Will the tense security situation help facilitate the formation of a new government in Israel?

Early in the week, it was the New Right’s Naftali Bennett who was the center of attention. After Blue and White party leader, Benny Gantz, reportedly offered Bennett and his running mate Ayelet Shaked the positions of defense minister and justice minister in his government, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu countered by offering Bennett the defense minister post in his right-wing coalition.

Gantz is currently in the midst of a one-month period in which he has been granted the opportunity by Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, to form a government. If he fails, a 21-day period will follow in which Rivlin can ask any party to attempt to form a coalition.

If Gantz can convince Bennett and Shaked to leave the Netanyahu bloc, he would be closer to forming a majority. A coalition of Blue and White, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, the New Right, Labor, and the Democratic Union would comprise 55 seats. Gantz would then need to convince a handful of Likud MKs to bolt.

Responding to the supposed offer, Bennet responded that he had not yet heard from Netanyahu. “I’ll weigh every suggestion when I get it,” he said. Simultaneously, he stressed that a unity government was indispensable at this time and released Netanyahu from any commitment to New Right if Likud has the opportunity to form a coalition with Blue and White. “Israel is in a national emergency,” he said. “We can’t continue delaying the root treatment that is necessary in Gaza, in addition to preventing Iran’s chokehold around Israel. We can’t allow Israel to go to a third round of elections that would paralyze the country and prevent urgent security and civil measures. Above all, Netanyahu and Gantz must compromise and form a unity government.”

Representatives of the chareidi parties told Mishpacha they doubt Gantz will succeed in the few weeks left to him. The most likely option is going to a third round of elections after the 21-day period has expired.

Therefore, all attention is now on those 21 days, which will commence at the end of the month. The concern in the right-wing bloc is that a minister in the Likud’s top echelon will receive an irresistible offer that includes forming a government in rotation with Blue and White, leaving Netanyahu out in the cold. The most prominent name being mentioned in this context is Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein, a veteran Likudnik who enjoys support across the political divide, even in the center-left.

In such a scenario, it would be difficult to find fault with Edelstein’s conduct. He would likely offer a rationale that his loyalty to the Likud is absolute, but that the moment calls for bold steps to prevent a third election.

If that scenario unfolds, however, the chareidi parties would be left in the cold. Just ten Likud MKs would need to join Gantz and Lieberman to form a unity government strong enough to last.

“We’re certainly worried about those 21 days,” UTJ MK Uri Maklev told Mishpacha. “For us, the situation is not at all encouraging. Most of the various scenarios being discussed will not be good for the chareidi community. We’ll try to deal with every situation that comes up, to keep the bloc intact, and to prevent a government that hurts the chareidi community in its day-to-day needs and doesn’t preserve the Jewish identity of the state of Israel.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 784)