JERUSALEM — Where’s the Israeli government? What happened?
Was it more or less inevitable?
It began with a government composed of eight parties: Yesh Atid (There is a Future), Blue and White, Israel Our Home, New Hope, Yamina (Right), Labor, Meretz, and Joint List (Arab).
Except for Labor, Meretz, and the Joint List, none of them qualify as political parties. Their names do not designate an ideology, and there is no long term tradition to which voters or parliamentarians can be tested.
Leaders claim ideological positions, but they are held together by supposed loyalty to an individual, or to his/her ego.
Yamina suggests a rightist posture, but the leader, Naftaly Bennett, created a government that went from the Joint List, Meretz and Labor, all the way to somewhere on the right.
Individuals threatened or actually left their “parties.”
Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi more or less departed Meretz, at one point indicating that her problem was the lack of NIS 250,000 for a Muslim burial site.
Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, and Nir Orbach more or less departed from Yamina, seemily upset with its alliance with Meretz and an Arab party.
They hadn’t learned a key feature of politics: get along by going along. Individuals entered parties, and climbed on to the list of Knesset candidates, without commitment to something larger than themselves. Their party’s control of the government, in the case of Yamina, or participation in the government, in the case of Meretz, wasn’t enough.
Government leaders sought to keep things going, but eventually decided that they couldn’t struggle with less than a majority of Knesset.
Likud is a party, with an ideology, more or less, and a tradition.
Also the ultra-Orthodox parties: one Ashkenazi and the other Sephardi.
And the Religious Zionists.
What held the government together was its opposition to Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu).
Good enough for a year, but crumbling.
Polls are showing that Bibi remains the strongest individual, but perhaps without enough support to win a Knesset vote of confidence.
What about a coalition from the existing parties in the government?
Yesh Atid, Blue White, New Hope, Labor, and Meretz?
We’re not hearing of negotiations.
As long as Bibi remains, Israeli politics will continue as pro-Bibi or anti-Bibi. With a lot of wind blowing about Zionism, a Jewish State, or the need to align with Arabs.
There is some talk about enacting legislation against an indicted person being eligible for a political office. However, the Chair of the Knesset opposes such an action, and it would seem to fall afoul of the rules, likely to be enforced by the Supreme Court, about legislating controversial measures during the period of between when one government falls, and the government sits in an interim situation.
Now that seems likely to last until November 1, being mentioned as the date of the election. And then nearly endless negotiations about the government to be created. Or moving to yet another election.
Naftaly Bennett is hinting that he’ll leave politics for a period of reconsideration.
And there is likely to be movement within and between other parties. An overwhelming posture against Bibi suggests an alignment between Yesh Atid, Blue White Israel our Home, and New Hope. But what to do about the egos of those “party” leaders. One needs a magnifying glass to identify differences between their postures, but who would lead? Who would be first in line for the Prime Minister’s position and other key posts?
So we’re in an interim mood, lasting more than four months.
Not yet. The government hasn’t formally folded.
Several strikes being threatened or realized: schools, buses. All demanding more money. With the Finance Ministry indicating its reluctance.
And at least a minor possibility of Bibi finding enough partners to form a government within the present Knesset.
All of which seems minor in comparison with the Supreme Court’s decision about Roe v. Wade. But that’ll take a while to determine the significance for individual women in individual states.