By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D
JERUSALEM — It ain’t gonna be easy.
With a political divide of 60 against 59, it’s bound to be tough. If not impossible to legislate anything of significance.
We’ll see if the new government can pass a budget, needing 61 to vote in favor.
Meanwhile, lots of noise, with Likud set on making the new government appear illegitimate.
Bibi and family remain at Balfour. And he’s working there, keeping appointments in a home that is no longer his. He refers to the Prime Minister as Naftali or Bennett, and not as Prime Minister. Reports that he insists on being called Prime Minister by Likud Knesset Members.
Yelling at every opportunity. It’s possible, but not easy, to identify Likudniks who are not taking part in the party. Or who are not especially active. Bibi has his supporters, still claiming that only he can lead Israel.
And we can wonder about the support available from Mansour Abbas and his Ram party of several Arabs. Will they insist on moderation against Gaza, plus a friendly posture toward Bedouin communities in the Negev? So far, none of this is clear.
We’re hearing of destroyed files in the Office of the Prime Minister. Bibi’s trial is moving with the speed of an injured turtle, with long postponements in the hearing of the first witness, demanded by the former Prime Minister’s lawyers, so they’ll have more time to review the records.
After about a month of quiet, the incendiary balloons began again from Gaza. Hamas claims they represent the anger of the masses. Israel responded. It looks very much like it was years earlier. . Tit for tat. Claims that those living alongside Gaza deserve the same protection as Tel Aviv and elsewhere.
The basic charge against Bennett is correct. He’s changed his posture in aligning himself with Lapid, Meretz, Labor, and the Arab list Ram. And he’s manipulated his “party’s” six seats in the Knesset into the Prime Ministership, presumably for two years.
Not Kosher? Or a manipulation in the face of political realities, for the principal purpose of getting rid of Benyamin Netanyahu?
Undemocratic? It depends on one’s understanding of the principle.
Likud remains the largest party, but a majority of Israelis voted against it. And they voted against its coalition, including the ultra-Orthodox and Religious Zionists.
Not by much. This government “won” endorsement by the closest possible vote, and lacks a simple majority of the Knesset. It was 60 to 59, with one Knesset Member choosing not to vote. The closeness will make it difficult to pass any bill. But perhaps not impossible.
It’ll take a continuation of the political manipulations that allowed the creation of the government. And we can assume that, whenever there’s an election, Bennett will have lost the support of what was his base. That is, religious settlers and those who support what they do.
What will he do? We’ll have to wait and see how he acts. Yet an active endorsement of settlement, with an expansion of where they are allowed to build, seems unlikely due to his colleagues in Meretz, Labor, Ram, and Yesh Atid (Lapid). It’s possible that he’ll campaign with Lapid. Or perhaps with what is left of Likud, assuming a departure of Netanyahu. And Bennett may articulate his reasons for joining his coalition with leftists and Arabs. Could he personally alter Israeli politics? One doubts it. But if Bibi’s in jail, any change may occur.
We can hope. Even though expectations are much dimmer.
So far no major legislation, but the government has moved in the direction of major inquiries. One dealing with the stampede disaster at Mt Meron, with an investigation to be led by a retired Justice in the Supreme Court, apparently not friendly to the ultra-Orthodox. And another might go into the purchase of submarines. It’s said to be the peak of corruption, perhaps likely to ensnare Bibi, or at least aides who were close to him.
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Ira Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com