tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/naftali-bennett-76175/articlesNaftali Bennett – La Conversation2022-05-16T18:30:04Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1830772022-05-16T18:30:04Z2022-05-16T18:30:04ZHow media reports of ‘clashes’ mislead Americans about Israeli-Palestinian violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463332/original/file-20220516-15-bbvezx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C22%2C3715%2C2454&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When does a 'clash' become an 'assault'?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PicturesoftheWeek-Global-PhotoGallery/bc862b042976498580767f551fd3e35f/photo?Query=Shireen%20Abu%20Akleh%20funeral%20police&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=20&currentItemNo=8">AP Photo/Maya Levin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/why-is-israel-afraid-of-the-palestinian-flag">Israeli police attacked</a> mourners carrying the coffin of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 13, 2022, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shireen-abu-akleh-journalist-funeral-west-bank-bb71e2ec64dd034066bc6df4a9aa2fb3">beating pallbearers with batons and kicking them</a> when they fell to the ground.</p>
<p>Yet those who skimmed the headlines of initial reports from several U.S. media outlets may have been left with a different impression of what happened. </p>
<p>“Israeli Police Clash with Mourners at Funeral Procession,” read the <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/israeli-police-clash-with-mourners-a-funeral-procession-for-journalist-139944517790">headline of MSNBC’s online report</a>. The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-forces-palestinians-clash-in-west-bank-before-funeral-of-journalist-11652471399">had a similar</a> headline on its story: “Israeli Forces, Palestinians Clash in West Bank before Funeral of Journalist.”</p>
<p>Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israeli-police-clash-al-jazeera-journalist-shireen-abu-akleh-mourners">began the text of its article</a> with “Clashes erupted Friday in Jerusalem as mourners attended the burial of veteran American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot dead Friday when covering a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.”</p>
<p>There is no mention in the headlines of these articles about who instigated the violence, nor any hint of the power imbalance between a heavily armed Israeli police force and what appeared to be unarmed Palestinian civilians.</p>
<p>Such language and omissions are common in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-media-reporting-on-israel-palestine-there-is-nowhere-to-hide-160992">reporting of violence conducted by Israel’s police or military</a>. Similar headlines followed an incident in April in which <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-jerusalem-aqsa-mosque-storm-attack-worshipper">Israeli police attacked worshippers</a> at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Then, too, police attacks on worshippers – in which as many as 152 Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets and batons – were <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/17/1093233899/jerusalem-violence-al-aqsa-mosque">widely</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-police-palestinians-clash-jerusalem-holy-site-2022-04-15/">described</a> as “clashes.”</p>
<p>And headlines matter – many Americans <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/03/19/americans-read-headlines-and-not-much-else/">do not read past them</a> when consuming news or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/16/six-in-10-of-you-will-share-this-link-without-reading-it-according-to-a-new-and-depressing-study/">sharing articles online</a>.</p>
<h2>Neutral terms aren’t always neutral</h2>
<p>The use of a word like “clashes” might seem to make sense in a topic as contentious as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which violent acts are perpetrated by both sides.</p>
<p>But as a <a href="https://menas.arizona.edu/people/maha-nassar">scholar of Palestinian history</a> and an <a href="https://www.972mag.com/us-media-palestinians/">analyst of U.S. media coverage of this topic</a>, I believe using neutral terms such as “clashes” to describe Israeli police and military attacks on Palestinian civilians is misleading. It overlooks instances in which Israeli forces instigate violence against Palestinians who pose no threat to them. It also often gives more weight to official Israeli narratives than to Palestinian ones.</p>
<p>U.S. media have <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/pens-and-swords/9780231133487">long been accused</a> of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2001.30.2.61">misleading their audience</a> when it comes to violence committed against Palestinians. A 2021 <a href="https://web.mit.edu/hjackson/www/The_NYT_Distorts_the_Palestinian_Struggle.pdf">study from MIT of 50 years of New York Times coverage</a> of the conflict found “a disproportionate use of the passive voice to refer to negative or violent action perpetrated towards Palestinians.” </p>
<p>Using the passive voice – for example, reporting that “Palestinians were killed in clashes” rather than “Israeli forces killed Palestinians” – is language that helps shield Israel from scrutiny. It also obscures the reason so many Palestinians would be angry at Israel. </p>
<p>It’s not just The New York Times. A <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/01/12/israel-palestine-conflict-news-headlines/">2019 analysis by data researchers in Canada of more than 100,000 headlines</a> from 50 years of U.S. coverage across five newspapers <a href="https://vridar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/416LABS_50_Years_of_Occupation.pdf">concluded that</a> “the U.S. mainstream media’s coverage of the conflict favors Israel in terms of both the sheer quantity of stories covered, and by providing more opportunities to the Israelis to amplify their point of view.”</p>
<p>That 2019 study also found that words associated with violence, including “clash” and “clashes,” were more likely to be used in stories about Palestinians than Israelis.</p>
<h2>Competing narratives</h2>
<p>One problem with using “clash” is that it obscures incidents in which Israeli police and security forces attack Palestinians who pose no threat to them. </p>
<p>Amnesty International, a human rights advocacy group, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/05/israel-opt-increase-in-unlawful-killings-and-other-crimes-highlights-urgent-need-to-end-israels-apartheid-against-palestinians/">described the recent incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque</a> as one in which Israeli police “brutally attacked worshippers in and around the mosque and used violence that amounts to torture and other ill-treatment to break up gatherings.”</p>
<p>The word “clashes” does not convey this reality.</p>
<p>Using “clashes” also gives more credibility to the Israeli government version of the story than the Palestinian one. Israeli officials often accuse Palestinians of instigating violence, claiming that soldiers and police had to use lethal force to stave off Palestinian attacks. And that’s how these events are usually reported.</p>
<p>But Israeli human rights group B'Tselem’s database on Israeli and Palestinian fatalities <a href="https://statistics.btselem.org/en/all-fatalities/by-date-of-incident?section=participation&tab=overview">shows that</a> most of the roughly 10,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since 2000 did not “participate in hostilities” at the time they were killed.</p>
<p>We saw this attempt to shift the blame to Palestinians for Israeli violence in the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. According to <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-al-jazeera-journalist-shireen-abu-akleh-shot-dead-jenin">her colleagues at the scene of her death</a>, an Israeli military sniper <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/shireen-abu-akleh-killing-al-jazeera-journalist-eyewitness-account?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1652294662">deliberately shot and killed the veteran journalist</a> with a live bullet to her right temple, even though she was wearing a “PRESS” flak jacket and helmet. One or more snipers also shot at Abu Akleh’s colleagues as they tried to rescue her, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-al-jazeera-journalist-shireen-abu-akleh-shot-dead-jenin">according to eyewitness accounts</a>. </p>
<p>At first, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/11/israel-jazeera-journalist-jenin/">said</a> that “armed Palestinians shot in an inaccurate, indiscriminate and uncontrolled manner” at the time of her killing – implying that Palestinians could have shot Abu Akleh. Then, as evidence mounted <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220512-btselem-israel-narrative-about-killing-shireen-abu-akleh-untrue/">disproving this account</a>, Israeli officials changed course, <a href="https://www.jta.org/2022/05/11/israel/benny-gantz-al-jazeera-journalist-may-have-been-killed-by-israeli-or-palestinian-fire">saying that</a> the source of the gunfire “cannot yet be determined.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A women walks past a mural depicting slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and a helmet with 'PRESS' on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463376/original/file-20220516-14-m92a0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mural of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PalestiniansIsraelJournalistKilled/80b0af70f3b34da798c415d95ce8c952/photo?Query=Shireen%20Abu%20Akleh&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=140&currentItemNo=14">AP Photo/Adel Hana</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The New York Times initially <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/world/middleeast/al-jazeera-journalist-killed-west-bank.html?searchResultPosition=7">reported that</a> Abu Akleh “was shot as clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian gunmen took place in the city.” Further down in the same story, we read that Palestinian journalist Ali Samudi, who was wounded in the same attack, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/world/middleeast/al-jazeera-journalist-killed-west-bank.html?searchResultPosition=7">said</a>, “There were no armed Palestinians or resistance or even civilians in the area.” Yet this perspective is missing from the headline and opening paragraphs of the story. </p>
<p>A few days later, an <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2022/05/14/unravelling-the-killing-of-shireen-abu-akleh/">analysis of available video footage</a> by investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat concluded that the evidence “appears to support” eyewitnesses who said no militant activity was taking place and that the gunfire came from Israeli military snipers.</p>
<p>The New York Times has not updated or corrected its original story to reflect this new evidence.</p>
<p>It provides an example of why the use of “clash” has been widely <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/28/jerusalem-al-aqsa-media-coverage-israeli-violence-palestinians/">criticized by Palestinian and Arab journalists</a>. Indeed, the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalist Association in 2021 <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56f442fc5f43a6ecc531a9f5/t/60a7f4b94dcb02030b448fc2/1621619899348/Guidelines+for+Palestine+%3A+Israel+Coverage+-+AMEJA.pdf">issued guidance for journalists</a>, urging that they “avoid the word ‘clashes’ in favor of a more precise description.” </p>
<h2>An incomplete picture</h2>
<p>There is another problem with “clashes.” Limiting media attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only when “clashes erupt” gives Western readers and viewers an incomplete picture. It ignores what B’Tselem describes as the “<a href="https://www.btselem.org/routine_founded_on_violence">daily routine of overt or implicit state violence</a>” that Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories face.</p>
<p>Without understanding the daily violence that Palestinians experience – as documented by groups such as <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution">Human Rights Watch</a> and <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/">Amnesty International</a> – it is harder for news consumers to fully comprehend why “clashes” take place in the first place.</p>
<p>But the way people get their news is changing, and with it so are Americans’ views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is especially true among younger Americans, who are <a href="https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2019/how-younger-generations-consume-news-differently/">less likely</a> to receive their news from mainstream outlets. </p>
<p>Recent polls show that younger Americans generally <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/24/a-new-perspective-on-americans-views-of-israelis-and-palestinians/">sympathize with Palestinians</a> more than older Americans. That shift holds among <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.22.3.08#metadata_info_tab_contents">younger Jewish Americans</a> and <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/evangelical-youth-losing-love-for-israel-by-35-percent-study-shows-671178">younger evangelicals</a>, two communities that have traditionally expressed strong pro-Israel sentiments.</p>
<p>U.S. journalists themselves are also working to change how outlets cover Israeli violence. Last year several of them – including reporters from The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and ABC News – issued an <a href="https://medialetterpalestine.medium.com/an-open-letter-on-u-s-media-coverage-of-palestine-d51cad42022d">open letter</a> calling on fellow journalists “to tell the full, contextualized truth without fear or favor, to recognize that obfuscating Israel’s oppression of Palestinians fails this industry’s own objectivity standards.” So far, over 500 journalists have signed on.</p>
<p>Accurate language in the reporting of Israeli-Palestinian violence is not only a concern for journalists’ credibility – it would also provide U.S. news consumers with a deeper understanding of the conditions on the ground and the deadly consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183077/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maha Nassar is a 2022 Palestinian Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace.</span></em></p>In trying to present violent events in ‘neutral’ language, media reports may be ignoring power imbalances when it comes to Israeli police or military violence against Palestinian civilians.Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625472021-06-15T12:26:29Z2021-06-15T12:26:29ZIt wasn’t just politics that led to Netanyahu’s ouster – it was fear of his demagoguery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406250/original/file-20210614-128076-15gmd07.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C16%2C3623%2C2406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Benjamin Netanyahu sits in the Knesset before parliament voted June 13, 2021, in Jerusalem to approve the new government that doesn't include him, </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-look-thoughtful-news-photo/1323383884?adppopup=true">Amir Levy/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is something Shakespearean about Benjamin Netanyahu’s downfall.</p>
<p>As in a scene from “Julius Caesar,” who was assassinated by Roman senators, Netanyahu was deposed by his former underlings, the leaders of the three right-wing parties that have joined the new government – <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/14/whos-who-in-israels-new-patchwork-coalition-government">Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Gideon Sa’ar</a>, all of whom once worked for Netanyahu.</p>
<p>If two of these men had remained loyal to Netanyahu, as they had been for years, then he would still be in power today.</p>
<p>Instead, Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/EXT-LIVE-israel-s-new-government-set-to-be-sworn-in-today-ending-netanyahu-s-12-year-rule-1.9899971">has finally been dethroned</a>. “King Bibi,” as his devoted supporters hail him, ruled Israel for a total of 15 years, including a short stint in the 1990s. He returned to power in 2009, and for the past 12 years he dominated Israeli politics and came to personify Israel in the eyes of the world.</p>
<p>But while personal grudges and political rivalries largely due to Netanyahu’s preening personality have no doubt played a key role in his ouster, they do not fully account for the unyielding opposition he has engendered.</p>
<p>It is not simply a result of individual grievances and political ambitions that Netanyahu can no longer appease or politically buy off his rivals. Nor is it just because <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium.HIGHLIGHT.MAGAZINE-bibi-raised-and-betrayed-a-generation-of-politicians-today-they-dethroned-him-1.9863827">they no longer believe any of his promises</a>. <a href="http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pgpEt8MAAAAJ&hl=en">As a scholar of Israeli politics</a>, I think that it is also, even primarily, because Netanyahu has come to be seen as a danger to Israeli democracy itself, just as former <a href="https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/democrats/2019/12/10/trump-and-the-threat-to-democracy/">President Donald Trump was in the United States</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thousands of people dancing in a public square in Tel Aviv, Israel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406248/original/file-20210614-132348-sd2ug9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of people take part in spontaneous celebrations in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, after the Knesset voted on June 13, 2021, to oust longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thousands-of-people-take-part-in-spontaneous-celebrations-news-photo/1323388597?adppopup=true">Guy Prives/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Becoming a demagogue</h2>
<p>In recent years, particularly since he was indicted on <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739">corruption charges</a> in several cases involving bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu has become increasingly autocratic.</p>
<p>During a period <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/freedom-houses-report-shows-democracy-in-trouble/618173/">when democracies around the world have been challenged by “authoritarian populists” </a>such as Trump, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/04/europe-hungary-viktor-orban-coronavirus-covid19-democracy/609313/">Hungary’s Viktor Orbán</a>, Turkey’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/business/west-democracy-turkey-erdogan-financial-crisis.html">Recep Tayyip Erdoğan</a>, India’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/02/donald-trump-narendra-modi-autocrats/607042/">Narendra Modi</a>, Brazil’s <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/14/bolsonaro-brazil-trump-anti-democracy-elections/">Jair Bolsonaro</a> and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kp79x/duterte-sona-authoritarian-death-penalty">Rodrigo Duterte</a> of the Philippines, Netanyahu has eagerly joined this <a href="https://peterbeinart.substack.com/p/benjamin-netanyahu-father-of-our?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyMTY1MzI1NiwicG9zdF9pZCI6Mzc1NjMwNjIsIl8iOiJrMEtDMiIsImlhdCI6MTYyMzY5MzU2MywiZXhwIjoxNjIzNjk3MTYzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTA1MjYwIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.dgH82tMsAhpg_pmHsURvFDLlP49qYMWazI3guak44gI">global club of illiberal strongmen and publicly embraced these controversial leaders.</a></p>
<p>Domestically, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2017/08/22/benjamin-netanyahu-and-the-politics-of-grievance/">he adopted many of their tactics</a>, trying to undermine the independence of the judiciary, neuter regulators, control or muzzle the media and use the power of patronage to reward loyalists and punish critics.</p>
<p>Netanyahu has also frequently employed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/06/netanyahu-says-israeli-coalition-is-result-of-election-fraud">populist rhetoric,</a> railing against the supposedly leftist elite, the “deep state” and the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-09/netanyahu-slams-israeli-media-as-fake-news-in-defiant-speech">“fake news” media</a>, all of whom he has alleged are conspiring against him.</p>
<p>He has portrayed himself as the victim of sinister, shadowy and powerful groups <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/middleeast/benjamin-netanyahu-israel-prime-minister.html">who are the enemies of the “people.”</a> In classic populist fashion, Netanyahu has claimed that only he represents the “people,” specifically, Israeli Jews, since Arab citizens of Israel are cast as dangerous Others. He demonizes his political opponents as threats to the nation, even traitors.</p>
<p>By deftly manipulating the fears and prejudices of the Israeli public, Netanyahu became, essentially, a demagogue.</p>
<h2>Personal becomes political</h2>
<p>The purpose of Netanyahu’s assault on the pillars of Israeli democracy was simple: for him to remain in power and stay out of jail.</p>
<p>To achieve this, he was willing to delegitimize <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-how-israel-s-supreme-court-ended-up-on-the-ballot-in-tuesday-s-election-1.9632792">not only his political opponents, but also state institutions</a> like the Supreme Court, the attorney general’s office and the police.</p>
<p>In a desperate attempt to evade his corruption trial for bribery and fraud and a possible lengthy prison sentence, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/middleeast/netanyahu-on-trial-israel.html">Netanyahu sought to gain immunity from prosecution as a sitting prime minister</a> while denying he was doing so.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Benjamin Netanyahu stands in front of a large photo showing him and U.S. President Donald Trump." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406252/original/file-20210614-102344-ssdh2o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Netanyahu, here at a 2020 campaign rally, made much of his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump – emulating much of his authoritarian rhetoric.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-stand-near-a-news-photo/1195197148?adppopup=true">Amir Levy/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/netanyahu-pleads-not-guilty-trial-resume-00acff1fc1f26aa7aa722e296b732f7f">His stubborn refusal to resign</a>, even after his criminal trial began – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/netanyahus-corruption-trial-opens-with-a-sitting-israeli-premier-in-the-dock-for-the-first-time/2020/05/22/14f2b206-9ab9-11ea-ad79-eef7cd734641_story.html">the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister was in the dock</a> – appeared to be driven by his desire to use his position as prime minister to gain legal immunity or at least intimidate the lawyers and judges he might face, and convince the public that he was being persecuted.</p>
<p>It wasn’t only his political survival and personal freedom, however, that motivated Netanyahu. He seems to sincerely believe that Israel will be endangered without his leadership. His long tenure in power apparently convinced him that only he can steer the ship of state, especially given the treacherous waters it must navigate.</p>
<p>“Try to damage as little as possible of the magnificent economy we are handing over to you, so that we can fix it as fast as possible when we return,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/13/world/israel-knesset-bennett-lapid-netanyahu">he said as power was handed over</a> to the coalition.</p>
<p>Like other longtime leaders, Netanyahu came to <a href="https://time.com/6072010/benjamin-netanyahu-legacy-israel/">equate his own personal and political interests with those of Israel.</a> What was good for him was good for Israel; what harmed him, harmed Israel. Netanyahu also convinced his supporters of this equation, just as many of his critics became convinced that the opposite was true.</p>
<p>Thus, Netanyahu managed to divide Israelis into two antagonistic camps: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-coalition-netanyahu-bennett-lapid/2021/06/01/614bb632-c2c9-11eb-89a4-b7ae22aa193e_story.html">pro-Netanyahu versus anti-Netanyahu</a>. This division replaced the <a href="https://www.israel-peace.com/about/">traditional left-right ideological divide</a> that had dominated Israeli politics for decades – and which is why the new government spans the ideological spectrum.</p>
<p>[<em>Explore the intersection of faith, politics, arts and culture.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=religion-explore">Sign up for This Week in Religion.</a>]</p>
<h2>Surviving without Netanyahu</h2>
<p>It is premature to write Netanyahu’s political obituary – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/middleeast/netanyahu-naftali-bennett-israel-vote.html">he remains the leader of Likud, by far the largest party in the Knesset</a>, Israel’s parliament. He has vowed to bring down the newly installed “change government” and swiftly return to power.</p>
<p>He could well accomplish this task given his Machiavellian political skills and the inherent fragility of Israel’s new governing coalition, which is composed of no fewer than eight different parties ranging across the political spectrum. Since it depends on a razor-thin parliamentary majority of 61 of the 120 Knesset seats, the government will be extremely vulnerable to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-parliament-speech.html">Netanyahu’s relentless efforts to topple it.</a></p>
<p>But however short-lived Israel’s fledgling government turns out to be, its mere formation is not only something of a political miracle – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/whos-who-israels-new-patchwork-coalition-government-2021-06-13/">bringing together religious and secular ultranationalist right-wingers, liberal centrists, secular leftists and Arab Islamists</a> – but also a stunning repudiation of Netanyahu.</p>
<p>Ultimately, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-12-netanyahu-years-transfer-of-power-crucially-affirms-israeli-democracy/">the rule of law and democratic process in Israel have survived Netanyahu’s attacks</a>. A peaceful transition of power has occurred, despite angry protests and violent threats against some of the members of the incoming government.</p>
<p>The mere fact that Israel has a new prime minister will now demonstrate to many Israelis that the country can survive without Netanyahu’s leadership. Even if the new government accomplishes very little, this alone will be an important achievement.</p>
<p>By rejecting Netanyahu’s demagoguery, Prime Minister Bennett can also begin to heal some of the divisiveness that Netanyahu stoked and exploited, <a href="https://theconversation.com/netanyahu-may-be-ousted-but-his-hard-line-foreign-policies-remain-162580">even if his government continues many of Netanyahu’s policies, as seems likely</a>. This, if nothing else, will be the “change” it promises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dov Waxman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t ousted just for typical political reasons, such as other politicians’ ambitions or grievances. He was thrown out because he was seen as a threat to democracy.Dov Waxman, Director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies, University of California, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625802021-06-14T15:05:22Z2021-06-14T15:05:22ZNetanyahu may be ousted but his hard-line foreign policies remain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406164/original/file-20210614-27-m30z6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C6%2C4407%2C3033&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on June 13, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IsraelPolitics/05ff0d826678484a8a165ca2edcb7070/photo">AP Photo/Ariel Schalit</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After two years of repeated and inconclusive Israeli elections, the advent of a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/new-israeli-government-seals-coalition-deals-netanyahu-era-approaches-its-end-2021-06-11/">new coalition government</a> has ended the long era of Benjamin Netanyahu’s prime ministership. Yet he leaves a legacy of hawkish policies that will likely remain intact.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.umass.edu/spp/people/faculty/david-mednicoff">scholar of Middle Eastern politics</a>, I think that Netanyahu will largely be remembered internationally for three things. These are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/16/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-palestinian-state/index.html">stymieing the emergence of a Palestinian state</a>, <a href="https://nypost.com/2017/01/29/why-israel-has-the-most-technologically-advanced-military-on-earth/">enhancing Israeli military strength</a> and <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/netanyahu-twitter-iran-poland.html">opposing Iranian power</a> in the Middle East.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man smiles and gestures in front of an Israeli flag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406166/original/file-20210614-79011-1b1zfy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Israel’s new prime minister is Naftali Bennett.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IsraelPolitics/f18dbf6cad4f47b0b5b62ff9e8920605/photo">AP Photo/Ariel Schalit</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Distancing Palestinians</h2>
<p>Netanyahu, known as “Bibi” to most Israelis, was prime minister from 1996 to 1999. He returned to power a decade later. He began his first term as prime minister in 1996 with two main qualities – <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/benjamin-quot-bibi-quot-netanyahu#Early">extensive U.S. experience</a> and a record as a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18008697">security hawk</a>.</p>
<p>The first quality meant he understood American politics and interest groups well, an advantage for <a href="https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/netanyahu-the-almost-american/">keeping and enhancing strong U.S. government support</a> for Israel. </p>
<p>The second set him up for success in a country in which the <a href="https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/israel-hebrew/civil-military-relations-in-israel-politics-state-society/">army is a key – and revered – national institution</a>.</p>
<p>Netanyahu pledged to avoid <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18079996/israel-palestine-conflict-guide-explainer">compromising with Palestinians</a> in the West Bank and Gaza areas under Israeli military control since 1967, and he allowed rapid expansion of <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/12/29/507377617/seven-things-to-know-about-israeli-settlements">Jewish settlements</a> in the West Bank. He rarely wavered from these two policies.</p>
<p>His party was voted out in 1999 but returned to power amid the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/intifadah">Palestinian uprisings</a> that began in 2000. After nearly a decade in and out of Likud government cabinets, he became prime minister again in 2009.</p>
<p>Among his most tangible legacies is the <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/08/30/a-look-into-the-israeli-west-bank-barrier-wall-baqa-al-gharbiyye/">physical barrier now separating West Bank Palestinians from Israelis</a>, which gives Israeli authorities great control over how West Bank Palestinians enter Israel. </p>
<p>The barrier has kept Israeli Jews from much contact with Palestinians other than during military service. </p>
<p>This physical separation and a strong Israeli military presence have <a href="http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/terrisraelsum.html">decreased Palestinian attacks within Israel</a> and <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/10/1022032">increased misery in Palestinian-controlled areas</a>. </p>
<p>His approach <a href="http://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/717">limited pressure on Jewish Israelis</a> to make a final deal that would trade occupied land for broader peace. It also deprived Palestinians of basic liberties and opportunities, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20415675">particularly in Gaza</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A wall along a highway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261728/original/file-20190301-110110-f1n30a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This West Bank highway segregates Israeli and Palestinian traffic with a concrete wall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Israel-Palestinians/75f91652bea64266812ce76c68d98e4c/6/0">AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Reinforcing security</h2>
<p>Long-term <a href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33222.html">massive U.S. foreign aid and military assistance</a> and Netanyahu’s support have ensured that <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/5-reasons-no-nation-wants-go-war-israel-22849">Israel’s army is far more powerful</a> and well-equipped than the armed forces of any other nearby country. </p>
<p>Netanyahu used this formidable military to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/03/30/least-5-dead-israeli-troops-fire-palestinian-protesters-gaza-security-fence/472408002/">strike hard when he deems necessary in Gaza</a>, the area between Israel and Egypt that Israel unilaterally returned to Palestinian control in 2004. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13331522">Hamas</a>, a Palestinian group that advocates military action against Israel, is in charge of Gaza. </p>
<p>Reflecting the sentiments of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139022514">growing number of right-wing Jewish Israelis</a>, Netanyahu has had a generally consistent <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/1.5064276">response</a> to ongoing concerns about Hamas, and Palestinians more generally. Israel, he argued, awaits Palestinian concessions that <a href="https://theconversation.com/israels-new-nation-state-law-restates-the-obvious-100310">Israel is a Jewish state</a>, with Jerusalem as its capital, and with no right for Palestinians to return to their pre-1948 homes in Israel. </p>
<p>Many <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/09/18/two-states-or-one-reappraising-israeli-palestinian-impasse-pub-77269">Palestinians find these conditions unfair</a> in general, particularly as a precondition to negotiations. </p>
<p>Coupled with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/12/world/middleeast/netanyahu-west-bank-settlements-israel-election.html">his government’s vast expansion</a> of <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/30/14088842/israeli-settlements-explained-in-5-charts">Jewish settlements in the West Bank</a>, many veteran observers doubt that a <a href="https://www.momentmag.com/is-the-two-state-solution-dead/3/">two-state solution</a> to the Israeli-Palestinian standoff remains possible. At the same time, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/05/israel-palestine-ceasefire-gaza-loses-leaders-win.html">major violence in May 2021</a>, which embroiled Palestinians and Israelis in Gaza, Israel proper and the West Bank, has served as a reminder that the conflict still matters.</p>
<p>Netanyahu also sought relentlessly to curb Iran’s efforts to enhance its power through <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/HM/HM05/20180417/108155/HHRG-115-HM05-Wstate-UskowiN-20180417.pdf">funding pro-Tehran militant groups</a> in the Middle East. </p>
<p>Tehran’s leaders are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/01/24/irans-revolution-40-years-on-israels-reverse-periphery-doctrine/">unremittingly hostile towards Israel</a>. Yet Netanyahu has played up this hostility to domestic and international audiences, even <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUK290680776020150721">urging the U.S. to attack Iran</a>.</p>
<p>The prime minister’s anti-Iranian campaign apparently paid off when the U.S. government withdrew from the multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran that the Obama administration negotiated. <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/israel-netanyahu-says-video-he-was-behind-trump-decision-leave-iran-deal-1030342">Netanyahu claims</a> that he persuaded President Donald Trump to back out. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People smile and celebrate in a crowd, waving Israeli flags" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406170/original/file-20210614-21-hnd29h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Israelis celebrate a new government on June 13, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXIsraelPolitics/753a3aac5c144884b2a023d043e235ab/photo">AP Photo/Oded Balilty</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reshaping Israeli alliances</h2>
<p>Undermining Palestinian statehood, bolstering the military and countering aggressively the Iranian threat have had three important ramifications. </p>
<p>First, <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-israel-turns-70-many-young-american-jews-turn-away-95271">Israeli and American Jews have diverged</a> increasingly on the ethics and importance of Palestinian autonomy.</p>
<p>Second, the prime minister’s long time in office and his <a href="https://forward.com/opinion/419684/netanyahu-isnt-the-problem-hes-the-symptom/">willingness to fan flames of bigotry</a> have endeared him to other rulers who embrace authoritarian or divisive tactics, such as <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Despite-Syria-Israel-Russia-relations-are-the-warmest-in-history-485062">Russian leader Vladimir Putin</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/netanyahu-orb-n-israel-welcome-hungary-prime-minister-antisemitism-a8454866.html">Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán</a> and <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/trump-endorses-netanyahu-campaign-billboard-featuring-himself-1.6910695">Trump</a>.</p>
<p>Third, Netanyahu’s political longevity and positions have attracted the cautious recent support of key Arab leaders who seem more concerned about their stability and Iran’s politics than a Palestinian state. </p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Thus, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Egypts-Sisi-Military-cooperation-with-Israel-at-unprecedented-levels-576339">Egypt</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43632905">Saudi Arabia</a> and the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-ministers-visit-uae-raises-questions-about-burgeoning-gulf-relations">United Arab Emirates</a> have growing levels of cooperation with Israel. This trend <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-increasing-arab-israeli-closeness-matters-119691">expanded under Trump</a>, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2021-05-13/how-the-abraham-accords-precipitated-new-israeli-palestinian-violence">leading to the 2020 Abraham Accords, which Netanyahu incorrectly thought</a> would further sideline the Palestinian problem.</p>
<p>Netanyahu reshaped Israel and the broader Middle East in profound ways. It’s clear that the country’s military capacity and cooperation with the region’s wealthy Arab states have expanded. But I have seen for several years the darker side of the former prime minister’s emphasis on military solutions in the erosion of global support for Israeli politics and deteriorating conditions for Palestinians.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/netanyahus-hardline-foreign-policies-may-outlast-his-tenure-112744">article originally published March 4, 2019</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Mednicoff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After 12 years in power, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence will last long beyond his time in office.David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1626602021-06-14T09:48:47Z2021-06-14T09:48:47ZNetanyahu leaves behind a complex legacy in Israel. His successor will need to deliver change — and fast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406066/original/file-20210614-23-13zm0wb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C7%2C2488%2C1874&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">zz/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Israel’s 36th government was <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-government-starts-process-of-taking-power-after-12-years-of-netanyahu/">approved</a> today, with a slim majority of 60–59 in the Knesset (parliament).</p>
<p>The new prime minister is the leader of national-religious party Yamina, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56969598">Naftali Bennett</a>. A religious person, former commander in an elite army combat unit and successful high-tech entrepreneur, Bennett was forced to form a unity government with centrist <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210613-israel-s-lapid-from-tv-anchor-to-coalition-architect">Yair Lapid</a>, head of Israel’s second-largest party, Yesh Atid.</p>
<p>Lapid is slated to become prime minister in 2023. Other coalition partners include the left-wing Meretz and Labour parties; the right-wing parties Tikva Hadasha (“New Hope”) Israel Beiteinu (“Israel is our home”); and Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/historic-change-arab-political-parties-are-now-legitimate-partners-in-israels-politics-and-government-162461">Historic change: Arab political parties are now legitimate partners in Israel's politics and government</a>
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<p>The cherry on top of this ideologically mixed-up parfait is the Arab Islamic party Ra’am, headed by <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/raam-head-mansour-abbas-we-are-fully-in-the-coalition-670952">Mansour Abbas</a>, which has successfully carried out Abbas’s strategic plan to be the first Arab party leader to join an Israeli government. </p>
<p>His move signifies the preference of many Arab Israelis to focus on domestic priorities, such as reducing crime and retrospectively attaining <a href="http://www.dukepoliticalreview.org/israeli-arabs-and-building-permits-how-israelis-permitting-policy-perpetuates-the-conflict/">permits</a> for illegal constrictions in Arab towns, rather than Palestinian nationalism. </p>
<p>The ultra-orthodox parties are the big losers. For the first time in many years, they are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/world/middleeast/israel-ultra-orthodox-haredi.html">outside the government</a>, disconnected from the fountain of public funding that has long flowed to their religious and educational institutes.</p>
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<h2>Challenges facing the new government</h2>
<p>The eight parties forming the government had only one thing in common — a determination to oust Israel’s longest serving prime minister, the charismatic <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57306615">Benyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu</a>. </p>
<p>As head of the right-wing Likud party, Netanyahu has been the face of Israel for the past 12 years, as well as during his earlier stint as prime minister from 1996–99. Famous for his political wizardry and clever coalition manoeuvres, he ended up losing the trust of almost everyone in the political arena. Many of his former allies were among those who ousted him.</p>
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<img alt="Israelis celebrate their new government." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406067/original/file-20210614-73723-1roron1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Israelis celebrate the swearing in of the new government in Tel Aviv.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oded Balilty/AP</span></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://aijac.org.au/featured/israel-poised-to-install-most-ideologically-diverse-government-ever/">ideologically diverse</a> new government will now need to deliver change, and fast. Another flare-up of tensions with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13331522">Hamas</a>, designated a terrorist organisation by many nations, is likely in the cards. A budget must be approved swiftly, after two years <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-without-a-state-budget-israel-may-have-to-slash-spending-in-january-1.9386954">without one</a>. Netanyahu can no longer be blamed if the government fails to deliver.</p>
<p>The complex set of coalition agreements between the parties means the government will most likely focus its attention domestically and avoid major initiatives on divisive topics, such as the Palestinian issue. One key task will be to work to heal the social tensions that have resurfaced in Israel in recent years, dividing Arabs and Jews, secular and religious, and left and right.</p>
<p>The coalition needs to find a way to work together efficiently or it could face a rapid collapse. Now the official opposition leader, Netanyahu has made <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-fiery-exit-netanyahu-assails-bennett-says-he-cant-stand-up-to-iran-biden/">clear</a> he is not going anywhere and will work tirelessly to oust the new government.</p>
<p>But Netanyahu may go somewhere in the future - to jail. He is facing several <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739">indictments</a> over bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His trial could take years, and was the prime motivator for Netanyahu’s almost desperate attempts to hold on to power. Many rallied against him because he is seen as corrupt and decadent.</p>
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<img alt="Israel's new prime minister Naftali Bennett." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406068/original/file-20210614-107575-evgur4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Israel’s new prime minister Naftali Bennett holds a first cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ariel Schalit/AP</span></span>
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<h2>New peace treaties in the region</h2>
<p>In Washington, there will have been a sigh of relief. Netanyahu alienated former US President Barack Obama over the latter’s drive to sign the problematic <a href="http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/time-to-end-irans-nuclear-masquerade/">2015 nuclear deal with Iran</a>. The current president, Joe Biden, was among the first to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13331522">call</a> Bennett, signalling US hope for greater leverage over the new government.</p>
<p>Netanyahu’s overall legacy will be marked by unequivocal diplomatic, economic and political achievements, alongside his deliberate strategy to turn Israelis from different sectors against each other, exacerbating long-lasting internal rifts.</p>
<p>Under his premiership, Israel became a world leader in <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/real-world-evidence-confirms-high-effectiveness-pfizer">fighting</a> the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on his <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/will-vaccines-be-netanyahus-magic-wand-for-reelection-662483">personal ties</a> with the CEO of Pfizer, Netanyahu mobilised the health system to inoculate almost the entire adult population of Israel in record time.</p>
<p>Using his close relationship with former US president Donald Trump, he also orchestrated a move of the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/20/us-secretary-of-state-blinken-us-embassy-to-remain-in-jerusalem">US embassy to Jerusalem</a>, solidifying the city’s status as Israel’s capital. </p>
<p>Netanyahu maintained a staunch and uncompromising position <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-natanz-israel-idUSKBN2BZ1GK">against</a> <a href="https://aijac.org.au/fresh-air/increasing-iaea-warnings-about-iran/">Iran’s aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon</a>, which helped Israel secure the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/winners-losers/616364/">Abraham accords</a>, peace treaties with four Muslim countries. Israel also undertook covert flirtations with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/23/benjamin-netanyahu-secret-meeting-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman">Saudi Arabia</a>, the leader of the anti-Iran camp. </p>
<p>Netanyahu’s reign ends with Israel enjoying an emboldened status in the region and a strong economy.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-12-years-of-netanyahu-heres-what-to-expect-from-a-new-coalition-government-in-israel-162054">After 12 years of Netanyahu, here's what to expect from a new coalition government in Israel</a>
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<h2>Managing the conflict with the Palestinians</h2>
<p>Netanyahu’s track record in dealing with the Palestinians is far more disputed. He won office after the murder of Labour Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994, and effectively broke away from Rabin’s <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/oslo-accords">Oslo peace agreements</a> with the Palestinian leadership, without repudiating them completely. </p>
<p>Following a surge in <a href="https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/palestinian/pages/suicide%20and%20other%20bombing%20attacks%20in%20israel%20since.aspx">bombings</a> by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the mid-1990s, Netanyahu was elected in 1996 to slow down Israel’s retreat from territories in the West Bank. He also delivered to his base continued expansion of settlements in that disputed area — a move opposed by many in the international community.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/406102/original/file-20210614-73420-1thjroh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Hamas militants hold a rally in Gaza to commemorate its members who were killed in the recent violence with Israel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felipe Dana/AP</span></span>
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<p>In the past 12 years, Netanyahu worked to mostly manage — not resolve — the conflict. His approach to the two-state solution has been ambiguous at best, even though he showed some willingness to make concessions during the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-suspends-peace-talks-with-palestinians/2014/04/24/659aa218-cbc6-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html">US-led talks in 2014</a>. Trying to soothe Hamas with <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/how-hamas-is-spending-qatari-money-618293">Qatari money</a> – part of his managerial approach — backfired dramatically in the latest war with Gaza.</p>
<p>With this scorched earth legacy behind him, Netanyahu has been removed from power, at least for the time being. The Bennett-Lapid government is not expected to stray much from existing Israeli foreign policies. Israel’s strong strategic actions against Iran are here to stay. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/benjamin-netanyahu-was-on-the-brink-of-political-defeat-then-another-conflict-broke-out-in-gaza-161087">Benjamin Netanyahu was on the brink of political defeat. Then, another conflict broke out in Gaza</a>
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<p>With regards to the Palestinians, there is very little that can be done until another long-serving leader is ousted – 86-year-old Palestinian Authority President <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinians-furious-and-fed-corruption-abbass-mafia-pa">Mahmoud Abbas</a>, who is increasingly seen as corrupt and dysfunctional.</p>
<p>The new government remains on shaky ground. All its participants know a single actor among them can take the government down. But no one has an appetite now for another election; they have too much to prove and a lot to lose if they do. It seems that at least for the next 12 months, Israel will finally have a government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162660/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ran Porat is a research associate at The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC). The views in this article are private and do not represent any academic institute related related to Dr. Porat.</span></em></p>Famous for his political wizardry and clever coalition manoeuvres, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister ended up losing the trust of almost everyone in the political arena.Ran Porat, Affiliate Researcher, The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1624612021-06-11T12:39:43Z2021-06-11T12:39:43ZHistoric change: Arab political parties are now legitimate partners in Israel’s politics and government<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405676/original/file-20210610-19-1ibfn4g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C10%2C6669%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mansour Abbas, Israeli Arab politician and leader of the Ra'am Party, in a meeting at the Israeli president's residence in Jerusalem on April 5, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/israeli-arab-politician-leader-of-the-united-arab-list-news-photo/1232132109?adppopup=true">Abir Sultan/Pool/ AFP/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The next government is not going to be a typical one for the citizens of the state of Israel, and especially for members of the Palestinian Arab minority, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/13/arab-israeli-faq/">who are 20% of Israel’s population</a>. This is the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-israeli-raam-party-makes-history-by-joining-bennett-lapid-coalition/">first time the Zionist political parties forming the government are including an Arab party</a>. </p>
<p>It is ironic that the prime minister of this government would be Naftali Bennett. Bennett is the leader of the radical right-wing political party Yamina, whose ideologies and interests contradict the Arab party’s interests, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/world/middleeast/naftali-bennett-israel.html">and which has opposed Arab participation in the coalition or government</a>. His national-religious political movement, which represents many Jewish settlers, signed the coalition agreement with Ra’am, the Islamic Arab party.</p>
<p>In the 73-year history of Israel, it was an unwritten rule that any government <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/07/an-islamist-party-is-part-israels-new-coalition-government-how-did-that-happen/">coalition would be formed only by the Jewish Zionist parties</a>. There was only one exception, when the late Prime Minister <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/world/middleeast/arab-party-raam-coalition.html">Yitzhak Rabin relied on the support of an Arab party</a> in the wake of the Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990s. The agreement, however, did not formalize that party’s entry into the ruling coalition. </p>
<p>The chain of events Rabin triggered was considered <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/assassination-yitzhak-rabin-never-knew-his-people-shot-him-in-back">an unforgivable sin by the Israeli right, which depicted Rabin as a traitor</a> – as they do now with Bennett – and which ultimately led to Rabin’s assassination.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A campaign billboard for Arab parties in Arabic with pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli far-right leader Itamar Ben Gvir." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405684/original/file-20210610-13-ledl0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A campaign billboard for the Joint List of Arab parties mocked Netanyahu’s promise of a ‘new approach.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-election-campaign-billboard-in-arabic-showing-israeli-news-photo/1231734325?adppopup=true">Amir Levy/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Changing Israeli politics</h2>
<p>What drove the first Arab party into a ruling coalition now was not the desire for a peace agreement. It was <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/israel-voters-take-fourth-shot-at-deciding-netanyahu-s-fate-01616465706">the poor state of Israeli politics after four election rounds in two years</a> without a clear winner, combined with the strong desire of the opposition, called the “<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210530-israeli-change-bloc-steps-up-effort-to-oust-netanyahu">Change Bloc</a>,” to oust longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. </p>
<p>The Arabs did not forget Netanyahu’s hostile remarks during the previous elections. That’s when he urged the settlers to cast their votes against the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/03/17/on-israeli-election-day-netanyahu-warns-of-arabs-voting-in-droves/">Arabs who “are voting in droves</a>.” </p>
<p>After failing in the latest election to both discourage the Arab vote and ensure a majority of his own, it was Netanyahu who first understood the potential need to cooperate with the Arab parties. After all other efforts to form a ruling coalition failed, he <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-holding-talks-with-netanyahu-first-legitimized-raam-among-all-parties/">tried to lure Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas to his side</a> even before Bennett did, but to no avail.</p>
<p>For his part, Abbas proposed to change the way Arab parties deal with the Jewish parties and politics in Israel. </p>
<p>“I say here clearly and frankly: When the very establishment of this government is based on our support … we will be able to influence it and accomplish great things for our Arab society,” <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2021/0603/In-a-first-for-Israeli-politics-Arab-party-to-join-government">Abbas said</a>. </p>
<p>For decades, Palestinian Arab political parties <a href="https://www.idi.org.il/articles/4340">would not join Israeli governments</a> that continued to support the occupation of their Palestinian brothers, oppressed them and denied their basic rights. And they were <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/07/how-netanyahu-learned-to-love-israeli-arab-parties/">kept out of leadership coalitions</a> by the Jewish parties’ fear of cooperating with them. </p>
<p>Abbas’ call for <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/here-we-go-again-tois-guide-to-the-38-parties-still-seeking-your-vote/">pragmatism means</a> that he will support political coalitions committed to meeting the immediate and urgent demands of the Arab minority in Israel. Chief among those demands is addressing the issues of violence, house demolitions, planning in new Arab villages and towns, education and equality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people sit at a large table with white tablecloth and Israeli flags in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405688/original/file-20210610-21-f3m5un.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra'am Party, second from right, and fellow Arab politician Mazen Ghanayem, right, discuss with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin who might form the next coalition government, at the president’s residence in Jerusalem on April 5, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IsraelPolitics/9c897944ede749da82c28b96a519cd3f/photo?Query=Mansour%20AND%20abbas&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=40&currentItemNo=5">Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP</a></span>
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<h2>Significant promises made</h2>
<p>Abbas’ approach was rejected by the rest of the Palestinian political parties, and thus <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-arab-joint-list-split-march-election">split up the Joint List</a>, which was a political alliance of four of the Arab political parties in Israel: Balad, Hadash, Ta'al and Ra'am, that they had formed for the previous elections.</p>
<p>The February 2021 election results meant Ra’am entered Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, with four members. Those four can prove decisive in this politically fractured situation. </p>
<p>For now, it appears that Abbas achieved what he wanted. Despite the serious disagreement among the Arabs over his approach, he is convinced that his party’s governing responsibilities will change the face of Israeli politics in all matters related to the Arab minority and will show positive results for the rights and status of Arab citizens in Israel. </p>
<p>“We have reached a critical mass of agreements in various fields that serves the interest of Arab society and that provide solutions for the burning issues in Arab society – planning, the housing crisis, and of course, fighting violence and organized crime,” <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-israeli-raam-party-makes-history-by-joining-bennett-lapid-coalition/">Abbas said</a>.</p>
<p>To help the Arab sector, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-israeli-raam-party-makes-history-by-joining-bennett-lapid-coalition/">among the promises he got from his new partners in the incoming government</a> are the adoption of a five-year economic development plan for the Arab community with a budget of 30 billion shekels, or $US9.3 billion, as well as plans to combat crime and violence in the Arab community, to improve infrastructure, to advance Arab local authorities, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/unlikely-trio-put-aside-huge-differences-one-goal-oust-netanyahu-n1269459">to reconsider the Kaminitz Law, which has led to increased demolitions of, and evictions from, Palestinian property</a>. </p>
<p>The agreement also includes recognition of several Bedouin villages in the Negev, the southern district of Israel where a majority of the country’s Bedouins live. </p>
<h2>Historic achievement</h2>
<p>Many in the Arab community, and especially among the Bedouins, see Abbas emerging from this election as a victorious leader. He has recorded for himself and the Islamic movement several historical achievements on many important levels. </p>
<p>On the material level, he has secured programs, budgets and decisions that support needs of the Arab minority. </p>
<p>But the most important achievement is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/07/an-islamist-party-is-part-israels-new-coalition-government-how-did-that-happen/">fundamental change signaled by the acceptance of Arab parties</a> into Israeli politics and the recognition of Arab political parties as legitimate partners in the politics and power-sharing in Israel. </p>
<p>This is a paramount goal the Arab parties have failed to achieve since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. After two years with four elections, it’s not certain that this government will last either, but, regardless of what happens, this is a historic change.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/politics-weekly-74/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=politics-important">The Conversation’s most important politics headlines, in our Politics Weekly newsletter</a>.</em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morad Elsana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An unwritten rule in Israeli politics kept Arab political parties out of ruling government coalitions – until the latest election.Morad Elsana, Adjunct Professorial Lecturer Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies (CRGC)., American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1620542021-06-03T15:59:56Z2021-06-03T15:59:56ZAfter 12 years of Netanyahu, here’s what to expect from a new coalition government in Israel<p>Israeli politics are entering a new chapter. After inconclusive elections in March, a politically diverse coalition has formed to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 years as prime minister.</p>
<p>The eight-party coalition is led by right-winger Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid. The two will take turns as prime minister, with Bennett taking the first period of two years. For the first time, an Arab party will be included in government, with Mansour Abbas’s Ra'am party joining the coalition.</p>
<p>The Bennett-Lapid government could open a new period for Israel. However, it might not be so promising for the Palestinians of the occupied territories.</p>
<p>The coalition’s political diversity will pose a challenge for working together. With Labor and Meretz on the left and Yamina, New Hope and Yisrael Beiteinu on the right, the largest segment will be the centrist forces of Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Defense Minister Benny Ganz’s Blue and White party. </p>
<p>The coalition is united in opposition to Netanyahu, whose period in office has been marked by allegations of corruption (he is currently standing trial on three such counts) and divisive politics. The policies of the new government will therefore reflect a series of compromises and will probably focus on economic and social issues. </p>
<p>It is also likely to offer a change in the political environment and tone down the rather highly charged ideological atmosphere which has characterised the Netanyahu years. His supporters, for example, have <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/protester-against-bennett-lapid-govt-yells-well-execute-you-in-the-town-square/">organised demonstrations</a> denouncing coalition politicians as “traitors”.</p>
<h2>The new government and Palestine</h2>
<p>The inclusion of Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am may appear a symbol of some sort of Jewish-Arab cooperation after 11 days of violent conflict in May. But anyone hoping for progress on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict may be disappointed - the parties of the new government have vastly different views on the issue.</p>
<p>Bennett is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state and had favoured annexation of the West Bank. Meretz and Labor are signed up to the creation of a Palestinian state, and the former is highly critical of the occupation. There is no majority in the coalition for either position and as a result both sides will park these policies. It is unlikely there will be any dramatic new initiatives, but it is possible that the new government could be more receptive to international pressure on the issue, especially from the Biden administration.</p>
<p>Ra’am did not seek to address the Palestinian question in its campaigning, instead focusing on issues affecting the Arab community within Israel. It appears to have reached an agreement that the new government will recognise some currently unauthorised villages, and freeze planning laws that penalise Arab construction. It has also negotiated a commitment from coalition partners to invest 50 billion shekels (US$15 billion) in Arab society. Abbas’s aim when agreeing to enter the coalition was ensuring that Arab concerns become central in Israeli politics. He will point to these gains, if delivered, as a success of this approach.</p>
<p>This is not good news for the Palestinians. While there may be some slowing of settlement activity in the West Bank and concessions to Gaza under pressure from the international community (including the United States), the new government will, in effect, continue the status quo.</p>
<p>We should expect Netanyahu’s policy of managing the conflict through a mixture of encouraging economic activity in the West Bank and military and security deterrence to continue. </p>
<h2>A tentative new phase for Jewish-Arab relations</h2>
<p>The significance of including Ra’am in the government should not be underestimated. The taboo on Arab political participation in Israeli governments has been broken. It offers a new start for Jewish-Arab relations, and may begin to address decades of discrimination against Arab citizens of Israel. </p>
<p>However, the issues at stake go beyond the economic and social. As underlined by the tensions that came to the surface last month, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains, unsurprisingly, the number one domestic challenge. While Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are still under occupation, the Palestinian citizens of Israel will continue to feel a sense of national injustice.</p>
<p>Lapid has moved quickly, gathering more than 60 signatures of Knesset members to trigger election of a new Speaker and a vote on the new government. Netanyahu and his supporters will do all in their power to frustrate its formation. The Knesset speaker, Yariv Levin, is a Netanyahu supporter in charge of the agenda, and would be expected to put off the confirmation vote for as long as possible, hoping to win over some of the right-wing members of the coalition caucus. </p>
<p>A non-Netanyahu government will be a breath of fresh air for Israel. The picture of Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett and Mansour Abbas signing the agreement is a powerful image that shows relationships can change. However, despite the inclusion of the first Arab party in an Israeli government, it looks as if little will change for the Palestinians of the occupied territories.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Strawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Israeli politics are entering a new chapter. Here’s what to expect from the coalition government forming to oust longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.John Strawson, Honorary Professor of Law and Co-director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1620772021-06-03T09:40:12Z2021-06-03T09:40:12ZIsrael’s new government doesn’t give Palestinians much hope. It could be time for a radical approach<p>Even by the standards of previous Israeli coalitions, the new government that’s just been <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57336574">announced</a> includes strange bedfellows.</p>
<p>The eight parties in the coalition range from the right-wing nationalist Yamina party to social-democratic Labor and left-wing Meretz. And for the first time in Israeli history, the coalition includes an Arab-Israeli party, Ra’am, whose four Knesset (parliament) seats enable the coalition to reach a majority.</p>
<p>Another oddity of the new government is that Yamina leader Naftali Bennett will have the first two-year turn of a rotating four-year prime ministership with Ya’ir Lapid, leader of centrist party Yesh Atid.</p>
<p>The new government still has to survive a confidence vote in the Knesset, which is expected within the next week.</p>
<p>Given its ideological differences, the common goal uniting the new coalition is ousting Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been prime minister since 2009. Netanyahu is desperate to hold onto power, not least because being in office provides him with some protection against fraud charges now making their way through the courts.</p>
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<img alt="Netanyahu briefs ambassadors on the recent Gaza conflict." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404180/original/file-20210603-2218-2zaacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Netanyahu was bolstered by his handling of the recent conflict with Hamas, but it wasn’t enough for him to hold onto power.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sebastian Scheiner/AP</span></span>
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<p>In the coming days, Netanyahu is expected to offer blandishments to everyone in the coalition in an effort to entice even one to defect. If he can do that, a new election would be likely (Israel’s fifth since 2019), giving him another chance to survive.</p>
<p>Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas will also be under pressure. Other Israeli-Arab parties and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories have <a href="https://themedialine.org/top-stories/palestinians-in-gaza-outraged-as-islamist-party-head-mansour-abbas-agrees-to-israeli-government/">criticised</a> him as a defector. His response is that by joining the coalition he will win increased social and economic benefits for all Arab-Israelis.</p>
<h2>No new impetus for a two-state solution</h2>
<p>A further consequence of the coalition’s fragile make-up: it will almost certainly eschew initiatives to advance negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority for a two-state solution.</p>
<p>Bennett, the prime-minister-in-waiting, is in some ways more right-wing than Netanyahu. </p>
<p>Netanyahu paid lip service to a two-state solution during his long time in office, mainly to placate the US, though he never sought to advance it. Bennett, by comparison, has made his name in Israeli politics through strong support of the West Bank settler movement. He has also rejected a separate Palestinian state and called for Israeli annexation of the settler blocs.</p>
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<p>Any moves in that direction are probably on hold for now because they would almost certainly cause Meretz and Ra’am to leave the coalition. Instead, the new government is expected to concentrate on domestic concerns, chief among them rebuilding the economy in the wake of the pandemic.</p>
<p>This leaves Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in a bind – but also with an opportunity.</p>
<p>On the face of it, they face a seemingly dire situation if the new government is confirmed. The Palestinians already feel deserted by two Arab states, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, when they signed an accord with Israel last year. They must now be fearful that Ra'am’s move undermines them further.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/israel-and-the-palestinians-celebrate-a-ceasefire-but-will-anything-change-161348">Israel and the Palestinians celebrate a ceasefire — but will anything change?</a>
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<p>Moreover, the Palestinian movement is split between Fatah, which predominates in the West Bank, and Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. Israeli politicians regularly claim Israel is ready to negotiate but has “no partner for peace”.</p>
<p>Israel, regardless of its governing coalition, is comfortable with the current situation. It’s under no pressure to make concessions to the Palestinians. And when conflict breaks out with Hamas, it deploys overwhelming force to quell it – “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/14/israel-gaza-history/">mowing the grass</a>,” as Israeli military strategists describe it.</p>
<p>The US approach is little more than formulaic. Following the latest Gaza flare-up, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/biden-vows-2-state-solution-calls-both-israel-palestinian-authority-1591860">called</a> for resumption of talks on a two-state solution – which his advisers, if not he, must know is now out of reach. </p>
<p>But Biden has also made clear he wants out of the Middle East so he can focus on more pressing foreign policy problems, like China.</p>
<p>There remain two alternatives for the Palestinians: maintaining the status quo with recurring conflict stretching into the future – or a one-state solution.</p>
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<h2>Revisiting a one-state solution</h2>
<p>The one-state solution would merge Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into one country. This idea started to emerge among Palestinians as Israeli settlements in the West Bank grew after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and took on permanent status. </p>
<p>It fell out of favour when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/oslo-accords">Oslo Accords</a> in 1993. This agreement provided a framework for negotiations aimed at a two-state solution. But these talks have continued to no avail. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-live-with-either-one-palestine-israel-and-the-two-state-solution-73436">'I can live with either one': Palestine, Israel and the two-state solution</a>
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<p>A one-state solution is not perfect, either. For starters, it would require Palestinians to give up their claims to a separate state. They would have to acknowledge Israel’s creeping annexation in the West Bank has made a second state in historical Palestine unviable. They would have to accept they are part of one state controlled by the Israeli government. </p>
<p>To jettison the two-state ideal would be contrary to the self-determination that generations of Palestinian nationalists have demanded and fought for. Both Fatah and Hamas would likely both reject it, as they would also lose power in the areas they nominally control.</p>
<p>Any Israeli government would also likely reject such a proposal. To accept it would undermine the Zionist ideal on which Israel was established.</p>
<p>Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories already <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/3/26/arabs-outnumber-jews-in-israel-occupied-territories-official">outnumber</a> Jewish Israelis. As such, it would no longer be realistic for Israeli governments to designate Israel a Jewish state, which happened when the Knesset passed the “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/final-text-of-jewish-nation-state-bill-set-to-become-law/">nation-state law</a>” in 2018 – effectively making Palestinian Israelis <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/7/31/17623978/israel-jewish-nation-state-law-bill-explained-apartheid-netanyahu-democracy">second-class citizens</a>.</p>
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<h2>What it would take to get there</h2>
<p>But under such a system, Palestinians could demand equal citizenship, with all the civil rights now denied to them. And for Israel, it would offer a path towards a real peace, though it would require major compromises on its founding ideology.</p>
<p>To counter the self-interest of their politicians and hard-line attitudes on both sides, ordinary Palestinians would have to start a grassroots movement to push for this solution. This would require the emergence of more enlightened Palestinian leadership. It would also require support from liberal Jewish Israelis. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-planning-plays-a-role-in-israel-palestine-161035">How urban planning plays a role in Israel-Palestine</a>
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<p>Both might be difficult to achieve. Although support for one state has increased among Palestinians, it’s still only favoured by a third of those living in the West Bank and Gaza, according to a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22442052/israel-palestine-two-state-solution-gaza-hamas-one">recent poll</a>. And just 10% of Jewish Israelis support such a plan, according to a <a href="https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/823">2020 poll</a>.</p>
<p>Critics of the one-state solution will say it is unrealistic, that there is too much accumulated hatred on both sides. But at this stage Palestinians have nothing to lose. As it is, they are effectively living in one state now, with Palestinians in Israel having fewer rights than Israelis, and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories living under Israeli laws they have no say in making. </p>
<p>And Palestinians would be putting the negotiating ball firmly in Israel’s court – which is where Israel’s new government does not want it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162077/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Parmeter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new governing coalition will likely not further negotiations on a two-state solution. Would Palestinians consider a one-state solution instead?Ian Parmeter, Research Scholar, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1231092019-09-16T14:57:34Z2019-09-16T14:57:34ZIsrael elections: who women vote for and how it’s shifting<p>Israelis are heading to the polls in a unique election. The vote on September 17 is the first time Israelis will vote in two elections in the same year, after the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to form a new coalition government following the April 2019 election. It’s also exceptional in terms of female political leadership – the only woman heading a party in this election, Ayelet Shaked, is a secular woman leading an alliance of religious, right-wing parties. </p>
<p>Shaked, Israel’s former minister of justice, established the New Right party together with Naftali Bennett, the former minister of education, in December 2018 ahead of the April election. But the party, which includes both religious Zionist and secular members, didn’t get a high enough percentage of the vote share to win any seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, under the system of proportional representation. </p>
<p>Shaked replaced Bennett as party leader and a few months later <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-Right-and-URP-seal-political-union-deal-597080">was chosen as leader of the Yamina alliance</a> (which means “rightwards”), comprised of three right-wing parties: the New Right, the Jewish Home and the National Union-Tkuma. According to the latest <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Final-Channel-12-poll-finds-stalemate-Otzma-Yehudit-clear-threshold-601667">polls</a>, Yamina is heading to become the fourth largest party in the next Knesset and could have a part to play in forming the next government. </p>
<p>A key question is whether having a woman who is also secular, leading such a right-wing religious alliance for the first time, will affect Israeli voting patterns.</p>
<p>International studies on voting for women candidates show that women tend to vote for women candidates more than men do. Still, support of women voters for women candidates such as Shaked is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20299712?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">far from automatic</a>. It’s conditional on many factors, particularly on the relation between the presence of prominent female candidates and the issues which their party promotes. For instance, a female candidate from the left may attract more women, since her party itself promotes issues that are considered “feminine”, such as gender equality, welfare policy and education. However, this does not necessarily mean the candidate herself is a feminist.</p>
<h2>Gender gap</h2>
<p>Analyses of voting patterns in Western democracies <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rising-tide/E28A6E8662971242917902E0A7E0FFEE">found that in the 1950s and 1960s</a>, women voted more conservatively than men and tended rightward – something that’s been called the “traditional gender gap”. But subsequently, this pattern became less clear and consistent. Starting in the 1980s in the US and in the 1990s in parts of Europe, women began to vote for left-wing parties more than men – what’s been called the “modern gender gap”. This shift has been attributed to changes in women’s employment and education, family structure and the permeation of feminist ideas in public debates. </p>
<p>In Israel, unlike most Western democracies, the common wisdom among researchers and political pundits was that there were no significant differences between the voting patterns of women and men. However, in the 2009 Knesset election, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351297608/chapters/10.4324/9781351297608-10">research</a> I conducted with my colleagues Hanna Herzog and Michal Shamir, revealed a gender gap of 7%, where 28% of Jewish women versus 21% of Jewish men voted for the centre party Kadima, led by a female politician, Tzipi Livni. </p>
<p>This pattern held up even when considering the fact that women were more captivated by the security agenda and expressed more hawkish attitudes than men about increasing the defence budget, expressing consent to the establishment of a Palestinian state and evacuating settlements. These are views traditionally associated more with right-wing parties. In that election, Arab women also voted more than men for Balad – an Arab party, which had a woman candidate, Haneen Zoabi, with a realistic chance of making it to the Knesset – the first time an Arab party had done so.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351295840/chapters/10.4324/9781351295840-13">follow-up</a> studies, which analysed the gender gap in Israeli elections between 1969 to 2013, we documented a gradual transition from a traditional gender gap to a modern one in left-right political ideology and in voting. Since the mid-1990s a modern gender gap can be identified, similar to the trends found in other Western societies. </p>
<h2>Women voters shift to the left</h2>
<p>Shamir and I have also begun analysing voter patterns in the April 2019 Israeli election. Based on the <a href="https://m.tau.ac.il/%7Eines/">Israel National Election Study</a> (INES), which includes 1,347 Jews and 267 Arabs, our initial findings reveal a significant gender gap of 7% among Jewish respondents, where Jewish women tended to support the centre-left party bloc more than Jewish men. This is despite the fact that women headed only two small left-wing and centrist parties – Meretz and Gesher – and were not considered realistic candidates for the premiership. </p>
<p>Our initial results also suggest that Jewish women tended toward the left compared to Jewish men on socioeconomic issues. They support a welfare policy more than men do. They also ranked the value of being a democratic state as the most important value to them, compared to Jewish men who ranked being a Jewish majority as the most important value to them. This may explain, at least to some extent, the gender gap in voting patterns in the April 2019 election.</p>
<p>The fact that a woman is now heading a right-wing alliance challenges the recent alignment of women’s interests and women’s leadership in Israeli elections – where women leaders have led centre left-wing parties. It will be interesting to see how both men and women voters react to the Yamina alliance and Shaked – who sees herself as a future prime minister.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123109/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Einat Lavy receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 795552.</span></em></p>As Israelis head to the polls for the second time in 2019, what role will gender play in the vote?Einat Gedalya-Lavy, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellow, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.