There continues to be a sense of foreboding among many Israelis that the pause in implementation of the planned judicial reform to which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to before the Passover recess of the Israeli Parliament is only a delay. One senses that the move for passage will be swift once the Knesset reconvenes on April 29. It is clear by the size of the continuing mass public demonstrations that many Israelis-- as well as many Jews in the Diaspora—are highly skeptical that there is any chance of a compromise on the legislation forthcoming from the Netanyahu Government. Most observers are suggesting that his coalition members are not giving Bibi very much wiggle room for concessions.
The events that have occurred in Israel during the Ramadan-Passover-Holy Week celebrations certainly do not suggest that Israel’s hard-right, ultra-Orthodox Government is in any mind to back off and re-consider what they are doing to Israel and its future viability. Observances are now continuing prior to the beginning of the new legislative session--Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) on Tuesday, National Memorial Day next week followed immediately by Independence Day, and the Eid-al-Fitr at the end of this week. At least some of these occasions could precipitate additional public outcries.
For Bibi the announcement at the end of last week by Moody’s international business service’s downgrading Israel’s credit outlook from “positive” to “stable” was probably a clear indication of how far the Netanyahu Government’s global position has fallen. In a matter of a few months the on-going political unrest that has been caused by the Government’s proposed judicial reform, is now clearly impacting Israel’s global economic standing.
The most serious situation which has developed is the fragmentation of the various partners in the governing coalition. All factions which join any coalition Government always have their own agenda, but generally they are prepared to suppress much of their platform in the name of maintaining the strength of their collective governing power. What has begun to occur now is that there are growing dissatisfactions within some of the coalition members.
The ultra-Orthodox (haredi) parties are beginning to worry over whether they will receive their promised allocations--social and economic subsidies-- in the new budget. Even some of the secular members of the Government are hearing serious backlash from their own members questioning why it is that their taxes are subsidizing at even higher levels the benefits to be received by the non-working, non-tax paying Haredim. The ultra-Orthodox are also demanding passage of legislation to codify military exemptions for their men, while the rest of the country’s young people comply with compulsory military service. (While much of this discussion is as old as the State of Israel, it has emerged again just when they believe Netanyahu to be most politically vulnerable.)
Similarly, hardline right factions are determined to exploit this unique moment of political power, to drive forward, solidify, and expand Israeli occupation on West Bank. The extremist factions led by Itamar Ben-Gvir (the leader of the Otzma Yehudit bloc) and Bezalel Smotrich (the leader of the Religious Zionist Party) not only want the judicial reform to proceed but appear to be demanding increased Israeli control over the occupied territories and the Palestinian population. If they fail to obtain these goals, they too could encumber Netanyahu’s ability to govern. They argue that this is clearly the will of the majority who voted for the parties in the coalition. Any failure to implement these programs would be a denial of the democratic process through which they came to power; regardless of what is transpiring in the streets.
Perhaps the saddest behavior is that being demonstrated by the personal political greed of Bibi Netanyahu. Having exhibited genuine brilliance as Israel’s Finance Minister and subsequently in becoming Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister, Netanyahu has turned his leadership skills to a set of selfish, haughty, and self-serving personal goals. With a “let the people and the country be damned” attitude, Netanyahu has placed his personal needs to avoid prosecution on corruption charges above all else.
Even his efforts to articulate a position that he is committed to finding a compromise on the judicial reform package are disingenuous; precisely because he knows he will never be able to garner support for concessions from this hard-right coalition. Bibi remains extremely articulate, but he fails to have political support for a serious shift in the judicial reform measures to quiet the masses. As Israel approaches its 75th birthday as a State, it is caught in the most divisive internal political confrontation in its history.
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