JNS.org – Israelis prefer Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to invite the Yisrael Beiteinu party to join his governing coalition over inviting the Labor party, according to polls.

An Israel Hayom survey found Thursday that when asked to choose between the two parties, 48 percent of respondents preferred Yisrael Beiteinu joining the coalition, while 31 percent thought Labor was the better choice and 21 had no opinion the matter. But regarding Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman’s apparent appointment as defense minister, replacing Moshe Ya’alon, 46 percent of respondents opposed the move and 40 percent supported it.

A poll by Israel’s Channel 2 showed that 37 percent of respondents preferred seeing Yisrael Beiteinu join the Likud party-led government compared with the 24 percent who chose Labor, while 32 percent said neither party should join the coalition.