Avigdor Lieberman

Portraits of two Israeli Arab politicians, defaced by red Hebrew letters reading "Shame and Disgrace!" flashed on a giant video screen. Jeering erupted in the hall, packed for the tough-talking candidate whose bid to lead Israel is propelled by unease about its Arab minority. Avigdor Lieberman's attacks on Arabs have shaken up the race for parliament and prime minister.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's long-shot effort to form a majority bloc in parliament and become Israel's next prime minister appeared to be fading Thursday, despite final returns upholding her centrist party's narrow first-place finish in national elections. After a second day of postelection lobbying, Livni had failed to win the support of any other party to thwart a rival leadership bid by conservative opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Avigdor Lieberman, whose ultranationalist rhetoric has raised alarm among Arabs and international concern, took a major step Monday toward becoming foreign minister in Israel's next government. His appointment, part of a pact between his right-wing party and that of Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, is not final. The deal leaves an opening for the current foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, to stay in that post if her centrist Kadima party agrees to join the coalition.

Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that he would resign as Israel's foreign minister if the attorney general indicted him on corruption charges. Speaking to reporters a day after police recommended an indictment, the ultranationalist leader denied any wrongdoing. "I am at peace with all my actions," he said. In a written statement the previous day, he called the investigation politically motivated "judicial torture."

Israel's foreign minister ran into controversy on the first day of a Latin American trip when an official of Brazil's ruling party reportedly called him a fascist. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that Valter Pomar, secretary of international relations for the Workers Party, called Avigdor Lieberman "a racist and a fascist" during an interview. The left-leaning Workers Party has long been sharply critical of Israel's policies toward Palestinians, and Lieberman has advocated a tough line on Israel's Arab minority.