With
over 12 weeks of anti-government protests culminating in Sunday night's mass
demonstrations following the sacking of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a
beleaguered
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally caved into
pressure and announced on Monday evening that he was suspending the passing of
a controversial law to limit the powers of the judiciary.
اضافة اعلان
As
Israel went through a series of general strikes that paralyzed the country amid
an unprecedented state of polarization with signs that the Jewish state was
inching towards violent confrontations between those who are against the
judicial overhaul and those on the far right, who supported it,
Netanyahu decided that he had no more moves to make.
In
his evening speech,
Netanyahu said he wanted to avert civil war and was keen on
preserving unity. He added that he was ready for dialogue, which he had always
supported. Yet, he had ignored numerous appeals by President Isaac Herzog to
sit with the opposition and find a compromise. And when Herzog proposed his own
compromise, Netanyahu and his extremist partners in the ruling coalition
brushed it off.
But
by prolonging the crisis,
Netanyahu has painted himself into a corner. Now, he finds
himself between a rock and a hard place. If he scraps the proposed reforms, his
coalition government will surely collapse, throwing the country into a vortex
and killing his political career. If he pushes on in a few weeks, the protests
and the strikes, not to mention the serious divisions within the military
establishment, will resurface.
In reality, Netanyahu had done more damage to Israel’s security and unity in a few months than any other external foe, dating back to when the state was created.
To
keep his shaky coalition united,
Netanyahu has struck a deal with
ultra-nationalist Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who agreed to
suspend the judicial overhaul plan in return for allowing him to head his own
armed militia outside the jurisdiction of the army and police.
In
reality,
Netanyahu had done more damage to Israel's security and unity in a few
months than any other external foe, dating back to when the state was created.
Netanyahu is an opportunist, ready to do anything to protect himself from being
removed from office as his corruption trial continues. He is also using the
far-right, a mixture of religious and ideological extremists, to deliver his
objective of weakening, and in
effect neutralizing, the Supreme Court in Israel. It is a symbiotic relationship where the far-right uses Netanyahu's
judicial coup to change the character of the Israeli state.
This
is what it boils down to in the end. The anti-government camp wants to defend
the state's identity as a secular and democratic entity — even if it is only
for the benefit of the Jews. Supporters of the coalition government, what can
only be described as a "dream team" bringing together right-wing,
ultra-nationalists, settlers, Orthodox Jews, and religious Zionists, have a
wide and conflicting agenda ranging from
turning Israel into a religious autocracy, with Taliban-like beliefs, to extending Israeli rule over all of the
West Bank and beyond.
The anti-government camp wants to defend the state's identity as a secular and democratic entity — even if it is only for the benefit of the Jews.
Netanyahu was able to hammer together a coalition that few in Israel believed would last
for long — but long enough to pass laws that would keep him from jail. It now
appears that his gambit has failed. The reaction to his constitutional coup has
been resounding, with leaders of allied countries and Jewish groups across the
globe, including the US, united in rejecting it while bringing together former
army, police, intelligence officers, as well as politicians from all shades of
the political spectrum in issuing a warning that
Israel is heading towards dictatorship.
The
timing of this crisis is also crucial. The West Bank is on fire,
with the Israeli army losing control of the security situation as settlers and
Palestinian activists engage in retaliatory attacks. Tensions are rife along
the northern borders with Lebanon, while there are fears that Iran could be
weeks away from building a nuclear weapon. The military establishment has
warned that the Israeli army is witnessing deep divisions with public calls for
mutiny by thousands of reservists.
It is unfortunate that the fight for a democratic and secular Israel is not linked to ending the occupation. It should be.
The
opposition, which can claim victory over the coalition, will be emboldened by
Netanyahu's decision to back down — for now. But that is one battle in a long
war that is currently raging on between the secular-liberal camp and the
extremists. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid promised Monday that he would push
to adopt a written constitution for Israel, one that codifies the separation of
powers and prevents a future constitutional coup.
This
war will rage on for years for what some analysts have called the "soul of
Israel".
It
is unfortunate that the fight for a democratic and secular
Israel is not linked to ending the occupation. It should be. Israel cannot free itself from the
tyranny of self-serving racist, ultra-nationalist, and ultra-religious groups
unless it finally delinks itself from the Palestinian people and allows them to
live in freedom and security along its side.
Osama
Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
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