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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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Israel’s Politics—Similar and Different Than American


Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave it the “old college try”. He did it with old fashion politics; a broad-based coalition, innovative across the aisle groupings, and compromise. Like President Joe Biden in America, Bennett believed that Israeli politics could revert to the old, pre-Netanyahu model. Bennett understood that he would never win all the battles, but if he won enough his Government could maintain its power. After a year, Bennett was overwhelmed by his own supporters who cared more about ideology than governing.


The Bennett led coalition accomplished much in its year in power. His right-wing party, Yamina (New Right), began with only six seats in the Parliament and created a power-sharing Government with the center-left party, Yesh Atid (There is a Future) led by Yair Lapid which had received 17 seats in the Knesset. This unusual team led a Government which for the first time included an Israel Arab party in the Government; excluded all the religious and ultra-religious parties from the coalition; and successfully expanded Israeli relations in the Gulf and throughout the region. It did so without all of the bluster and egotism of the Netanyahu/Trump era. In addition, Bennett successfully passed a national budget for the first time in three years. After remaining together for longer than was expected, the Bennett-led group fell apart as various Knesset Members—including MK’s from Bennett’s own party--broke away from their base and disrupted the very tenuous one seat majority that had held the Government together.


Prime Minister Bennett surprised most observers by how much he able to accomplish running Israel’s unwieldy coalition government for over a year by employing the tools of old-fashioned politics; keeping your eyes on the goal by forming a wide based coalition with a willingness to make compromises to achieve his ends. On Monday, he was forced to dissolve the Parliament and go to elections because Members of Knesset opted to put their parochial, partisan desires ahead of the national interest. Right-wing Members, for example voted against the interest of their own supporters with the only goal of forcing the coalition to break. The Netanyahu led opposition voted against extending the Israeli rule of law on the West Bank for another five years, merely to force the coalition to dissolve. The opposition would have supported critical national security decisions—the Knesset rarely breaks apart over such issues—but that was not the case here. In addition, the opposition believes that projected polls suggest their Likud Party is likely to win the largest number of seats in a new election. The difference between American politicians opting to vote against their own interests, is that Israel is in a much more precarious geopolitical situation than the U.S.


Unlike American Governments, Israeli coalition government politics’ problems stem from its inability to govern on a day-to-day basis. There is, however, a striking similarity between these two democracies today. In the U.S. the American bureaucracy is functioning, but the fabric and essence of American democracy is under very serious challenge. America’s challenges are from within its political system, while Israel’s challenges are both internal and existential.


Israel still maintains much of its idealism and dynamism, in addition to carrying several thousand years of Jewish history on its shoulders. America has become a cynical nation, lacking all idealism. It remains a nation with great creativity and potential, but it is being destroyed from within by the most selfish power-hungry forces whose goals and aspirations for America’s future are a repudiation of the those of the Founding Fathers.


Whether Bennett himself or his joint venture with Lapid has a political future is unclear. Bennett may have burned many of his bridges on the right, but a fifty-year-old politician should probably still have a place in Israeli politics now or in the future, despite the fact that his immediate home, Yamina, has rejected him for the moment.


Bennett has endured over the past few months the departure of various individual Members from parties in the coalition despite the existing coalition agreement. MK’s leaving a coalition is not new in Israel. Similarly, the political fragility of Bennett’s Government was also not a new phenomenon within Israeli coalitions. This diversity of parties in his coalition is what made this Government unique and precarious. What made the absurdity of this political crisis so perplexing is that Government Members resigned and opposition Members voted against their own positions merely to bring down the Bennett Government. The paramount question in the next Israeli election—likely to be at the end of October—will be whether anti-Netanyahu forces will remain firm or whether Bibi’s return to the leadership is inevitable.


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