring to the lofty demands and conditions some party leaders have already placed on entering a coalition.

耶路撒冷希伯来大学政治学荣誉退休教授亚伯拉罕·迪斯金说道。

Mr. Gantz and his allies in the Blue and White alliance

甘茨和蓝白联盟中的盟友纷纷保证，

have pledged not to join a government with a prime minister facing indictment.

他们不会加入一个总理面临着指控的政府。

Like most Israeli election campaigns, this one ripped open the fissures in Israeli society.

和以色列大部分竞选活动一样，这次的选举也再次撕开了以色列社会的裂痕。

With Mr. Netanyahu facing indictment and battling for his political survival against Mr. Gantz, the most credible challenger in a decade,

内塔尼亚胡一方面面临起诉，一方面还要与甘茨——近十年来实力最强的挑战者——争夺政治生机，

many Israelis said it was the nastiest and most divisive race they could recall.

面临这样的形势，许多以色列人都说，这是他们印象中最棘手也最分裂的一次竞选。

With three former army chiefs in Blue and White’s top four slots,

由于蓝白阵营前四把交椅有三把都被前军队参谋长占据了，

Mr. Netanyahu was unable to rely on his usual politics of fear,

内塔尼亚胡惯用的恐惧术已经靠不住了，

presenting himself as the only candidate able to provide Israelis with security.

他也无法再自称是唯一能够为以色列人提供安全保障的候选人了。

Instead, his campaign focused largely on perceived enemies within.

于是，他将这次的竞争重点放在了他所感觉到的内部敌人身上。

Mr. Netanyahu fanned the flames of anti-Arab sentiment,

于是，他一方面煽动民众的反阿拉伯情绪，

warning Israelis that Mr. Gantz would “hand over parts of the homeland to the Arabs.”

警告以色列民众甘茨会把“把部分国土交给阿拉伯人”，

He also joined forces with a racist faction, one of whose members was ultimately barred from running in the election by the Supreme Court.

一方面和一个有成员被最高法院禁止参加选举的种族主义派别联手。

On Election Day, Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud acknowledged

在选举日当天，内塔尼亚胡的利库德集团承认，

sending more than 1,000 activists with cameras into polling places in Arab towns

他们派了1000多名活动人士带着摄像机进入阿拉伯城镇的投票站，

in what they said was an effort to capture evidence of any irregularities,

还说这是为了收集任何违规行为的证据，

but Arab leaders called it a blatant attempt at voter intimidation.

但阿拉伯领导人称这是公然恐吓选民的举动。

The dwindling left, for its part, accused Blue and White of being right-wing,

势力越来越小的左派则指责蓝白党变成右翼了，

saying that it was conspiring to join a Netanyahu government.

还说他们在密谋加入内塔尼亚胡的政府。

Mr. Netanyahu tried to cast the race as one between an experienced world leader and an unproven political novice.

内塔尼亚胡试图将这场竞选塑造成一位经验丰富的世界领袖和一位未经证明的政治新手之间的一次较量。

His party raised questions about Mr. Gantz’s sexual propriety,

他的政党还对甘茨在性行为方面是否检点，

his vulnerability to extortion by the Iranians after his cellphone was apparently breached,

甘茨手机被入侵后容易受到伊朗人勒索这一点，

and even his mental stability.

以及他的精神是否稳定等诸多问题提出了质疑。

Mr. Gantz’s party said it wanted to put Israel back on course.

甘茨的政党则表示，他们希望让以色列回到正轨。

It fought Mr. Netanyahu’s polarization with promises of restoring a sense of unity, decency and democratic values.

他们选择的是靠恢复团结、正直和民主价值观等承诺对抗内塔尼亚胡的极端化。

The fate of smaller parties at both ends of the spectrum was unclear and could still prove significant.

夹在双方之间的较小党派的命运尚不明朗，但仍可能发挥重大作用。

“It’s been a long night,” Mr. Netanyahu said at his post-midnight rally.“

这是一个漫长的夜晚，”内塔尼亚胡在午夜后的游说集会上说。

“And it will be a long day waiting for the true results.”

“接下来等待最后结果的一天也将是漫长的一天。”