Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or “Bibi” as many in Israel and overseas refer to him, is not ideologically what some would call a person of the hard-right camp. Some in the media as well as in the Biden administration have characterized Bibi’s coalition government as a “danger to Israeli democracy.” Professor Eugene Kontorovich, an international law expert pointed out to CBN-TV that such a response to a right-of-center coalition was predictable. Kontorovich said that “This time a right-wing coalition won a very clear majority in government. Now, with the religious and right-wing parties winning a majority, liberals around the world, and particularly in America, are saying that this government is the end of an open liberal Israel, that this government is going to result in harming of the ties between Israel and America.”
Kontorovich believes that the cry about the loss of democracy in Israel is not really about democracy but rather about policy. He explained that the Biden administration’s warning the new Netanyahu government may be undemocratic is highly premature to say the least. Kontorovich explained that the outgoing Lapid government gave away parts of Israel’s territorial maritime waters without a vote in the legislature simply through executive action. That, Kontorovich asserted, is undemocratic, yet that undemocratic action was encouraged and applauded by the Biden administration.
Although the new coalition government includes two ultra-orthodox religious parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism) and a nationalist party (Religious Zionism), Netanyahu’s Likud party is by far the most dominant in the coalition. And like Netanyahu, it is predominantly a secular party. In fact, Netanyahu’s views on personal rights are rather liberal in nature, as are his views on many social and economic issues. The one area where Netanyahu could be described as a hawk is on national security and defense. So, when the media and some in the Biden administration make dire predictions about the future of Israel’s democracy, it simply betrays their liberal and leftist bias.
Let’s remember that Bibi’s formative years were spent in the US. He attended a liberal high school in Philadelphia and a rather liberal campus at MIT in Boston, Mass. Bibi is unlikely to allow the likes of Ben Gvir, Smotrich or Deri to derail Israel’s relations with the US or impose their religious views on the Israeli public. All the parties in the coalition have a common interest in strengthening the Jewish identity of the Jewish state without jeopardizing individual freedom.
Bibi is hardly thrilled by Itamar Ben Gvir’s antics, and Naftali Smotrich’s previous demands, but the reality is such that the centrist parties have resolved not to join the Netanyahu government. While there are no ideological differences between Benny Gantz (leader of the centrist National Unity party) and Bibi, Netanyahu’s bad faith move to scuttle their Unity government in 2020-2021, to prevent passing the premiership to Gantz as was promised, created “bad blood” between them. As a result, Gantz is eschewing the possibility of once again joining a Netanyahu-led government. Then, Gantz joining with the embittered former Likud Knesset Members Saar and Elkin, who still seek to avenge their alleged “mistreatment” by Netanyahu and the Likud, makes the chances of cooperation between Gantz and his National Unity party with Netanyahu and the Likud nearly impossible.
Currently for Israel, the personal animosities of the likes of Saar and Elkin override national interest, and they are obstructing the possibility of a strong Israeli unity government. It is unfortunate for Gantz who jumped into the political arena to bring positive change, wanting to be prime minister to enable him to improve life and security in Israel. As a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Gantz like Netanyahu is serious about Israel’s security and defense. There is little else that differentiates between them other than Netanyahu’s vast experience in the political arena and his diplomatic and economic successes. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh observed in an interview that the difference between Benny and Bibi (Gantz and Netanyahu) “is the difference between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola.”
During the changing of the guard ceremonies in the Knesset earlier this month, it was Gantz, unlike his colleagues in the outgoing government, who didn’t resort to cynicism and biting remarks leveled by the likes of Lapid, Lieberman, and Bar-Lev. Gantz focused instead on Iran and other critical issues such as the drafting of orthodox youth as an imperative for the future strength of the IDF. In noticing Gantz’s more dignified approach, Bibi and his Likud colleagues must have pondered the lost opportunity of having Gantz as a partner.
The inclusion of Gantz in the nationalist, right-of-center government would have taken away the stinging criticism from abroad and the US in particular. The talk of an “extremist religious government,” and such warnings by the self-righteous hypocritical Europeans of “fearing the end to democracy in Israel,” would have appeared pathetically awkward, and mean spirited, as it still does… Moreover, there would be more confidence in the Netanyahu government that included Gantz, in Washington, Brussels, and more importantly in Abu Dhabi.
Clearly, the people of Israel have the right to choose their government, and they did it in an exemplary democratic election. However, the perception abroad was skewed by the negative reporting in the leftist dominated Israeli media, that supported the previous ineffectual coalition government. Considering all their previous follies as outsiders, Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben Gvir are now inside the government and must behave responsibly. It is clear that Netanyahu will not allow them to jeopardize Israel’s relations with the Arab peace partners of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, nor change the status quo vis-a vis the domestic scene. Although he is dependent on their support, the two have enough respect for the longest serving Israeli prime minister to adhere to his decisions.
Gantz has claimed that he has entered the political field for ten years and hoped to become prime minister in the process, fulfilling his public mission, then retire. Realistically, the only way for this to materialize is for him to join the government of Netanyahu and the Likud. Regrettably, that option seems closed for now, given that his supporters in the National Unity party would never forgive him for such a move. The end result is that not ideological differences, but rather personal animosities have overridden national interest.
Bibi does not prefer Ganz or any of the leftists who have brought Israel to this disastrous, undemocratic situation and of political of weakness and vulnerability
A prime minister has a tough job of assembling a coalition of assorted types, So regardless of a few vocal attention grabbers in his coalition, he is still the one in charge. Better than being held hostage by an opposition egotist who cares more for his political career than the good of the country
Ganz and his leftist cronies have shown their fondness of the Democrats by mimicking their TREACHEROUS tactics – like their call to incite violence against those with opposing views at the rallies against Netanyahu government – Ganz and his fellow leftist elites called the public the equivalent of “deplorables and racists”, as well as Nazis and COUP enablers (they are!). They called on the Israeli police to not obey orders. Coming from former military leaders, that is TREASON, THE PEOPLE ARE FED UP WITH LEFTIST JUDICIARY WHO BROKE THE LAW AND THEMSELVES MADE AND CANCELLED LAWS. It’s as if the supreme court in America would cancel all legislation from congress that they didn’t like.
No Irsraeli real cares what American leftist Jews say – precisely because they neither know or care about Israel”s wellbeing, just their own weaknesses and insecurities drive them. They hate having to do the right think by supporting Israel in their hostile anti-Israel environments.
I think it’s clear that the left, both in Israel, and in the US, are primarily upset because there is a definite trend rightward in Israel. That upsets a lot of liberal applecarts. But the one question I keep posing, and that no one seems to want to answer, is this: why do those whose knickers are in a twist think Israelis voted mostly for right wing parties this time? Anyone? I know the answer, by the way, and so, apparently, does most of the Israeli electorate. Rather than ask NOT to meet religious members of our Knesset, the democrat visitors should talk to them to find out who they really are and why so many of us voted for them. Boycotting is unhelpful and immature.
Whatever. The opinion of the American electorate means literally nothing, given the. massive and obvious election fraud that took place during the last Presidential eleciton, and the complete and absolute unwillingness of any of the major media, academic, or law organizations to take on the problem. Including btw, this one.
You people are an absolute joke.
This is a ridiculous article, far off base and uncharacteristic of Mr. Pruder’s usual writing. Benny Gantz is reviled by Israel’s conservatives on five counts and many more:
1. He’s actively enabled the Palestinian takeover of Area C.
2. On the alter of hypermorality, he weakened the morale and the morality of the IDF with idiotic rules of engagement.
3. He led the degradation of the the Army by making it a test tube for contemporary liberalism’s social engineering, removing victory from its own language set.
4. As a politician, he is a big spending big government disaster.
5. Since the Israeli voters chose a conservative government, he has called for an insurrection, a revolution against the outcome. For the record, no one in Israel is saying there was grand mal election fraud. To quote David Horowitz, Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out.
We will all be happy when this Cro-Magnon girlyman goes out to pasture. In the meantime, he’ll continue to whine and agitate as he raises his own blood pressure. And we shall continue to ignore him.