Anti-Netanyahu Bloc to Form Fragile Government in Israel

choi

(1) Israel politics is dizzying and puzzling, at least to me.
(a) 2021 Israeli legislative election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Israeli_legislative_election
(introduction: was "held in Israel on 23 March 2021 to elect the 120 members of the 24th Knesset. It was the fourth election in two years. Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett announced they formed a government on 2 June 2021"/ section 1 Background; 2 Electoral system; section 6 Results)

names of selected political parties listed in section 6: Hebrew for
• noun masculine likud consolidation, unification
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/
• Yesh Atid  יֵשׁ עָתִיד: literally, "There Is a Future" / Founded by Yair LAPID in 2012.
   ^ עתיד  ʿatíd (noun masculine): "future"
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/עתיד
   ^ יֵשׁ  yésh (adv): "there is or are"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/יֵשׁ
   ^ Hebrew language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language ("Modern Hebrew is written from right to left using the Hebrew alphabet, which is an "impure" abjad, or consonant-only [lacking vowels] script, of 22 letters")
• Blue and White
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_and_White_(political_alliance)
("The alliance was established by the Israel Resilience Party [headed by Benny Gantz, who founded the party in 2018], Yesh Atid and Telem to run in the April 2019 Knesset election * * * Following the March 2020 election, Blue and White [colors of Israel national flag] leader Benny Gantz was tasked with forming a new government after receiving endorsements from a majority of 61 MKs [Members of Knesset] Amidst the continuing coronavirus pandemic, Gantz instead opted to put himself forward as interim Speaker of the Knesset while continuing negotiations to form a coalition government with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and other parties.  The effect was a break-up of the Blue and White alliance. The alliance split on Mar 29, 2020, with the Israel Resilience Party keeping the name Blue and White. Yesh Atid and Telem left the alliance)
• Yamina  ימינה‎: literally rightwards; founded in July 2019, dissolved in October 2019 and revived in January 2020; leader since 2020: Naftali Bennett (1972- ; son of a American Jewish couple who moved to Israel from San Francisco in 1967)
   ^ ימינה (noun masculine): "right (direction)"
• Both Joint List and United Arab List are formed by Arab Israelis.
(b) Thirty-sixth government of Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-sixth_government_of_Israel
("will be the next cabinet of Israel * * * [section 2] Government formation[:] After the 2021 election, neither the pro-Netanyahu governing bloc nor anti-Netanyahu "Change" bloc won enough seats to form a new government. "This left the conservative Yamina and the two Arab political factions, the Joint List and United Arab List, as the potential kingmakers for a Knesset majority [the end result is all three kingmaker parties support Change bloc, but Joint List does not JOIN the Change Government. See (2)(d) below]. * * * On the night of June 2, 2021, and just an hour before his mandate was due to expire, Yair Lapid informed outgoing president Reuven Rivlin that he can form a new government" / section 3 Investiture vote)
• prescient of Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Israel
("The position is largely a ceremonial figurehead role * * * Presidents are elected by the Knesset [not directly by voters] for a single seven-year term")
• "The 120 members of the Knesset (MKs) are popularly elected from a single nationwide electoral district to concurrent four-year terms, subject to calls for early elections (which are quite common)."  en.wikipedia.org for Knesset.
To form a government, 61 seats/ votes are needed.


(2) news reports (there is no need to read the rest of these reports(:
(a) Tamila Varshalomidze and Mersiha Gadzo, Lapid Informs Israeli President He Can Form New Government: Live. Aljazeera, June 2, 2021.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2 ... yahu-coalition-live

four consecutive paragraphs:

"Lapid, of the centrist Yesh Atid party, reached a historic deal with Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List [which won 4 seats in the 2021 election, from 0 seat before the election], to form the coalition shortly before a midnight (21:00 GMT) deadline on Wednesday.

"Lapid's main partner is far-right nationalist Naftali Bennett [of the party Yamina, which won 7 seats in the 2021 election from 3 prior to the 2021 election], and the pair have reached an agreement to rotate the prime minister position.

"Their coalition government includes parties from across the political spectrum, including for the first time in Israel's history a party that represents the country's 21-percent Palestinian minority.

"The agreement still needs to be approved by the Israeli parliament, in a vote * * *

(b) Laurie Kellman, Netanyahu Foes Push for Quick Vote to End His 12-Year Rule. Associated Press, June 3, 2021.
https://apnews.com/article/israe ... 58e271e373cd4d6aeda

Quote:

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents pushed Thursday [June 3] for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts to derail their newly announced coalition government.

"The [Change] coalition consists of eight parties from across the political spectrum with little in common except the shared goal of toppling Netanyahu after a record-setting 12 years in power. The alliance includes hardliners previously allied with Netanyahu, as well as center-left parties and even an Arab faction [United Arab List (party)]  — a first in Israeli politics.

"The [Change] coalition has a razor-thin majority of 61 votes in parliament. Now the question is whether the group's votes will hold together in order to name a new parliament speaker, who would then preside over a vote required to confirm the new government.  If the group can't manage that, the current speaker, who is a Netanyahu ally, could use his position to delay the vote and give Netanyahu more time to sabotage the coalition.  As the coalition was coming together in recent days, Netanyahu and his supporters ramped up a pressure campaign against former hawkish allies, including Bennett and his No 2 in the Yamina party, Ayelet Shaked.

"Under the coalition agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years — though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long.

(c) Rami Ayyub, Arab Islamist Helps Clinch Israel's New Anti-Netanyahu Government. Reuters, June 3, 2021.
https://news.trust.org/item/20210603082133-ag1u1

Quote:

(i) "Common cause against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped bring Mansour Abbas into the political fold late on Wednesday, his tiny Islamist faction securing a paper-thin majority for Jewish parties hoping to unseat Israel's longest serving premier.  
"The United Arab List would be the first party drawn from the country's 21% Arab minority – Palestinian by heritage, Israeli by citizenship – to join an Israeli government, whose parliamentary approval is still pending.  

"Abbas, 47, has cast aside differences with prime minister-hopeful Naftali Bennett, a former leader of a major Jewish settlement organisation and an advocate of annexing most of the the occupied West Bank – land Palestinians seek for a state.

"A dentist by profession, Abbas says he hopes to improve conditions for Arab citizens, who complain of discrimination and government neglect.

(ii) "Before agreeing to a coalition deal, Abbas sought and received approval from the Islamic Movement's advisory Shura Council, a religious body, which has guided the party’s past votes in parliament on LGBT rights and other issues.

"Abbas's party split from Israel's main Arab coalition, the Joint List, before a March 23[, 2021] election after advocating, unsuccessfully, that they work with Netanyahu and other right-wing factions to improve living conditions for Arabs.

(iii) "The Joint List, which won six seats in the election, has not commented on Abbas’s decision to join the coalition.

"Former Joint List member Jamal Zahalka called the alliance 'a sin, not just a mistake' * * *

(iv) "Abbas temporarily halted coalition negotiations during an 11-day conflict between Israel and Gaza militants last month that also saw violent incidents between Jews and Arabs within Israel.

"But the decision to join a coalition was a strategic, long-term view, said Arik Rudnitzky of the Israel Democracy Institute.

" 'He would not withdraw such a strategic option just because of violent events [hinting that Abbas will not leave Change government if future war erupts between Israel and Gaza],' Rudnitzky said.

• Joint List won 6 seats in the May 23, 2021 election, down by five seats.
(d) Joint List Backs Bid to Replace Knesset Speaker, Boosting Effort to Quickly Form Gov't. Times of Israel, June 3, 2021 (liveblog; 3 hours ago; it is now 12 noon EDT (Eastern Daylight-saving Time) )
https://www.timesofisrael.com/li ... -quickly-form-govt/
("The Joint List has signed the call by the 'change bloc' for a vote to replace Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin of Likud, giving the bid a parliamentary majority despite the objection of Yamina MK Nir Orbach to the move. The predominantl


(3) What happens to Benny Gantz, who a year ago was tasked by Israeili president to form a government but came up short?  The following is well written.

Alona Ferber, Israel Elections 2021: What Does Benny Gantz's Fall Mean for the Opposition?   As Israelis prepare to head to the polls, the opposition to Netanyahu is more fragmented than ever. New Statesman, Mar 19, 2021
https://www.newstatesman.com/wor ... all-mean-opposition

Quote:

(i) "Poll after poll now puts Gantz uncomfortably close to the electoral threshold of just four seats, the minimum vote share a party needs to get seats in Israel's Knesset parliament. This is a sharp drop from the 33 he won last March [MKs had left Gantz's party om a relentless pace in between the two elections (2020 and 2021)].

(ii) "In the two years since he entered politics, Gantz's status as Netanyahu’s main challenger has evaporated. His public image has shifted from one of decency in the face of the prime minister's alleged corruption, to one of failure [because he doesnot use knife] and betrayal [to his base. See next]. * * *

(iii) "What went so wrong? * * *

(iv) "Part of the explanation for Gantz's failure is that he committed the one mistake no politician can afford to make: betraying his base. 'He didn't understand the value of the base,' veteran political commentator Tal Schneider tells me. While Netanyahu considers his core voters in every political move, Gantz did not appreciate that his voters abandoned their previous political homes, including parties on the left, because 'they believed him that he wouldn't collaborate with Netanyahu.' Entering the coalition government not only lost him public support, but political allies, she says.

"Another problem, says leading Israeli pundit Ben Caspit, was that Gantz listened to advisers who had moved with him from the military, rather than veterans steeped in Israeli politics. Caspit is one of the commentators who thought Gantz did the right thing by entering the coalition – 'I know it was [his] only option' – but the unity government was plagued by bad faith from the negotiating phase: a loophole that not passing a national budget would trigger elections gave Netanyahu a way out of the deal, Caspit explains. By December, the government had collapsed due to a missed budget deadline." (brackets original).

"A further explanation is that Gantz's lack of political experience helped Netanyahu gain the upper hand. 'His toolkit doesn't come with a knife,' says Caspit, also likening Gantz to a 'goldfish in a pool of piranhas.'


• Alona (given name)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alona_(given_name)  
("In Hebrew, Alona is the feminine version of Alon [Hebrew noun masculine for oak (tree)]")
• New Statesman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Statesman   
("Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature [in] 1913 * * * Today, the magazine is a print-digital hybrid."/  based inLondon)