Today, Israel is commemorating the 27th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin by a right-wing Jewish religious extremist. It is also only days before the head of the Likud Party, Binyamin Netanyahu, is expected to be invited by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to form a new Israeli Government. The expectation is that this new Government will include the Religious Zionism Party (RZP) which received the third largest bloc of seats in the new Israeli Parliament. It is rather foreboding today that there are many of supporters and voters of the RZP who are ideological followers of Yigal Amir, Rabin’s assassin.
Assuming that the expectations are correct, Netanyahu would preside over the most right-wing, anti-Arab, extremist, religious, and neo-fascist government imaginable. The formation of the new Government will indicate how far Bibi will go in negotiations to form his coalition. Most observers suggest that the projected coalition partners in the new Government will be able to hold out until they receive his absolute support for their extremist party planks. The prospect that this will be the likely outcome of the parties’ negotiations is based on Bibi’s intention to avoid any negative court decision. Netanyahu needs these partners to insure the enactment of judicial reform to remove any possibility that these pending court cases can never be resolved against him.
The possibility of this outcome had already made many friendly governments as well as Jews around the world disturbed and concerned. So much of the agenda of the right-wing coalition parties are a repudiation of the fundamental democratic values for which Israel has stood since its inception. As has been widely reported, American politicians who are close to Israel and its leaders, conveyed to them that should Netanyahu join with the RZP in a return to power, Bibi will need to reckon with the consequential strain that a strident, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-democratic Government would have on U.S.-Israel relations. This new government is also likely to receive a much more contentious response on Capitol Hill, as well as from the Biden Administration. Similarly, it will have difficult sledding within the halls of other friendly Governments and within international bodies.
For many Jews, the values and positions which have been articulated, in particular by RZP members, do not conform with the beliefs and views of many Jews concerning the basic tenets of Judaism. Disrespect and disaffection with an extremist Israeli Government will affect and undermine support from many pro-Israel organizations. It is likely to affect as well Jewish organizations’ ability to fund-raise in support of Israel.
Anti-Israel politics on college campuses will gain a dramatic boost should Netanyahu pursue extremist positions vis-à-vis Israeli Arabs as well as Palestinians. In fact, there is a very real likelihood that there will be an immediate upsurge in anti-Israel sentiment during the current interregnum period.
For American Jews as well there are two additional factors. The Israeli election results occurred while American Jews are experiencing a noticeable surge of anti-Semitism precipitated in part by the conduct and remarks of rap-artist and fashion designer Ye (Kanye West) and Brooklyn Nets basketball star Kyrie Irving. These events in Israel are occurring in the midst of America’s mid-term election season, which has divided sectors of the American Jewish community as well. It is occurring in states with significant Jewish populations as well as in those with much smaller populations.
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And Yet
In considering the future of democracy for the State of Israel as well as Israel’s place as a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, there are very few positive signs following the election last Tuesday. Perhaps one of the few signs of hope is that the elections were open, and all participants have accepted the decision of the voters; but voting is hardly the only sign of a vibrant democracy. In addition, assuming that Binyamin Netanyahu does form a new Government, Israeli citizens may have a few years without having to go to the polls again which would be a huge relief for Israelis. On the other hand, with a small group of parties in Netanyahu’s coalition, it could easily dissolve over a fractious issue.
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