Israel’s longtime prime minister has used questionable partners to regain power. They will now try to weaken state institutions and restrict social leeway.
Benjamin Netanyahu is happy about the election victory, but his extreme coalition partners could become a big problem for Israel.
The right-wing camp led by Benjamin Netanyahu likely won the general election in Israel. The allocation of seats is not yet definitive, but the lead seems large enough. After four ballots without a clear majority, Netanyahu is likely to return to power. The big winner of this election, however, is the far-right party alliance Religious Zionism. It becomes the third strongest force in parliament and could enter a government for the first time.
Until recently a pariah – soon in government
His shooting star Itamar Ben Gvir is the heir to the racist Kahanist movement, which was classified as a terrorist organization and banned in Israel and the USA in the 1980s. He advocates the deportation of “disloyal” Palestinians and demands that stone-throwing youths be shot at. His alliance partner Bezalel Smotrich also advocates an aggressive settlement policy, but also openly agitates against LGBT people and demonizes Western influence on Israeli society.
Until recently, Ben Gvir, Smotrich and Co. were marginalized in Israeli politics. They got just a few percentage points in elections and were treated as pariahs by both left and right parties. Now, thanks to Netanyahu, they could seize power and do serious damage to Israeli democracy. A government headed by Ben Gvir and Smotrich not only threatens an escalation in the conflict with the Palestinians, but also a weakening of democratic institutions.
There would be a right-wing majority, even without the extremes
In fact, there has long been a clear conservative majority in the country. The left, which founded and long dominated the state, has sunk into insignificance over the past two decades. Out of frustration over the failed peace process with the Palestinians and the ongoing attacks from Gaza, the Israelis have moved significantly to the right.
But Netanyahu has increasingly polarized the country with undemocratic manoeuvres, favoritism and corruption. Even the right-wing camp is divided over whether he should continue to lead it. If Bibi, as he is known in Israel, had handed over the baton to another Likud politician, a stable right-wing government without extreme elements could have been formed long ago. Five elections within three and a half years would not have been necessary.
But Netanyahu has long ceased to be concerned with the welfare of Israel or his party. The 73-year-old only cares about himself. His ultimate goal is to stop the corruption, embezzlement and fraud lawsuits against him. And as more and more former allies from the center-right camp have distanced themselves from him, he has moved closer to the right-wing fringe. He has welded together previously quarreling right-wing groups and made them socially acceptable in order to increase his chances of victory.
Now Netanyahu himself should be surprised at how big the monster he created has become. Ben Gvir should bring votes to Netanyahu, but not steal the show. During the election campaign, the Likud leader claimed that he had the extreme forces under control. The Alliance for Religious Zionism now has almost half as many seats in the Knesset as the Likud – and will make demands in coalition negotiations. Ben Gvir and Smotrich will not be fobbed off with little treats like the ultra-Orthodox parties that have been supporting Netanyahu for years. The two upstarts are demanding important posts such as the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Justice.
Overthrow of the judiciary planned
The new partners will help Netanyahu get his legal troubles out of the way. But they will not be satisfied with that. They are calling for a far-reaching “reform” of the judicial system that would mean the end of an independent judiciary. The public prosecutor’s office is to be disempowered, the appointment of judges is to be politicized and the decisions of the Supreme Court are to be able to be reversed by Parliament.
On the surface, Netanyahu’s future coalition partners are still moderate. They will not immediately turn their followers to Israeli Arabs, gays or secular activists and journalists. However, they will work towards weakening the democratic institutions and thus create an environment in which the freedoms of minorities and dissenters will decrease and the state will take on an increasingly illiberal face. All those who care about democracy in Israel, regardless of where they stand politically, must defend themselves against this.