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By Kenneth W. Stein

As Israelis prepare to go to the polls for the second parliamentary elections in three years, a question arises that paraphrases Passover literature: "Why is this election different from all other elections?"

In fact, there are significant differences, and a number of firsts, as well.

This is, for example, the first time in recent memory that the dominant campaign concerns are not Israel's economic health, her relations with Arab neighbors or wrenching domestic and social issues.

And until Yitzhak Mordechai dropped out of the race for prime minister, it was the first Israeli election where a Sephardic Jew, of Portuguese or Spanish descent, was seeking the country's top spot.

But the principle issues this year are the public record, personal style and political attributes of the sitting prime minister.

Not even Israel's political giants -- David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir or Menachem Begin, all of whom governed Israel for prolonged periods of time -- evoked as much controversy, opinion or ink as Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has since his May 1996 election.

The campaign for the Knesset is both issue and personality oriented, but the campaign for prime minister is more likely to hinge on the personal. Mudslinging and nasty personal accusations are anticipated, and the central theme is expected to be: Do you want four more years of Netanyahu? Do you trust him?

The telegenic Netanyahu is confident and aggressive, and a master of the sound bite. He owes his tough, Zionist stance to his father, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, a history professor who believed that the bloody history between Arabs and Jews could never be reconciled.

Netanyahu was elected, in part, because he portrayed his opponent, Shimon Peres, as too willing to make unnecessary compromises to the Palestinians. Netanyahu promised enhanced personal and national security for Israelis, an emotional issue after Palestinian extremists exploded four bombs in the months before the 1996 elections and killed more than 70 Israelis.

Although he promised neither to shake the hand of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat nor return territory to Palestinian control, Netanyahu did both, causing some to think that he made the very compromises he said Peres would make. And terrorist incidents have not stopped during his tenure.

In this campaign, Netanyahu has again tried to paint his opposition as soft on Arafat, interested in dividing Jerusalem and willing to accept a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu's supporters, many of them Russian immigrants and Sephardic Jews, maintain that the pressure he has put on the Palestinians to clamp down on terrorism make him the best person to lead Israel in future Arab-Israeli negotiations.

But his critics say he is bad for the international community, a retardant to regional stability and a detriment to Israel's future as a nation. They point out that many of his colleagues have abandoned him and Likud, and that leaders in Europe, the United States and the Arab world view his possible re-election as a setback to peace negotiations.

Unlike the last election, where Netanyahu was the only right-wing candidate, he is now outflanked by Ze'ev "Benny" Begin, the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Polls indicate that unlike the last election, when most of the recent Russian Jewish immigrants (about 12 percent of the voters) voted for a party representing their specific interests, this time their votes will be more dispersed.

It is also possible that Israeli Arabs, who compose 14 percent of the electorate, could swing the election for or against Netanyahu in a runoff. In 1996, they voted for parliamentary candidates, but cast blank votes for prime minister, one reason Labor lost the election.

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Because voters will cast one ballot for prime minister and another for a political party, it is most likely that no prime minister candidate will receive the required absolute majority on May 17.

That would require Israel's first runoff election between the top two vote-getters, which would be held June 1.

Again unprecedented possibilities exist. If the voters see that the newly elected parliament represents one shade of opinion, they may choose a prime minister of another shade to create political balance.

Other issues of concern to Israeli voters include a gnawing, persistent 9 percent unemployment rate and a drop in the annual growth rate from 6 percent to 2 percent. Also, newly arrived immigrants believe that the government has not done enough to integrate them into Israel's incredible economic boom, with its gross domestic product of $100 billion and a per capita income hovering around $17,000.

Yet another first is the eruption of unrestrained passion over the rabbinical control of such civil procedures as divorce, inheritance and marriage after bubbling beneath the surface for years. A stridently antagonistic segment of the ultra-Orthodox community has openly slandered Supreme Court justices and challenged the court's legitimacy to make secular rulings that contradict divine law.

Meanwhile, many secular Israelis are angry that their daughters and sons do obligatory military service, while exemptions are easily obtained for students who claim to be engaged in religious study.

Internationally, Israel's relationships with the United States, Europe and many Arab and Muslim states have deteriorated since Netanyahu's election.

But this is the first Israeli election in which both major parties have agreed -- through prior negotiations -- to provide territory and prerogatives to the Palestinians.

The debate between the prime ministerial candidates has revolved around who is best suited to make security agreements with the Palestinians and, eventually, the Syrians and Lebanese.

No bombs have exploded thus far to take the lives of Israelis and influence elections, as occurred in 1988, 1992 and 1996. And Arafat is suddenly speechless when asked about declaring an independent state, as he has threatened to do in the past.

Although he may not be able to control all of the violence against Israelis, he does not want to create anxiety among undecided Israeli voters that could lead to Netanyahu's re-election.

What's more, Arafat and his security services have made great strides in pre-empting terrorist attacks on Israelis, strides even Netanyahu has publicly acknowledged.

No matter how the election turns out, Israelis and Palestinians will have difficult issues to resolve: the future of Jerusalem and the settlements; the nature of a Palestinian state; and the role Jordan will play in shaping the region's future. They will also continue competing to persuade Washington to advocate their respective points of view.

Likewise, Israelis will emerge from this pivotal election still in need of resolving the toughest of domestic issues, the role religion should play in day-to-day life.

Dr. Kenneth W. Stein is the William E. Schatten Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History and Israeli Studies at Emory University. His next book, "Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin and the Question for Arab-Israel Peace," will be published by Routledge in June 1999. He is also the author of recent chapters on the Arab-Israeli peace process that appear in "The Middle East Contemporary Survey" published by Westview Press.

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