The Impact of Israel’s New Government
Like a professional boxer who has been battered and beaten in the ring, but rises again to retake the championship title, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu once again sits atop Israel’s government. The savvy politician’s remarkable record includes the following stints as prime minister:
Bibi’s record of being elected six times over four different decades shows resolute staying power. As Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, he is a consummate politician, able to cobble together diverse factions into a ruling coalition in Israel’s parliamentary system. [The fractiousness of that system is attested to by the necessity of five national elections within the past four years.]
And by all accounts, the most recent iteration of a Bibi-led government is remarkable in its makeup. The previous government, under the shared leadership of Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid,[2] was the most diverse (including representatives from the left, center, and Arab blocs). The present government consists of Benjamin Netanyahu’s “center-right” Likud party and parties further to the right.
Mr. Netanyahu has proven to be a consummate horse-trader during his prolonged political career. His Likud Party garnered only 32 seats in the November 1 election; 29 additional seats were required to reach the requisite 120. Bibi needed every bit of his wily skills to placate each faction needed for the government to be ratified on December 29, 2022.
One would think having more of a consensus coalition would provide greater strength than having to please rival parties with widely disparate agendas. In truth, Bibi needed the allowed extended time to form his government[3] because his natural ideological partners were vying for coveted ministerial posts as the price for their willingness to join the coalition.
Beyond the normal jockeying for cabinet seats, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) actually had to make legislative changes to accommodate the demands of some partners. For example, the “Deri Law” was passed so Aryeh Deri,[4] head of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party Shas, could serve in the cabinet. And the “Ben-Gvir Law”[5] expanded the authority of the National Security Ministry to include oversight responsibility of the national police to Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank) as a condition of his joining the coalition and taking the security portfolio.
As with every election, the opposition parties are unhappy with changes a new government makes. But outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid voiced his concerns even before Israel’s 35th government was ratified. “Netanyahu is weak and they formed the most extreme government in the country's history. We will fight for the rule of law, we will fight for the rights of women and the LGBT community, we will fight for the values of the IDF (the Israeli military), we will fight for the education of our children, we will fight for a society that is tolerant of Jewish identity and does not condone discrimination and racism.”[6]
The reason for this heightened rhetoric is that the majority of the Likud’s coalition partners are from the ultra-Orthodox religious parties.[7] Even though the Noam Party received only one mandate[8] (Knesset seat), their influence will be felt as its leader, Avi Maoz, was appointed a deputy minister heading “The Authority for National Jewish Identity.”
Maoz is an outspoken proponent for the biblical view of “one man, one woman” marriage.[9] His religious coalition partners uphold the same position, adding pressure to Netanyahu, who previously has not opposed the gay rights agenda, including the annual pride parades in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.[10] The deep social division over values in Israel is seen in a leading rabbi’s public statements about the first openly gay Knesset member[11] – who is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
Israel was established on socialist ideals. From David Ben Gurion’s declaration of statehood in 1948 until Likud founder Menachem Begin was elected prime minister in 1977, the government had been dominated by the left-wing Mapai/Labor Party.[12] The present government is by far the most conservative – and religious.
Outgoing government officials publicly decried the anticipated about-face in public education the conservatives will unleash.[13] Of concern to educators is the way public dollars are used. Under the previous administration there was a push to make religious schools, which receive tax funding, teach a broader curriculum than the Orthodox rabbis desire.[14] Further, the Bible was to no longer be required as a subject in public schools. As part of the coalition rabbis’ negotiations with Bibi, additional funding and no changes to the restricted curriculum were demanded for religious schools.[15] And the educational policies of the previous regime were reversed, restoring required Bible classes in public institutions of learning.[16]
The influence of the rabbis is evident on many levels, affecting daily life in Israel in ways outsiders might not anticipate. For example, to reduce the use of plastic (out of environmental concerns), a tax on single-use plastics had been enacted. Jewish people who observe kosher laws must use separate plates and cutlery for meat and dairy, so cheap plastic is an affordable option and the tax was burdensome. Treasury Minister Bezalel Smotrich made removing that tax a priority for the new government.[17]
The outcry against the new regime’s agenda has not been limited to liberals within Israel. The non-Orthodox American Jewish community is also exercised about the direction the ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Netanyahu’s government are heading.[18] Messianic believers also have concerns about religiously motivated attacks on persons and property, likely to be emboldened by the political strength of the religious parties. A recent example is the January 1 vandalism of a Christian cemetery on Mount Zion.[19]
More troubling in the wider world’s eyes are the actions taken that affect the Palestinian-Israeli stalemate. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s January 3 visit to the Temple Mount,[20] aiming to reinforce Israel’s sovereignty over Judaism’s most sacred site (and Islam’s third), was considered a provocation by many.[21] The U.N. Security Council felt this rose to the level that a special meeting needed to convene on January 5 to condemn it – though no violence resulted from the walkabout.[22]
Bezalel Smotrich was named a second minister in the Department of Defense. His National Religious Party ultimately seeks annexation of the West Bank territories.[23] This of course is anathema to the current US administration and all who promote a “two-state solution” to this intractable situation which resulted from Israel’s victory in 1967’s Six Day War.
Regardless of one’s political views, believers do well to fulfill the biblical command to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). Cagey politician though he may be, Mr. Netanyahu will need wisdom from on high in the days ahead. He must carefully navigate the turbulent waters of coalition politics as he seeks to lead a deeply divided country.
Of greater concern, he must chart a course to deal with the threats to Israel’s internal security as well as the existential threat posed by Hamas, Hezbollah, and a soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. “Shalom aleinu v’al col Yisrael.”[24]
Written by Wes, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
What comparisons do you see in the deep divisions in Israeli society and those found in your own country? What opportunities for the gospel result?
How do you think the increasing influence of the rabbis will affect believers in Jesus in Israel? How would the Lord have you pray for them?
Who do you know who has a love for Israel and would benefit from reading blogs like this? Why not forward a link to them and ask what they think?
Endnotes:
[1] Israel’s political system allows for an existing government to be sustained even when new Knesset elections are held. The 34th government spanned two Knessets.
[2] See https://lifeinmessiah.org/blog/vote-of-confidence regarding the 2021 election.
[3] Following national elections, Israeli law allows for the nation’s president to offer the leading candidate for prime minister the opportunity to form a ruling government. This requires putting together a coalition of parties with at least 61 total mandates (of a total 120 parliamentary seats). The candidate has 28 days to form a new government; a 14-day extension may be granted if needed. Mr. Netanyahu needed the extended time to negotiate satisfactory agreements with his partners.
[4] Israeli law prohibited anyone convicted of a crime from holding a ministerial post. The law was amended to “no one who has served time in prison” so Mr. Deri, who had been convicted and fined for tax fraud but not imprisoned, could be given the much-desired Interior Ministry portfolio (equivalent to the State Dept. in the U.S.).
[5] Named for Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party.
[7] Religious Zionism (14 seats); Shas (11 seats); United Torah Judaism (7 seats).
[8] On November 20, 2022, Otzma Yehudit with its 6 seats and Noam (1 seat) split from the Religious Zionism bloc, leaving it with 7 seats. https://www.timesofisrael.com/separating-from-religious-zionism-otzma-yehudit-and-noam-now-independent-factions/.
[9] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-724426.
[10] https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-march-in-jerusalem-pride-parade-under-heavy-police-guard/.
[15] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-720688.
[16] https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-education-minister-scraps-predecessors-matriculation-reforms/.
[19] https://allisrael.com/desecration-at-christian-cemetery-in-jerusalem-30-graves-vandalized.
[21] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-726499. https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-visit-ben-gvir-refuses-to-say-if-hell-seek-to-change-temple-mount-status-quo/.
[23] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-721795.
[24] Shalom to us and to all Israel.