At the beginning of the campaign for the April 9 Israeli elections, it seemed the whole cycle would focus on one question: Can the party of a prime minister suspected of serious crimes win the support of the masses for another term and allow him to break the record for time in office set by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister?

It seemed for a moment that the campaign was all but over when Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced his intention to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing, but the polls — which have played a major role in this campaign despite having been so off the mark in the past — revealed that Mandelblit's decision had had no real effect.

Later, an unrelenting series of events, some seemingly calculated, some not, appeared certain to influence voters, among them embarrassing election ads, leaked recordings from closed meetings that supposedly revealed candidates’ “other faces,” conflict with Hamas on the border and rocket fire from Gaza into the heart of Israel. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited March 21, and Netanyahu accompanied him to the Western Wall. Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro visited, and Netanyahu took him to the wall as well. Toward the end of the campaign, the remains of the missing soldier Zachary Baumel were returned home from Syria. There were speeches to the AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, and another meeting between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Someone leaked information that Iran had hacked the private cell phone of Lt. Gen. (ret.) Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party and Netanyahu's main rival, but no one understands why Gantz was being blamed for it. It’s not exactly like Israel's national security adviser and his delegation forgetting classified documents at an airport restaurant on their way to India in January.