Former UN ambassador Danny Danon explains the stakes of Israel's 5th election in 4 years

Israelis are heading to the polls on Nov. 1 for the fifth time in four years. And while former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes this will mark his political comeback with a coalition comprising several far-right and extremist religious parties, his main opponent, Yair Lapid, is looking to capitalize on Netanyahu's criminal indictments and secure another term in office.

On Netanyahu's side is Danny Danon, a former member of Knesset sent to New York as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. And though Danon is not quiet about his ambition to run the Likud party—he ran to replace the long-serving prime minister and has since reiterated his desire to run as leader once Netanyahu exits the post—for now he's walking the party line, hoping to return to elected political life as an MK in the fall.

In the meantime, Danon was in Toronto recently to discuss Israeli politics, foreign policy and his new book, In the Lion's Den. He sat down with The CJN Daily for his only Canadian interview to talk about what's at stake for Israel in the next election.

What we talked about:

• Read about Danon's book, In the Lion's Den
• Learn about the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards
• Read a Q&A with Danon from The CJN archives (2017)

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.