A victory in Tuesday's Israeli elections by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Yisrael Beiteinu alliance and the ascent of even more extreme parties are indications of Israelis' continued move to the right.

 

It is also an indication of the limits and the challenges faced by the Obama administration in its relationship with Israel. Despite Netanyahu's obvious preference for President Barack Obama's Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, in the U.S. presidential elections -- and a sense that he was intervening through proxies -- Obama's ability to influence the outcome of the Israeli elections has been negligible.