Israeli Democracy? Justice? Are You Confused?

Let's start with the easy stuff.

What's Democracy?

I decided to "printscreen" what professor google says about democracy,
so you can trust that I didn't edit/distort the meaning

There's nothing about Right/Left or Conservative/Liberal. It's in the numbers.

Democracy is broadly understood to mean ‘rule by the people’. In practice, it is often defined as people choosing their leaders in free and fair elections. 

Our World in Data

Democracy means that the country's leadership isn't decided in the street.

There are elections.

A democratic government is not chosen by who makes the loudest, most annoying and dangerous demonstrations. Nor does it give priority to people shouting in the street over legal elections.

Now, back to what has been going on in Israel. In the past half a decade plus, we've had multiple elections that ended without a new ruling coalition, and we haven't had a coalition/government that lasted its full term. 

Political parties which had dominated and ruled during the first few decades of the country no longer receive enough votes to be in the Knesset or if they are in, they are anorexic shadows of what they once were. This has been difficult for their supporters to accept. They and their parents, and in some cases grandparents, never liked the Netanyahu family, and they like the Revisionist founders of Herut/Likud even less. This is what is behind the irrational hatred of Binyamin Netanyahu. Remember that the demonstrations had actually begun during Netanyahu's previous terms as Prime Minister. 

We can't ignore the trials against Netanyahu. Even though years and much too much money have been invested in trying to convict him, the chances are nil. That's because they're trumped up charges, to put it mildly. Please ignore the unintended pun. If Bibi was really guilty of corruption, then it wouldn't have been hard to convict him, since the judges don't like him. 

To sum it up, the "anyone but Bibi" movement, along with the anti-Judicial Reform has nothing to do with his competence or honesty. It's the fading Left's attempt to override democratic elections and rule by street mobs with the help of the Leftist Supreme Court Judges.

Yes, the truth is that the opposition are those who are antidemocracy!

The Street vs Democracy-- FOLLOW THE MONEY

 

screenshot from Channel 14 News
Last night's antigovernment demonstration

It seems like the whole world has heard that the legally, democratically elected Israeli Government has passed a very necessary law to reform the judiciary, which has set itself up as the alternative government vetoing laws. The judiciary is very political. One law for the Left and another for the Right.

To be perfectly honest and accurate the demonstrations predate the present government's bill for judicial reform. 

For those trying to understand the basic issue here in Israel. Very simple. Judges have put themselves above the parliament and rule according to their opinions and ideologies, rather than laws. They have declared themselves above the law with rights to veto according to their personal feelings aka reasonableness. They can perpetuate their politics by choosing their successors. Basically this has disenfranchised the voters and made a farce out of elections. Yes, the judges and their supporters are the antidemocracy group.

Israel is a parliamentary democracy. We vote for political parties. After most elections, the leader of the party that has received the most votes manages to negotiate a coalition with other parties which has more than half of the 120 Members of Knesset. The Likud has gotten the most votes/seats in most recent elections including the November, 2022 elections, in which he and a few other political parties campaigned as a block promising to form a stable coalition. That's what happened, so therefore according to Israeli law and democracy Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu is the legal Prime Minister of the State of Israel. 

For the past few years, definitely predating those recent elections, there has been a well-funded movement to push Bibi out of his number one position in Likud and out the office of Prime Minister. It's called "ANYONE BUT BIBI." For years when he had previously been PM, including the COVID lockdown, there had been weekly demonstrations near the official prime minister's residence calling for Bibi's ouster. This was hell for the neighbors, since the courts/judges insisted that in their superior wisdom, the demonstrators' rights trumped theirs. And when during the COVID lockdown schools, synagogues and many places of work had been forced to be closed, the judges decided that demonstrations must continue...

There was quiet during the year that Naftali Bennett's government stood, which continued when it fell and Yair Lapid was interim Prime Minister. Since Netanyahu returned to office not only have the demonstrations returned bigger and better equipped than before, but their spokespeople/leaders have become louder and more outrageous. Led by two former disgraced Prime Ministers, Ehud Olmert* and Ehud Barak** we now hear unabashed calls for rebellion and refusal to serve in the IDF. This is treason, no less. They are basically calling on the Israeli public to destroy the country. But the courts are in their favor and find nothing wrong.

These antigovernment demonstrations are very expensive to run. Who's funding them? It's no secret that money is coming from abroad, and some of that money has been traced to the American Government. Administrations led by Democrat Party Presidents do not like working with Netanyahu. Obama couldn't find his famous smile when posing with Bibi.

It's clear that there's something very dirty going on. These demonstrations, riots etc. have nothing to do with wanting democracy for the State of Israel. The leaders are bamboozling their followers with slogans. The street isn't democracy. Let's find out who's really behind this.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

*Olmert had spent time in jail convicted on corruption charges. 

**Barak is known to have been a good friend of disgraced Jeffrey Epstein, besides other problematic relationships

Politics vs Democracy: Why The Left Doesn't Want Judicial Reform

 

Israel just had elections a few months ago, the 1st of November, if I remember correctly. The present coalition has only been in office a very short time, and the streets are full of Leftist political rabble-rousers.  Gevalt, why am I using such a weak, harmless term for them?

The truth is that foreign anti-Israel money/backers are trying to destroy the country. They've crafted slogans that totally mask/distort their true aim. The vast majority of the demonstrators haven't a clue as to the truth, nor the meaning of democracy.

Yes, they claim they're for DEMOCRACY, but their very being on the streets demanding that the legally DEMORATICALLY  ELECTED government surrender to their demands is totally absurdly UNDEMOCRATIC.

Bibi Netanyahu's not handling this with the skill and competence he once had. He's of retirement age, and it shows. 

Contrary to the demonstrators' main slogan, Israel's present way of choosing judges is undemocratic and unknown in any of the world's democracies. Israel's "founding fathers" were controlled by a cadre of Leftists, socialists who wanted to make sure that if any of the Revisionists the forerunners of the Likud would ever form a ruling coalition, the Judicial System would remain Leftist. That's why they came up with the idea that the High Court Justices and members of the "Bar" have a majority of the votes in choosing replacements. 

I may not agree with their policies and priorities, but I wouldn't call them stupid. That's why even though for most of the past forty-five 45 years the Likud has been able to make more Right wing coalitions, they have been stymied policy-wise by the Leftist High Court.

When former President of Israel's High Court demands that it is of the utmost importance that the court remain "independent," he means that the court must be the true ruler of the State of Israel. Barak invented a principle of "reasonableness" to decide if a law should stand or not. That's his euphemism for being consistent with his political ideology, not any law or legal precedent. He set himself up as an unelected dictator, and then passed the powers to his replacements, whom he put into power. Is that democracy?

Judicial Reform is an attempt to correct this political anomaly and make Israel more like other democracies. But to be honest, it doesn't go far enough. It's still based on the old system but will give a bit more votes to the Knesset members. And considering that the justices don't resign/retire all that quickly, it will take a long time for us to see any real differences. Of course the sitting justices will claim the law "illegal." 

But in the meantime thousands of Israelis are having fun at "street carnivals" trying to take down the legally elected government and sowing chaos in the country. Obviously, they are wealthy enough to take off from work, or someone is....

. 

The Likud's Time Bomb

Likud-Wikipedia

It's very deja vu hearing all of the complaints frustrations from veteran, loyal Likud MKs once they recognize that yet again there are hardly any senior positions remaining for them. Those who've worked hard and shown their loyalty to Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud, some for decades, have had to accept low-ranking or made-up positions, or none at all, as the good stuff has not only gone to coalition partners but also new and relatively inexperienced Likud MKs. At the same time they're not getting any younger. OK, they're not as old as the newly crowned King Charles of England who's barely a year older than Bibi himself.

Charles always knew that as long as he outlived his mother he'd get the crown, but it's not so simple in politics.

Please look at that chart above, which I copied from Wikipedia. Party leadership usually lasts about a decade. OK, yes, I know that Menachem Begin had been a party leader much longer, first Cherut, then GaHa"L and then finally a decade in the Likud. But the Likud party was cobbled together for the 1973/4 elections, and four years later was Begin's first victory and term as Prime Minister. He resigned/retired in 1983 and was replaced by Yitzchak Shamir who was party head for ten years, and then Netanyahu took over. 

Besides the six years of Arik Sharon seriously marred by his notorious Disengagement Plan, for most of that time and until today Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu has been leader of the Likud and Prime Minister of Israel. He was young when he took over the party, all of fourty-four 44 in October of 1993, and now there are many, many talented and aging Likud MKs younger and waiting in the wings for their chance to head the party. It doesn't look like they'll ever get the opportunity. Instead of competing against each other for leadership, there's Bibi holding onto those reins. He first grabbed them when they were still in school.

Anger and frustration are bubbling close to the surface. And it's not healthy for the party to have one leader for thirty years. It reminds me of, if you'll excuse the expression, dictatorships.  OK, I said it. What do you think?

Will There Be Harmony in Bibi's New Coalition?

Political Chaos, my 52frames photo from Chaos album, week 44, 2022

Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu, longtime head of the Likud party, had gathered a number of ambitious political parties to campaign as one block calling themselves the "Right" wing. 

The chareidi parties are his veteran coalition partners, though "Right" isn't how any honest political expert would label them. Actually, the Likud, which does call itself "Right" is more Center-Left when in power. 

But the bloc that Bibi orchestrated of truly Right and uncompromisingly patriotic religious parties of Smutrich and  Ben-Gvir was the key to his electoral plan. Bibi had hoped to be able to control them, but they're turning out to be more of a Frankenstein. 

Smutrich and Ben-Gvir know very well that many in the Israeli public, even those who didn't vote for them, support or sympathize with their views. It's very much like an Israeli version of Ronnie Reagan's "silent majority." They also know that if Bibi dumps them and makes a desperate deal with Ganz or Lapid, he'd lose the trust/votes of veteran Likud voters. Don't take the media too seriously, as in the rest of the world-- it's Leftist. A majority of Israelis are Right and religiously traditional or religious. That's why Bibi crafted his campaign in that direction and succeeded, though I'm not sure why he sabotaged Ayelet Shaked after approving her. 

It seems like these recent elections were the easy part for Netanyahu; coalition negotiations are a very public nightmare. Likud MKs should be used to getting the scraps of what's left after Bibi gives the goodies to those he needs on his team. I wonder if Bibi was surprised at the toughness of Smutrich and Ben-Gvir while haggling over ministries. He may have thought of them as inexperienced, but they certainly aren't. And their followers expect kavod, honor.

At this point, Bibi may almost have all the pieces put together with the exception of the Chareidim and his own people. No doubt the success of Smutrich & Ben-Gvir may embolden the chareidim to make more demands. Nobody wants to be a "sucker." 

So far Smutrich and Ben-Gvir haven't gotten in the way of chareidi parties, but considering the amount of rabbis and yeshiva students in their camp it's only a matter of time. 

Think about it--  If this is the courtship, what type of marriage will they have? Ironically the Bennet-Lapid government was touted as a coalition of very different parties looking to work together for the sake of the country, and it lasted over a year. It would have lasted longer except for Bibi's dirty tricks. 

What's next?

Likud & Cronies Care More About Power Than The Needs of Israeli Citizens

Outgoing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu refused to politely 
congratulate incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

No doubt you can guess that these are photos of my television screen showing the historic day when Naftali Bennett became Israel's Prime Minister. The dominant figure we see in both pictures isn't Bennett, it is former Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu. You can feel his fury in his eyes and body language.

Bibi showed himself to be a "sore loser." Not only did he lose the office, the political position he cherished and thought would be his for many more years, but he lost the respect of many. Unlike Shimon Peres, whose politics were at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Netanyahu, and in fact unlike all of his predecessors, Netanyahu showed no dignity, no respect for legal process. As we say in Jewish slang:

Bibi's no mensch.

The standard custom in Israel is for the outgoing Prime Minister to publicly congratulate his successor, no matter how far apart they are politically. Afterwards he/she conducts a proper civilized traditional "handover" process in which procedural matters top secret information are passed on so that the government continues to function in an efficient manner.

Netanyahu orchestrated the most disgusting antidemocratic display in the history of the State of Israel. He and his fellow Likud MKs along with the rest of his mafia just screamed, cursed and insulted the incoming government. It was horrifying to see close to half of our Knesset Members acting like drugged/drunk juvenile delinquents. 

Now here we are over a year later, and we have not heard a single apology. In a few days, we will be celebrating the second Rosh Hashanah since that unforgettably horrible scene. According to Jewish Law, a public sin demands a public apology. How anyone can vote for any of them, their parties, ever again is beyond my comprehension! 

If that wasn't proof enough of their moral depravity, the opposition went on a two-pronged attack, macro and micro. The micro* comprised the targeting of various coalition MKs to harass them, taunt them and tempt them, or simply to buy them out with promises of safe spots in the Likud list in the next elections. As proof, former Yemina MKs took their seats from the coalition are now Likud candidates with guarantees to be Likud MKs.

The macro attack required the opposition to vote against all laws proposed by the government, even those which they actually favored. Anything, any political weapon to use against the Bennett government became legitimate in their eyes, no matter what the cost to ordinary Israeli citizens. With a very weakened coalition, see micro*, the so-called Right wing opposition voted against the Settlement Law endangering the security, health and more of Israeli citizens in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. 

If Netanyahu had really led a Right wing government during the decade plus he had been in power, he would have declared Israeli sovereignty on these areas, and then there would have been no need for periodic renewal of the Settlement Law.

 Naftali Bennett was not willing to risk harming Jews whose security, health and more required the renewal of the Settlement Law, so he stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, which necessitated new elections. According to the coalition agreement he had with Yair Lapid, if the government falls because of the actions of the sitting Prime Minister's MKs, then the other one becomes the sitting Prime Minister. Bennett who is an honorable man honored that commitment. 

Even with the mask on, you can see that Bibi Netanyahu
isn't happy when he discovered that Naftali Bennett 
had become Prime Minister just over a year ago.

 

Why Not To Vote Likud and Its Puppet Parties

My antipathy to the Likud is very old, almost as old as the party itself, which is strange considering my Betar background and has nothing to do with today's politics, or does it? 

Our aliyah, fifty-two 52 years ago this week was very connected to Menachem Begin's Herut Party and Betar, especially considering that we spent the greater part of our first year living in Maon Betar, the Betar Youth/Student Hostel, now known as the Plugat Hakotel building in Jerusalem's Old City. Like our friends from Betar, we joined, and are still members of, Kupat Cholim Leumit, and we became dues paying members of Herut, the Revisionist/Betar party. Herut joined with the Liberal Party making Gush Cherut Liberalim, aka GaHaL, which evolved into Likud.

In 1970, after over twenty years of independence, there was only one dominant party, Mapai/Labor, Leftist, secular and socialist. The National Religious Party, which besides having a few rabbis and a lot of kippot had similar policies and joined them religiously in their coalition governments and the Rabbinate. Only during the time of emergency just before the 1967 Six Days War had Menachem Begin and Gahal been invited to join the government.

Cracks in the close political partnership between Mapai/Labor and the NRP began to surface after the great miraculous 1967 Six Days War victory. The government and its agricultural monopoly chose which land to settle only according to financial export advantages probably chosen by Agrexco which was the export monopoly, the Golan for growing fruit and the warmer Jordan Valley and northern Sinai where melons and summer vegetables could be grown for export in the winter. The National Religious Party and its Bnai Akiva youth movement began pushing to return to its former kibbutzim in Gush Etzion, which had been destroyed by the Arabs in the War for Independence. In addition, there were attempts to settle Hebron and various locations in the Shomron because of their Jewish/Biblical importance. The government opposed such settlements and gave in on just a symbolic few.

Post Six Days War the IDF and government/military leaders were cocky and overconfident. The "conceptziah" was that the Arabs would never dare attack us again after our great victory, so we weren't at all prepared for the surprise attack on Yom Kippur 1973. After a few very difficult weeks and many dead, wounded and captured Israelis, Gd gave us another miraculous victory. 

The Israeli electorate was shell-shocked, mourning and talked of not celebrating the upcoming Independence Day, but they voted for their usual parties, returning the veteran/traditional coalition to power in the elections soon after the war. Israelis have trouble changing political choices. 

Polls had been showing more of the same for the 1977 elections, but when the votes were counted the pundits were totally shocked to discover that Menachem Begin's Likud had gotten the most votes. His longtime supporters were overjoyed expecting government support of new Jewish communities all over Judea and Samaria, besides the exiting ones in the Golan, Jordan Valley and Sinai. Instead of annexing all the land liberated in 1967 and promoting building Jewish communities all over, Begin crossed Mapai's redlines and offered Anwar Sadaat a Judenrein Sinai as a peace deal cheered on by US President Jimmy Carter. The homeless Jews from the Sinai were offered new communities in Gush Katif, and then a few decades later, another Likud Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, destroyed Gush Katif making a new generation of Jewish pioneers homeless. As a Likud election campaign slogan stated: "Only the Likud can..."

Here we are almost a half a century later... The religious public has changed; the National Religious Party is no more, though the backroom boys keep trying to repackage and resurrect it. We began to see more and more religious MKs, who were members of other political parties, since religious Israelis had begun to see themselves as Israelis first, free to choose a political party by ideology. I see this as a maturation of Israeli society. And on the Left, today the Labor Party is an anorexic shadow of its former self barely getting the minimum votes for Knesset representation. 

During the decade plus that Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu has ruled the Likud and served as Prime Minister, the chareidi political parties give Bibi their full support in exchange for the Rabbinate. Non-chareidi Torah observant Jews are blocked. This concerns, Kashrut, conversion, marriage and many other crucial issues that affect us all. 

The bottom line here is that most Likud voters actually don't like this chareidi monopoly on the Rabbinate, though they support and strengthen it with their Likud vote. The Bennett-Lapid coalition gave Matan Kahane the Ministry for Religion which controls the Rabbinate. I have no doubt that most Likud voters, if they bother checking what he has been doing, really would support him much more than the chareidi control.

Very important is to consider whether or not Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud actually promotes Right wing policies. The truth is that it doesn't, and I for one am not surprised, because I heard Bibi announce that he wouldn't. At the International Jewish Bloggers Conference in 2008, Netanyahu was the guest speaker and told us of his plans for when he would be reelected Prime Minister. I was standing barely a meter from him and heard him very clearly state that:

 "as Prime Minister I will be Centrist."

Netanyahu's stated reason was that he thinks that a "national leader" should have a policy in the middle. Whatever hope and loyalty to Likud that had somehow survived Begin and Sharon's destructive policies was totally wiped out by that, as far as I'm concerned. We've seen since then how when Bibi's campaigning for votes he loves the Right label, but if you look at his policies, riddled with building freezes, Jewish community and housing destruction. 

Most recently we all witnessed the despicable act of ordering his MKs to vote against the Settlement Law, because Bibi and his cronies, Likud and Chareidi MKs, have only one aim-- returning to power. They don't care whom they harm or bribe (with promises of "safe" places on the Likud list) as they do it. Their only principle is preserving their power, and they want to be back in the drivers seat.

Davka, I consider the criminal investigation of Bibi to be a political witch hunt, and I think the street demonstrations telling him to resign to be antidemocratic. There's a legal political process in a democracy, and top office should never be chosen by the police or the street. We vote.

I do see a distortion/loophole that Netanyahu has exploited to preserve power, which goes against the spirit of the law, though it's technically legal. Until Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid put together their coalition, Bibi had established a pattern of serial/perpetual power. It looked like he'd be the "interim" or  caretaker Prime Minister forever alternating with elections that didn't result in MKs who could agree on a coalition. Look carefully at what had been happening before the Bennett-Lapid agreement.

Sorry this is so long; it's the longest blog post I've written in years. I suggest clicking the links to give you more information. I welcome your questions and comments.

Big Question-- Which Party Should I Vote For?

 Simply put:

The politicians I want to see in the Knesset and even better in the next government aren't running on the same party list.

At this point, I don't know for which party I'll vote vote.

There are still two and a half months until the next Israeli Elections. That should give me time to decide Gd willing.

Am I the only one in such a quandary?

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid Switch Hats

I AM JUST STATING FACTS

Unlike when Bibi Netanyahu had promised Benny Gantz to "switch hats" and hand over the office of Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett kept his promise to Yair Lapid and followed the coalition agreement they had made just over a year ago. Within a few hours Yair Lapid will be Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and Naftali Bennett will be at his side helping him get acquainted with his new position, again unlike Bibi's abominable behavior a year ago.

Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

Last night Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke to the nation on television and internet, since live TV can be accessed there, too. He announced that he's taking a leave of absence from politics and does not plan to run in the next Knesset elections on November 1, after summer vacation and Jewish Holidays. I have no idea what his plans are, but I'm sure that his family will enjoy the relative quiet after this difficult year. Bennett is extremely wealthy, so he doesn't need to look for work.

Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked will head Yamina at this point. I'm not making any predictions nor quoting rumors. When there's real news, I'll probably blog my opinion. As I've written before, I considered the coalition to be  wonderful attempt for Israelis of all stripes to work together, and it reminds me of the Holy Ketoret.

My husband and I made aliyah in 1970 when the Labor Party and Histadrut held all power in the State of Israel. The country hadn't yet fully absorbed the broad implications of the 1967 Six Days War victory. The IDF took credit for the miracle, and then three years later on Yom Kippur the Arabs attacked, and it took a too long and too many Jewish lives to push them back. Even after that it took almost four years for Labor to lose power and the Likud to take over. Too many Israelis couldn't imagine any other party and leadership running the country... Sounds familiar; doesn't it? I see deja vu. Been there done that. Within a few years Likud as we now know it will be history or a shadow of its present self, just like Labor today...

Ketoret Government Incinerated By Political Prostitutes

No doubt some people won't like or get this title.

Ketoret Government:

The Bennett-Lapid coalition, which did manage to govern for a year and pass budgets is made of rather conflicting political parties. These parties decided to look for what they agree on for the common good. This reminds me of Ketoret:

“God said to Moses: Take fragrances such as balsam, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, all of the same weight, as well as other fragrances. Make the mixture into incense, as compounded by a master perfumer, well-blended, pure and holy.” (Ex. 30:34-5)

Some of the ingredients of Ketoret are sweet and others bitter. There may even be some which are poisonous, but together they are holy. The Ketoret was necessary for prayer in the Mishkan Tabernacle and later in the Holy Temple. 

Watching the coalition MKs Right, Left and Center, Jews and Arabs working together reminds me of the Holy Ketoret. Honestly I would have preferred a more ideologically Right coalition, but the MKs weren't willing. Bibi and his henchmen held tight to the mafia of Likud and chareidi MKs, plus the rabble-rouser Right prefer the bullhorn to the nitty gritty of administration. 

As the Bennett-Lapid coalition was sworn in a year ago, we heard two things. The expert political pundits predicted that the coalition wouldn't last a month, and the opposition showed their true antidemocratic stripes by cursing and mocking, rather than accepting their defeat.

I have no doubt that Bibi Netanyahu could have cobbled together a viable coalition if he had wanted to, but he and his mafia had begun to enjoy the perks of office as "interim," "caretaker" government, which can't be voted out of office. They just keep calling periodic elections, no checks and balances, just POWER.

This past year Yemina MKs, not part of the strong Ketoret ideology were targeted and "urged" to break from their party. Instead of acting like moral people, they took their "seats" with them. Here in Israel there aren't personal elections. Those of us who voted Yemina got our votes stolen. If they wanted to leave, they should have resigned their Knesset seats. And because the fault of the government's demise was from them, we now have Yair Lapid as Prime Minister. Bennett didn't do any dirty trick like Netanyahu did to Gantz.

It's going to take a few more years to truly push Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu and his mafia out of power. Remember, or if you're too young- please listen, it took almost six full years after the horror of the "conceptizia" which almost caused our defeat in the Yom Kippur War for Labor to be voted out of office. Gd willing it won't take so long for Israelis to realize the dangers of the Bibi-chareidi rule. 

Praying...

Back to Elections

Israel's Coalition: I See Good Things

To be very honest, nothing's perfect, and that includes politicians. Even though the Bennett-Lapid broad coalition doesn't have the exact policies I want, I still consider today's situation superior to the Bibi-chareidi mafia. 

Bibi and his cohorts were sure that they had found a way to stay in power forever. The Likud as the largest political party in the Knesset, along with the chareidim managed to prevent a coalition from wresting the rule from them. They had the country in a stranglehold for a few years. Since Bibi had led the last coalition as Prime Minister, he continued as caretaking or interim PM along with his mafia. Sorry, it may be legal but it's not the sign of a healthy democracy. I also opposed the massive street demonstrations against Bibi prior to the new coalition. That's mob rule, not law.

Then miraculously, Bennett, Lapid, Gantz, Saar and a few disparate parties pulled the rug out from under Bibi and his cronies. They decided to concentrate on what they agreed and formed a coalition. The foulmouthed sore-losers and the political pundits quickly predicted that the new government wouldn't last out the month, but half a year later they seem to be developing strong, stable sea legs...

One of the great standouts as a minister in the coalition is Matan Kahane, Minister of Religion. Way back when in the earlier decades of the State of Israel the NRP National Religious Party held that position. The religious establishment was more mamlachti, Zionist, Bnai Akiva, not chareidi. In more recent years as NRP's younger generation became more ideological and/or open to working with other groups, the party not only lost votes, but it lost its luster, attracting fewer and fewer potential leaders. Every few years the NRP hired a few "front man." Even Naftali Bennett played the role until he got tired of being a "figurehead," 

Today politically ambitious men in crocheted kippot and women in scarves and sleeves can be seen in almost all political parties.  As the NRP got weaker, it lost its leadership in the government's religious bodies, and the chareidim quickly stepped in. The NRP is no longer in the Knesset, and the rabbinate, kashrut and conversion are dominated by the chareidim. 

Matan Kahane in Shiloh, parlor meeting,
March, 2019

Back to Matan Kahane who was new to politics when I heard him at a parlor meeting here in Shiloh, March 2019. I was impressed then, and he hasn't disappointed me yet.

For decades I've been worried about the fact that the "national religious" Jews as a group have been considering themselves "second class," inferior Jews to the chareidim. I don't see chareidi lifestyle and religious "standards" as superior, more genuinely Jewish. And since the chareidim now control the Rabbanit it's only getting worse. 

Conversion to Judaism has become one of the more difficult issues, and I'm glad that Matan Kahane is working on that, plus kashrut.

For those who want to list the "bad" things the present government has done, it's just as easy to find examples of similar and worse done by Bibi. Do you really want Bibi and his mafia back in unlimited power?

Guide To The Perplexed, Israeli Political System Simplified

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett 

After over half a century in Israel, I have a pretty good idea how the political system works. I don't think it's like many others. I'm going to try to simplify it here, aiming to say how it's run in positive rather than negative sentences/points. I will try to use easy to understand terminology.

• The Israeli Political System is a parliamentary democracy.
• The Israeli Political System has only proportional representation.
• Israeli citizens vote for political parties*.
• The 120 Knesset seats are proportionately divided among the political parties that received a legally set percentage of the votes and more.
• After votes are fully counted, the political parties negotiate a coalition government, because no single party has ever gotten a majority of the Knesset seats.
• The Prime Minister is chosen/voted in by the majority of Knesset Members who generally are in the political parties that have joined the coalition. 
• Coalition negotiations decide which participating political parties get which ministries, committee chairmanships and other important positions.
• When a government falls and new elections are called, the sitting government continues until after a new coalition is voted in.**

*Each political party has a numbered list of candidates who become MKs according to election results.

**That interim government cannot be voted out. Netanyahu had spent the last few years as interim Prime Minister, perfectly safe from losing his position as long as no new coalition run by another party could be formed.

Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett

I hope that this explanation is clear. If you have any questions, please write in the comments. 

This isn't the place/post to complain that YOU think it's a dumb system. The purpose of this post is just to explain the existing  Israeli Political System.

Why Isaac Herzog is Now President of the State of Israel, Even Though The People Wanted Miriam Peretz

Isaac Herzog newly elected President of the State of Israel

The State of Israel has both a Prime Minister and a President. Their roles are very different as are the methods used to elect them.

As I typed the final words of the previous sentence, I realized that superficially what I had written wasn't exactly true. Both the Prime Minister and the President are voted in by Members of Knesset. The major difference is that once once the President is voted in, he or she then will no longer need approval from MKs. The position is more formal, diplomatic, almost like a monarch who meets and greets foreign ambassadors and delegations. The President will also represent the State of Israel at various foreign events freeing the Prime Minister and other government ministers from these formal occasions. That's one of the reasons that in the time leading up to today's elections that the press made a big deal over the fluent English of Herzog versus Peretz's weaker English speaking abilities. 

When it comes to the public, Miriam Peretz is far more popular than Isaac Herzog. I read and reviewed her biography-click here and immediately joined the fan club. Peretz is a former teacher, and two of her sons were killed in army action. She has become a unifying symbol of faith, patriotism and survival. I have no doubt that Peretz would make an excellent President, but in the decades that Herzog has been involved in the Israeli political scene, including being head of the Jewish Agency, his political connections and smarts in Israel and abroad are unsurpassed. Even in the secret ballot, Miriam Peretz hadn't a chance.

If Peretz really wants the job of President of the State of Israel, she now has seven years to campaign.

Miriam Peretz with some of her children

National Unity Government Like Biblical Ketoret, Or Do You Want More Elections?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Nobody's quite sure who really coined these words of wisdom, but I wish that sixty-one 61 plus Knesset Members would take the words to heart and and hammer out a workable coalition agreement for the good of the State of Israel, so we don't have to uselessly vote again.

None of us are perfect, nor are our politicians. Instead of demonstrating to oust Bibi, there should be demonstrations near all the MKs' homes urging them to put away their egos and platforms. We want a viable government coalition, warts and all. 

Ketoret, a specially blended incense, was used in Temple and prior to that Mishkan, Tabernacle for prayer. 

The ketoret consisted of a special blend of herbs and balms whose precise ingredients and manner of preparation were commanded by G‑d to Moses.

Some of the herbs and balms were sweet, others bitter, and all were needed to properly make the Ketoret. 

Right now Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, whose positions concerning many issues clash, but they both believe that the State of Israel needs a national unity government. One thing for sure, both have supporters/voters/MKs not all happy with the views of the "other." Think of the bitter herb that must be included in the Ketoret.

If the MKs whom Bennett and Lapid bring into this coalition from their political parties and others come with the right attitude, the State of Israel will have a good working government, like the Ketoret needed for prayer in Biblical times. Gd willing...

...because it's truly insanity to expect election results very different from what we've had the previous four times.

Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, Hologram of Tabernacle worship

The Israeli Public Must Choose Between Compromising Ideals & Infinite Elections Ad Nauseum

I think even the most experienced and capable of political pundits here in Israel are getting dizzy from all these useless elections. Not too many years ago, the minimum vote percentage a party needed to get Knesset seats was raised just to prevent a situation like we have now. But it seems like a political party of four plus seats is as stubborn and unrealistic, if not more, as single MK parties.

No matter how you play with the numbers/MKs, the only way a working/viable/realistic coalition can be formed is for party leaders and MKs to go against their sworn ideals/platform. Some MKs will need to leave their parties and join this unity coalition. 

For me to say this isn't easy. I'm an idealist, a purist, but I'm also a pragmatist. 

As a pragmatist I'm sure that over sixty elected Members of Knesset can find some basic workable positions in terms of economics, security, development policies that can be the basis of a lasting, at least for four/five years government coalition. It shouldn't be top heavy expensive with Ministers, like that monstrous ineffective farcical Bibi-Gantz agreement. Committee chairmanships should be the "diamonds on the crown." The public will like that much better. It's in the committees where the real work is done.

Gd willing, that's what we'll soon see. Let them leave their egos behind. The State of Israel needs unity not infinite elections.

Bennett-Bibi Parallels to Kings David and Saul

Tonight on tv, Israel's Chanel 11, I watched מהצד השני Mehatzad Hasheini "On The Other Hand" with Guy Zohar.

Guy Zohar picks a few issues each program and gives his own spin. Tonight he talked about something he thought peculiar. Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamin Hachadash (New Right) Party, a name I really don't like, though their platform is good, refuses to say that he's campaigning for the position of Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Of course, it's clear that he is, and he is doing very well in the polls under the question "Who should be the Prime Minister of the State of Israel?" For the longest time number two after PM Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu was "none of the above," and now Bennett is well ahead of all competitors and closing in on Netanyahu. His biggest problem is that we don't vote for Prime Minister, we only vote for party Knesset lists, and the party that does the best gets first crack at trying to form a coalition which will be headed by its number one.

Zohar showed clips, almost ad nauseum of New Right's Ayelet Shaked and Matan Kahane saying that Bennett is best suited to be Israel's next Prime Minister. He seemed to find that rather strange. I guess that Guy Zohar isn't familiar with the Tanach, Bible. 

This Bennett-Bibi scenario as presented by Zohar immediately reminded me of King David while King Saul was still alive and ruling. No matter what King Saul did against David, which included trying to murder him, David held back his followers from harming King Saul. Even though Samuel the Prophet had already anointed him, David insisted that he would never harm the king. And Bennett keeps saying that no elections are happening right now, so Bennett is not campaigning against Netanyahu to replace him as Prime Minister.

As I've said many times, as rocky as the present coalition is, the two main components Likud and Blue and White are both terrified of elections, since their leaders know very well that they've lost popular support. That's the glue holding the Bibi-Gantz government together. The political party showing most improvement in the polls is Bennett's New Right.

This is very much a three way competition. Gantz has no real chance to form a ruling coalition on his own. Bibi's attacks on Bennett over the years, even though he did give him good positions in his last interim government, also parallels King Saul's treatment of David. Even when trying to kill David, King Saul would sometimes order him to come and calm him with sweet music.

David eventually became King of the Jewish People and Land. I wouldn't dare try to predict who will be the true successor to Bibi Netanyahu. It may take a few short terms by successors until a new strong leader takes the helm.

Rule of The Streets/Mobs/Demonstrations Anti-Democratic and Very Problematic

I was born and grew up in the United States and came to age in the 1960s when anyone how cared about an issue demonstrated in the streets, sidewalks or wherever we could, generally with police permits. I chose Jewish causes, Israel and freeing Soviet Jewry. I even met my husband at a SSSJ Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry demonstration. Most of my peers in public high school demonstrated for Civil Rights for black Americans. While some states technically had the same laws for all citizens, other states treated Negros, as they were called then, as second class citizens, not even allowing them to practice all their rights. 

One thing our demonstrations had in common were that we cared about issues. The idea that one could dare protest/complain about the results of elections, like the recent Not My President protests in the USA, or try to replace an elected official by shouting in the streets was unimaginable. I had been taught that such a thing would be illegal, immoral and anti-democratic going against the principles of due process or electoral system. When a mob aka demonstration demands that only their political opinion is correct certainly is not democratic.

When you live in a democracy, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Sometimes you're happy with the results, and sometimes you're not. You may even be very upset and think your fellow citizens are WRONG or insane, but that's life. You may even think the law should have prevented someone from holding office, but you're not the law. Even if you and your friends are all convinced that someone shouldn't be in office, street demonstrations aren't the way to change leadership. There are laws, electoral process.

I'm no fan of Bibi Netanyahu, and I don't think that I've ever voted Likud, but those demonstrators out every night near the Prime Minister's residence don't represent me. In a very biblical Korach* way, they're just saying "no" to Bibi as Prime Minister, and their leadership is not revealing whom they want as PM. 

That's because saying "NOT BIBI" can get a bigger mob than touting Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid or some other name they haven't had the guts to pull out of their hat. A big reason is because the polls are very clear. Bibi Netanyahu is still number one when people are asked:

Whom do you prefer as Prime Minister of Israel? 

Number two in the polls is Naftali Bennett, and the fiscal funders (follow the money) of these demonstrations dread Bennett even more than they dislike Bibi. I heard one of the leaders on TV complaining about that. The ultimate aim of the protests is to put one of "their people" in as Prime Minister, and they see it a failure that davka Naftali Bennett of Yemina is rising in the polls. 

For years the anit-Bibi leadership has been looking for a figurehead from the Left to galvanize the Israeli public and succeed him as Prime Minister. It hasn't happened for two reasons:

• There just isn't anyone from the Left capable of leading a Center-Left party and attracting enough votes to knock Likud out of the running.
• Getting lots of Knesset Members voted in does not guarantee its party leader becoming Prime Minister. Tsippi Livni as head of Kadima preceded Gantz as a losing winner. 

Crafting/negotiating a coalition is a skill, apparently more complicated and difficult than getting votes. That's why we needed three elections in such a short time. The present coalition is the most chaotic and dis-united ever. The only reason the two main parties haven't divorced is that their leaderships are terrified of new elections. That's the one thing they agree on.

Back to those demonstrations. 

• Only elections can change the government,
• Only internal Likud primaries can change the leadership in Likud.
• The street isn't where prime ministers are chosen in a democracy.

A few thousand people chanting in the streets or even tens of thousands chanting in the streets can't and shouldn't have the power to change a government. And it's immoral to even think they can do so. They should follow legal process and the electoral system. Politics is a profession demanding many skills. If they want to change the leadership, they must use the electoral system not loud speakers. 

Photo by Rachel Brynien, Used With Permission
For the first time, tonight's demonstration was set up with chairs for social distancing. Previous demonstrations were crowded, as one can see in newspaper reports and TV news. 

For more of my Korach posts click here.

Bibi-Gantz Coalition, Political Trick?

When will Israel have new elections?

Odd couple for sure. There's no humor in the present Israeli coalition of Bibi-Gantz, Likud and Blue and White plus the chareidim and a few others. Gantz's political career was founded on and focused on declaring Bibi Binyamin Netanyahu unfit for office and replacing him. But then, after three failed attempts to legally unseat him as Prime Minister, Gantz folded and accepted a deal with Bibi. Bibi trapped him with a newly invented title "Alternate" Prime Minister with all the expensive trappings of the office without any authority or responsibilities. When Gantz and his cronies offer opinions aka "alternative" policies they're accused of "interfering."

In the meantime, polls are showing Gantz and his remaining Blue and White Party dropping, while his former political partner, Yair Lapid, is now holding second place, aka head of opposition.

Politics is a complicated profession. Each country has its very own system, requiring wannabes to learn a complicated lexicon of skills to really succeed. There's no competition between the skills and experience of the Likud MKs with Gantz and his cronies.

Could the downward spiral of Blue and White have been the aim of Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's offer to Benny Gantz all along?

What do you think?

Likud Voters Voted Bibi But Got Benny Gantz

This is my local synagogue, locked and blocked during the corona lock-down. This is used for illustrative purposes only. BTW it may remind you that during the corona crises, Naftali Bennett has worked hard, efficiently and effectively for the health of the State of Israel.

Israel's new government, soon to sworn in, led yet again by Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu will have an outrageously large number of ministers to satisfy/tempt/pay off the politicians and parties Bibi wanted in his coalition. Chareidi party leaders were even surprised at how easy it was this time to get the assignments they wanted. In addition, Blue and White's Benny Gantz was given crucial positions which had been promised to the Right, meaning Likud or Yemina. According to reports Gantz has veto power.

Something stinks.

Yemina leaders Naftali Bennett and crew have spent the past few months working hard showing their loyalty to the bloc Bibi had been touting. But what did Yemina get from Bibi? Zilch! Nothing. The publicized offers aren't even worth mentioning, so insulting. There seems to be something "personal" in it. One can insult and malign Netanyahu as Gantz has been doing the past couple of years, and Bibi will forgive. But if someone works hard and well and is a generation younger, Bibi feels threatened so "off with his head."

Quite a few people wanted Yemina but voted Likud. What a shame. They got the other Binyamin,  Gantz instead of Netanyahu.

Disgusted With The Latest Coalition News in Israel

I really am disgusted, and that's why I haven't blogged about it of late. I had been hoping that Bibi-Likud would have just made a tighter coalition. He could have made Gantz beg, certainly not offer so many ministerial posts and power.

Would you prefer another round of elections?

To be perfectly honest, I would have preferred a fourth round of elections.

Considering all that's going on with corona aka COVID-19 and security, the State of Israel is doing so much better than other countries.

My guess is that the Judicial is conspiring against Bibi, and he needs the backing of Gantz and crew. Latest news is that Mandelblit says that Bibi Netanyahu is legally permitted to form a new government. That's after Bibi got Gantz, Ashkenazi and Labor to join up with him.

Something stinks. It's that simple. Eventually we'll find out more of what's behind this.

What do you think?