Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is discovering that governing a country under the best of circumstances is challenging, but when the country which you lead has a weakened coalition, the problems you face can be daunting. At this point Bennett is leading a minority Government which already successfully has fought off two “no-confidence” votes largely because the opposition choice is less palatable than Bennett and because no one has an appetite for another election.
On the ground, however, Bennett is facing genuine security issues which have escalated into enormous international public relations disasters for Israel. Repeated, largely lone-wolf attacks against Israeli citizens over the past two months have placed the Israeli public on a higher domestic security alert than it has faced since the days of the Intifada. Random killings, isolated knifings, and brutal attacks against Israeli citizens in their streets and markets have created a heightened fear among the general populous. The Israeli Defense Forces together with the various police units have attempted to identify and arrest alleged perpetrators. In so doing they have resorted to attacking Palestinians in West Bank villages and especially in the city of Jenin, which continues to a hotbed of radical Arabs. It was precisely that investigation which led to the tragic killing last week of Al-Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh.
The political-security-diplomatic problem for the Israeli Government was that it failed to get ahead of this story. As happened last year in the Damascus Gate incident during Ramadan and as was the case even more than 20 years ago in the infamous Muhammad al-Durrah “killing and filming”, as well as in numerous other incidents, anti-Israel media and politicians ran ahead of Israel in framing the story. The shooting of Shireen Abu Akleh only underscored the continuing inability of Israel to aggressively push forward its report of events on the ground. What may seem obvious to the Israeli public and the media does not hold in the West. Israel fails to press the facts adequately and military, police, spokespersons are inadequate in rebutting unsubstantiated claims against Israel. This is not to suggest that Israel is blameless and but it has still not learned how to control the narrative.
For example, Israel’s immediate offer to establish a joint investigation of the incident was dismissed by those seeking alternative investigations. The Palestinians refusal to appoint representatives to such a commission ought to be unacceptable. Palestinian ambivalence needs to be attacked so that the ensuing blame game can be avoided. The global condemnation of Israel—with no concrete evidence to date—has persisted. That Members of Congress, the Biden Administration, and international groups have not been silenced from spouting their vicious anti-Israel and anti-Semitic attacks is unacceptable.
Part of this is a consequence of Israel’s failure to remain ahead and frame the coverage of the tragedy as well as the fallout. The totally inept handling of Abu Akleh's funeral by Israel’s police now will continue to override the global perception of events in Israel for weeks or months. While Israel handled the Ramadan-Passover season better this year—thanks in large part to the assistance of a pro-active Biden Administration—it continues to fail to comprehend the need to be ahead of the news story and not play catch-up.
In the midst of the killing in Jenin, Prime Minister Bennett and his weakened coalition have many other issues to address in the days and weeks ahead beginning with the possibility of another confrontation in Meron, Israel this week. When the largely ultra-Orthodox community celebrated Lag B’Omer last year, 45 people were killed in the crush and panic which was caused by failed physical security and protection measures. The governmental authorities need to be sure that there will not be a repeat performance later this week. Similarly, in a few weeks, the Israeli Government needs to be prepared for a confrontation when Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day which will includes a march by young religious Zionists through Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israel must discontinue its two-sided approach to the Russia-Ukraine War. Assisting with humanitarian needs is the easy part. Israel should join the global coalition by aiding Ukraine with military, intelligence, and cyber-warfare assistance. While Russia may push hard, Putin’s plate is so full that Russia’s interest and engagement in Iran cannot be paramount for him at this moment.
Finally, Bennett must re-build his image as an effective leader before President Biden’s scheduled trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories at the end of June. Bennett certainly has a much more traditional and appropriate style of dealing with the U.S. than did Prime Minister Netanyahu, but he faces a level of political instability which coincides with the Biden visit. Bennett must demonstrate to President Biden that he understands the constraints placed on the Democratic Party from the vocal progressive wing. The United States needs to be reassured that Israel can and will demonstrate a more effective response to future crises with the Palestinians. Together this could advance the Israel Prime Minister's position both domestically and globally.
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