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KAHNTENTIONS

KAHNTENTIONS is a blog post written by Gilbert N. Kahn, Professor of Political Science at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. Beginning in 2011 KAHNTENTIONS was hosted by the New Jersey Jewish News which recently ceased written publication. KAHNTENTIONS presents an open and intellectually honest analysis of issues facing the United States, Israel, as well as Jews world-wide.

BY GILBERT N. KAHN

"These are the times that try men's souls."

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Can This Israeli Coalition Govern?


On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to accept the recommendation of the Special Commission on Palestine by a vote of 33 in favor, 13 opposed with 10 abstentions. Of the five Security Council members at the time, all voted in favor with the exception of the United Kingdom, which abstained. What is significant is that the Soviet Union and the United States both supported the Partition Plan.


While the support of the Truman Administration has been discussed extensively and is well understood, the fact that the U.S.S.R. backed partition is not as well known. Stalin’s support for partition has been attributed to his larger ideological and geo-political position. The action of the Soviets has relevance today when one considers what direction the likely new Israeli Government will be taking once Binyamin Netanyahu satisfies the demands of all his various coalition partners.


In the post-World War II era, the Soviet Union sought to generate Communist support wherever it could. There already existed in Palestine—as was the case in India for example as well—a democratic Communist Party. By supporting partition, it has been suggested, the Soviets believed they could foster support for the Soviet Union from the new state. This Soviet tactic failed, and the Kremlin would dispense with the strategy shortly after the 1948 Israeli War of Independence; nevertheless, there may be a contemporary application to be drawn from these events.


In 1949, the second largest party in the first Israeli election was Mapam, which was a Marxist, left-Labor Zionist Party. David Ben-Gurion, who headed the Labor-Socialist Party Mapai, did not include them in the first governing coalition. A small flank of communists, the Maki Party, did join the Government but eventually it would splinter into Jewish and Arab groups. 1949 was as close as a leftist pro-Zionist communist party came to being part of an Israeli Government. Later on, Mapam would merge with Mapai and subsequently with the more left Meretz Party. Communism—much to the disappointment of the Soviet Union, never made real inroads in Jewish-Israeli politics, although there remains today a significant communist element among Israeli Arabs. Any serious communist entre into Israeli politics never really has materialized.


In observing the political jockeying transpiring today in Israel, one senses the likelihood of a radical internal political upheaval developing within Israel with consequences both domestically and internationally. While dramatically different from the attempted communist influence 75 year ago, it is the internal right-wing political movement which is driving Israeli politics today. In a part of the world where Israel represented a true liberal democracy, these right-wing parties represent the antithesis of this direction.


The dramatic growth of right-wing parties in Israel reflects a major shift in political power which has been evolving for several decades. The specific consequences for a new Netanyahu Government may well be significant both domestically as well as globally. The anti-Arab and anti-compromise positions of some of Bibi’s coalition partners, who will be running some of the Ministries—including Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir--also champion views which are stridently anti-LGBTQ and oppose recognition of non-Orthodox branches of Diaspora Jews. Netanyahu also needs to muster support for the demands being called for from the two ultra-Orthodox Charedi parties in his coalition as well.


Finally, Netanyahu also faces a private dilemma. This flurry of party and personality jockeying over ministries is affected by Netanyahu’s personal needs. He must prioritize the new Government’s support for judicial reform to insure that he will never serve jail time.


On a global level, the presence of coalition members who will not be acceptable to Washington—to say nothing of Israel’s other supporters in the West—as negotiating inter-locutors because of their extremist views, presents Netanyahu with a major governing crisis. Having the head of the extreme Kahanist element in the Cabinet, and a party which could bolt from his coalition and bring down the Government if they fail to get their way, must already be keeping Netanyahu up at night.


A newly born state gave Ben-Gurion serious challenges, but he never really believed that Israel would move into the Soviet sphere of influence. The fledgling state faced enormous economic and security challenges, but not the fundamental values to become a Jewish democracy.


Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu needs these extreme partners in order to govern, but the obstacles that they present could dramatically change Israel’s position in the world as well as destroy much of the unity that Israel has always maintained at home.

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