Knessex electionsKnessex elections

Israel’s hottest politicians ranked

Yair Lapid and Ayelet Shaked crowned best-looking lawmakers, Netanyahu doesn’t make it past the electoral threshold

Knesset members Yair Lapid and Ayelet Shaked in the plenum, March 11, 2014 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
Knesset members Yair Lapid and Ayelet Shaked in the plenum, March 11, 2014 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

One week out from national elections and Israel’s politicians are engaging in some hard-hitting talk, but which ones have the looks to walk the walk?

A poll of 300 women aged 20-60 were asked by the Israeli Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery to rank Knesset lawmakers according to their attractiveness, Channel 2 reported Sunday.

Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid took top spot among the men, presumably due to his chiseled TV-anchor visage and his brief phase of lumbersexual stubble.

Among the women, Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked was crowned Knesset queen, indicating that she can combine fiery rhetoric with good looks.

Knesset member Ayelet Shaked from the Jewish Home party February 3 2013. (Photo credit: Flash90)
Knesset member Ayelet Shaked from the Jewish Home party February 3, 2013. (Photo credit: Flash90)

An overwhelming 39 percent of voters found Lapid the most attractive, with second-place contender Moshe Kahlon trailing at 8% — perhaps an indication of things to come, as Kahlon’s Kulanu party battles it out with Yesh Atid for the centrist vote.

Four percent of those questioned found Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog most attractive, while Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz of Likud each received 2% of the vote.

Chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid, speaks during the Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, on October 27, 2014. (Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid, speaks during the Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, on October 27, 2014. (Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Eli Yishai, currently leading Shas splinter group Yachad, received one percent of the vote. None of the women surveyed gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the attractiveness crown.

When asked to pick the best looking female politician, 20% chose Shaked and 15% chose Orly Levy-Abekasis of Yisrael Beytenu, a former fashion model. The Zionist Union’s co-leader and number three, Tzipi Livni, and Stav Shaffir came in tied with three percent of the vote.

Former model and Yisrael Beytenu party member Orly Levy-Abekasis, December 2010 (photo credit: Moshe Shai/Flash90)
Former model and Yisrael Beytenu party member Orly Levy-Abekasis, December 2010 (photo credit: Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Meretz chair Zahava Gal-on, Likud’s Miri Regev and Shelly Yachimovich of the Zionist Union received 2% each.

What outcome, if any, the aforementioned politicians’ attractiveness will have on their election chances remains to be seen. Like every good Jewish mama knows, looks can only get you so far.

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