Triumphant Netanyahu Moves Forward with Creating a Government
By Omer Hortig
Following the recent November elections in Israel, former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to stage a comeback to the top job. Netanyahu’s dramatic return comes after his Likud party and other members of his bloc won a majority 65 out of 120 seats in the Israeli Knesset, or parliament. Current Prime Minister and political opponent Yair Lapid has conceded the premiership race, and on November 6, Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave Netanyahu the mandate to begin forming a new government. As Netanyahu returns, political observers eye the rise of his far-right allies and the implications of another Netanyahu administration on his ongoing corruption trials.
To solidify his support from members of Knesset, Netanyahu now has the task of divvying up cabinet appointments to solidify the support to those who allied with him in the election and begin the work of governing. Already, top portfolios have been promised to the far-right parties which propelled Netanyahu to victory. Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right party Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Might”), campaigned on a policy of strict crackdowns on unrest in the West Bank and in Arab Israeli towns. He is now demanding that Netanyahu appoint him the head of the Public Security Ministry and place a member of Otzma Yehudit in charge of the Development of the Negev and the Galilee portfolio to gain his support. Additionally, far-right Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich — now the third largest party in Knesset — initially insisted to be named Minister of Defense, but has since stated that he would settle for the Finance Ministry and a ministerial position within the Defense Ministry that would be responsible for the West Bank. Religious Zionism is also expected to head the Ministry of Education. With many of the top political positions going to supporters outside of the Likud, politicians in Netanyahu’s own party are complaining that they are being “left with crumbs.” Likud MK David Bitan said, “There is not a lot left for the Likud,” even after Netanyahu pledged to reserve the Defense and Foreign ministries for the party. In the competition for the vitally important Defense Minister, Likud MK Yoav Gallant and former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter top Netanyahu’s list. As for Finance Minister, Likud MK Israel Katz has gone on a public offensive to try to force Netanyahu to give him the job he had previously held. Furthermore, it has been reported that Netanyahu wants to appoint former ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer to be Foreign Minister. Recently, Religious Zionism has stated that Likud has backed away from coalition negotiations and has refused its ministerial demands, amping up an already tense and fragile process.
Netanyahu’s re-election, and especially the posting of previously fringe far-right politicians to top government posts, has been cause for concern for many. In a sign that the rise of the far-right has emboldened many nationalist extremists in Israel, Religious Zionism supporters gathered after the election results were publicized in Sheikh Jarrah, a hotly contested neighborhood in Jerusalem and the catalyst for an armed conflict last year and taunted and threw stones towards Palestinian areas. Ben-Gvir in particular has been a source of anxiety; in an accidental hot mic pick-up, the constitutionally apolitical President Herzog was caught saying that Ben-Gvir is “feared around the world.” Leaders in the West and around the Middle East have already expressed their concerns about Ben-Gvir’s inclusion in the coalition, with the Biden administration in the United States considering a policy of avoiding engaging with Ben-Gvir altogether. Furthermore, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has told Netanyahu that appointing extremist ministers would damage the U.S.-Israel relationship. Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed relayed a similar message to the incoming Prime Minister. Domestically, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of religious party Shas, has condemned Ben-Gvir’s antics of entering the religiously contested Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the campaign, stating that it is “forbidden to enter the Temple Mount,” and that voters should “stay away” from Ben-Gvir.
For his ability to return from political setbacks and avoid consequences for his many corruption indictments, Netanyahu has earned the nickname “The Magician.” Now back in power, Netanyahu sees a chance to finally make the corruption trials against him, which have dominated the Israeli political sphere since 2018, vanish. The open indictments against him, Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000, focus on a variety of quid-pro-quo allegations which allege that Netanyahu abused his office for political and personal gain. Critics and democracy advocacy groups fear that Netanyahu’s allies in Knesset will legalize some of the crimes he is accused of committing, or even end the trials entirely. With his election victory, it appears that Netanyahu has been able to convince the majority of the electorate that the allegations leveled against him are mere witch hunts devised to take him down.
Riding high after an election victory which vindicated his fight against corruption charges, Benjamin Netanyahu is once again wielding political magic to piece together a government within the given 6-week window. Although the patronage demands from every side of his coalition threaten to break up his support and the impact of including controversial figures such as Itamar Ben-Gvir in his government has yet to be realized, it is evident that there is no one with quite the political savviness necessary to handle such issues as Netanyahu.
