Netanyahu was returned to office in January in the highest turnout of voters since 1999. His Likud and Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu had formed an electoral alliance at the end of October 2012. The Likud, however, lost seven seats overall and Yisrael Beiteinu another four. Likud critics of the alliance had warned that Yisrael Beiteinu’s anti-religious coercion policy and its disproportionate number of Russian supporters would drive away both religious and Mizrahi voters.