A coalition comes together

ALEX TRAIMAN JNS.ORG

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has assembled a governing coalition following nearly six weeks of negotiations, the maximum time allowed under Israeli law.

The Israeli government coalition includes Netanyahu’s ruling Likud-Beiteinu party – an alignment between Likud and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, 31 seats; Yesh Atid, a centrist party led by television personality Yair Lapid, 19 seats; HaBayit HaYehudi led by high-tech magnate Naftali Bennett, 12 seats; and Hatnuah, led by former Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni, six seats.

The 68-member strong parliamentary majority is now tasked with tackling Israel’s vast diplomatic, security and socioeconomic challenges for as long as they can agree to remain together in the Israeli government.

“This is not the government that Prime Minister Netanyahu preferred to form, however, the end of the negotiation process was determined by the negotiators,” said Dr. Dan Avnon, professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

It is widely known, according to Avnon, that Netanyahu preferred to form a government together with ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, but an alliance between Yesh Atid and HaBayit HaYehud proved to be the largest surprise of the Israeli elections season, forcing Netanyahu to take both parties into the coalition, to the exclusion of the ultra-

Orthodox, or face new elections. While the alliance was created shortly after the elections, Netanyahu waited until the final moments to form a government.

“The coalition process seems to reveal a great deal about the prime minister’s thought process,” said Avnon. “He has a tendency to postpone decisions until the last possible second. In the end, his decisions under pressure seem to be based on pragmatism rather than principles.

“If domestic and international actors will take note of this pattern, that could have an effect on the outcomes of future negotiations, and could be particularly relevant vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority and the peace process,” Avnon added.

Advancing the peace process may be the major sticking point of the Israeli government coalition. While Yesh Atid and HaBayit HaYehudi appear to share many socioeconomic values – including easing the cost of housing, wanting all Israeli citizens to serve in the military regardless of Torah study and efficient governance – the two parties appear to differ sharply on the issue of furthering a Palestinian state.

HaBayit HaYehudi chairman Bennett has come out staunchly against the creation of such a state, offering instead a plan to formally annex most of the territories of Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to as the West Bank.

Lapid has spoken openly about a desire to “divorce” Israel from the Palestinians. Added into the political mix is Livni, who actively campaigned for the immediate resumption of negotiations with Palestinians, and was placed in charge of such processes in the upcoming government under Netanyahu’s direction.

According to Avnon, this could be the most difficult of all the issues facing the incoming Israeli government coalition. “There are very deep differences on this issue due to the pressures these leaders face within their own parties,” he said.

While the differences between the parties are well understood by their leaders, Lapid and Bennett appear ready to prioritize domestic issues in the absence of a credible peace partner.

“Both Lapid and Bennett have campaigned to represent the interests of Israel’s middle class,” said Dr. Ofer Kenig, head of the political parties research group, part of the Forum for Political Reform in Israel at the Israel Democracy Institute.

“The two have formed a surprising alliance that appears to be a result of the social protests during the summer of 2011,” Kenig said.

Kenig called the alliance “a tactical alliance against Netanyahu and Lieberman, who have their own strategic alliance.”

“Whether the [Lapid-Bennett] alliance will hold is another story,” he said. “Yet the assumption is the alliance can hold.”

Kenig said there have been “stranger conditions for coalition governments than this one.”

“Four years ago, then Labor chairman and defence minister Ehud Barak had to sit with hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, as well as the ultra-Orthodox parties,” he said. “Internal contradictions are not new to Israeli governments.”

According to Kenig, this coalition may hold specifically because the parties can find common ground on key issues, and the length of time it took to form the coalition is no indication on how the Israeli government can function together.

“Everybody is impatient due to the fast news cycle,” Kenig said. “People quickly forget that the process of the formation of this government was only three days longer than the coalition formed in 2009. It is not dramatically longer than any previous coalition formation in the past 10 years. “Leaders going into a coalition need to make tough compromises to get into workable agreements. So this takes time. Psychologically, the laws guiding the [coalition formation] process are wise. In Europe, coalitions can take much longer,” he added.

According to the coalition framework, the parties will work to amend the system of government, by decreasing the number of cabinet portfolios and eliminating smaller parties from the legislature, in addition to drafting laws to severely limit the number of ultra-Orthodox exemptions for serving in the army.

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