Hey everyone! It was a relatively light week of news, so I’m only going to do one story and honorable mentions today. As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions, comments, concerns, or ideas for how to make News of the Jews better at newsofthejews@gmail.com. If you need good Jewish/Israeli shows or movies, make sure to check out this newsletter. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @skaps1.
Israel’s governing coalition teeters on the brink of collapse:
Background: As you may recall, Israel’s current government was formed in March after its third election in a year. Forming the coalition was complicated because neither the center-left bloc, led by Blue and White’s Benny Gantz, nor the right-wing bloc, led by Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu, had enough Knesset seats to form a government (an MK needs 61 recommendations to be named Prime Minister). In the aftermath of the election, Gantz considered forming an unorthodox coalition with the Israeli-Arab parties (the Joint List), a liberal party (Meretz), and a right-wing secular party (Yisrael Beitenu). However, it was not clear that Gantz would be able to convince the parties to cooperate. Still, the fact that Gantz considered forming a coalition with the Israeli-Arab parties is noteworthy because the Israeli-Arab parties usually refuse to join most governments.
Ultimately, Gantz decided that his Blue and White party, which was actually several parties grouped together, would join Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition to form a government. When he made the announcement, Blue and White split up into its constituent parties because Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, refused to sit with Netanyahu (not joining a Netanyahu-led government was a Blue and White campaign promise). The remaining party, which is also called Blue and White, currently sits in the government. As part of their coalition agreement, Netanyahu will rotate the premiership to Gantz in November 2021. The coalition agreement includes several provisions to ensure Netanyahu follows through with the rotation, most notably that if Israel goes to early elections, Gantz automatically becomes the Prime Minister. However, there is one exception: If Israel does not pass a budget for 2021 by December 23rd, Israel will automatically go to elections, and Netanyahu is allowed to remain the Prime Minister until a new government is formed. To date, Israel’s finance minister, a member of Likud, has not introduced a 2021 budget.
Netanyahu and Gantz. Source: U.S. Department of State
What happened? Earlier in the week, Gantz announced that he would support Yesh Atid’s (the main opposition party) bill to disperse the Knesset and head to early elections. Accusing Netanyahu of breaking promises, Gantz said that “Netanyahu did not mislead me. He misled all citizens of Israel.” Netanyahu accused Gantz of lying, saying that Gantz should do “a U-turn from politics for the citizens of Israel.” Still, both leaders left the door open to compromise in the future. The bill to disperse the Knesset still needs to pass three more votes, and there is still time before the December 23rd deadline.
What’s going on here? The logic of Netanyahu and Gantz’s political moves is fascinating because it shows both politicians simultaneously want and do not want elections. On the one hand, the only way Netanyahu remains Prime Minister after November 2021 is if he does not present a budget and forces the government’s collapse. Yet, it is a bad time for elections because the evidentiary phase of his corruption trial begins in February and the election would likely be in March. He would also be roundly criticized for poorly handling COVID-19, as Israel was one of the first countries to go into a second national lockdown. On the other hand, Gantz desperately does not want to go to elections because it’s probably the only way he can become Prime Minister (his party is not polling well). Still, if an election is inevitable, March is as good a time as any because Netanyahu will be politically vulnerable. Moreover, by dissolving the government prematurely, Gantz might be able to control the narrative more effectively.
Anything else? It’s Israel, so elections could still be averted before the deadline. There are also some other variables to keep in mind, like the start of Joe Biden’s term as President and a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia (though a Saudi prince was fiercely critical of Israel at a recent panel). I’ll dive into those once we know if Israel is actually headed to another election.
Further reading:https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/gantz-says-elections-are-all-but-certain-651249
Honorable Mentions:
“WATCH: Daveed Diggs’ new ‘Puppy for Hanukkah’ song” by Shira Hanau (JTA) (Daveed Diggs is known for playing Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton. Diggs is Jewish.) Here’s the video:
“Gal Gadot signs 8-figure deal to star in Heart of Stone” by Hannah Brown (JPost)
“Mossad expert, ex-spies outline planning, challenges of targeted killings” (TOI)
“‘Israel has tape of slain Iran nuke chief talking about building five warheads’” (TOI)
“What does the Supreme Court decision actually change for synagogues in COVID hot spots? It’s complicated.” by Michael Helfand (JTA) (I included a link to an article about the court case in last week’s edition)
“The Hate That Can’t Be Contained” by Blake Flayton (Tablet)
“Democratic centrists succeed pro-Israel stalwarts Engel and Lowey as chairs of key House panels” by Ron Kampeas (JTA)
“New York Young Republicans call Andrew Cuomo aide a ‘court Jew’” by Ben Sales (JTA)
“‘Jeopardy!’ Just Had a Yiddish Category and We’re Kvelling” by Lior Zaltzman (Kveller)
“Adolf Hitler Uunona wins election in Namibia, but he isn’t a Nazi” by Arno Rosenfeld (Forward)
If you enjoyed this newsletter, feel free to pass it along to a friend!