Tomorrow night at midnight, the Knesset will disband itself unless a budget is passed or a law extending the grace period during which the government needs to present a budget is passed. The bookmakers in London and elsewhere are probably trying to decide if to allow betting on this, but calculating the odds is nigh impossible, so I guess they won’t take the risk.
The risk, and the consequences of whatever decision is made, will be borne by the Israelis. We are dealing with a corrupt, spineless government, that is totally incapable of making any decisions at all, unless one man, who holds all the strings, will tell them to do so. And since this man, our Prime Minister, not only holds the strings that would allow the ministries to do their jobs, but also the strings to the political future of most of his ministers, we are in a situation, where everything, from critical to trivial, must await the nod from Netanyahu, and his decisions are all based on how will it help him in his trial (or preventing the trial).
And thus, the Corona crisis is deepening by the day, and absurd issues like allowing thousands of Haredim to travel to Uman to catch corona en-masse, or closures based on political considerations, or the entry of thousands of foreign Yeshiva students into Israel, are all decided with Netanyahu and his interests in mind, and nothing else.
The economic crisis is worsening, the number of unemployed is growing, whole branches of the economy are collapsing and people have finished up their bribe money of NIS 750 long ago already.
But still, all of Israel is waiting for the final verdict on the elections. And while Netanyahu is weighing the pros and cons of calling elections, now, or in three months, or not at all, let’s see what such elections may bring to the people of Israel.
Option one: more of the same or worse. Netanyahu will win the elections, and set up a new government with the same puppets, the same cronies, the same cash hungry Haredim and everything will be like it was. Including the budget shambles, because that is the most logical way for Netanyahu to force new elections in another three months if that will suit him by then.
Option two: Blue and White will win the elections and Gantz is able to set up a government that most likely will also include the Haredim and maybe even his old friends from Yesh Atid. But Gantz, a political novice, and naïve if there ever was naïve politician, will not be able to rally a majority behind any action plan and things will stall and everything will remain like it was, except that Balfour will have a new tenant.
Option three: Yamina and Bennet will win the elections and Bennet will become Prime Minister, and Ayelt Shaked will be allowed to continue the destruction of the judicial system which she started last year. While within Yamina there are claims that anything and everything will be set aside and the Corona crisis will take precedent over all other problems, it will be hard to believe that the racists that now make up that party, will allow an opportunity to destroy democracy completely in Israel, to go to waste, or give up on usurping all of the occupied territories and maybe even start to move towards a Halachic State, like some of them have claimed that’s what must be done in Israel.
Option four: Yesh Atid will come out of the elections strengthened and together with Lieberman they will set up a government, which will probably also include the Haredim, but since those two sides really hate each other’s guts, it will cost a lot more.
I guess it depends a little on how you look at the world, but it appears there is no good option for the people of Israel. It doesn’t really matter if elections are held or not. There is little chance that with this government the problems of the simple Israeli are being taken into account and any alternative government, after the elections, will be incapable of attacking the real issues either, if they would be interested in doing so, which is doubtful.
So a military coup then? Even the sound of that is worrisome, and besides, while the Israeli Army is extremely capable of doing what she is supposed to do, protecting Israel and its citizens, the large number of generals and other ex-army personnel in Israel politics are the best and most convincing proof that being a good soldier doesn’t make you a good politician, and protecting your country from outside enemies is not the same as protecting your citizen’s from corruption, bureaucracy and political negligence. So no coup. Besides, the experiences with coups in South America are so obviously bad, we should not even think in that direction (small detail, they are also not democratic, or doesn’t that matter anymore).
The only way out of the incredible mess that has been created, while still allowing for democracy to prevail is to remove Netanyahu from his position. Only when he is gone, will ministers that now are under his thumb have a chance to show they are more than just his underlings. With Netanyahu gone, Israel democracy will look positive again, and the country can get ready to tackle the many problems that have arisen in the past six months. It appears though that waiting for the trial to end in a conviction will take too long, especially if appeals are taken into account. The legalities involved in Netanyahu’s position and the justification for moves to have him removed are complex and not at all clear. Does that mean he cannot be removed? The fact that Netanyahu has ordered his cronies to concentrate on Attorney-General Mandelblit and Justice Minister Nissenkorn, should be an indication that Netanyahu is worried about what the Justice system still has up its sleeve and what it is capable of doing. Maybe Mandelblit is just waiting for the right moment to make his move and Netanyahu knows it? WE need to pin or hopes on Mandelblit, because we have no other options. In a real democracy, a man like Netanyahu would never stay on with such serious accusations leveled at him. He would have stepped aside to save the face of democracy. Netanyahu is only after saving his own. Democracy never interested him and now he knows it will only work against him. Decency never was one of his traits and he isn’t about to acquire such useless characteristics now. So the justice system is our only hope now.
We must hope it will survive the onslaught against it and save Israel from itself and from Netanyahu.
