by Hillel Fendel, based on articles originally published in Besheva
We had hoped that the new nationalist government would be formed quickly and easily. We wanted to see the outgoing government become a historical footnote as soon as possible – the government of which the 30 terrorism victims of 2022 - the most since 2015 - were just one of the many damages of its failed policies.
We also thought that a year and a half of successful cooperation in the opposition by the parties of the future government would continue when they finally reached their mutual goal. But it seems that not. Netanyahu is not succeeding in respecting his partners' needs, and in particular, as is his custom, he wishes to minimize the role of the religious-Zionist public in his government.
Let it be clear: The political demands by Betzalel Smotrich, head of the Religious-Zionist party, are well-deserved, commensurate with smaller parties' demands in the past, and will enable him to fulfill precisely what he promised his voters.
At present, with negotiations stuck on almost all fronts – with Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious-Zionism, and possibly also Ben-Gvir's Jewish Strength party – the issues are certainly complex. They cannot be reduced simply to what ministries will go to which parties, but rather what responsibilities each ministry will have.
Among the main concerns for Smotrich, for instance, are the IDF Civil Administration, authority over the constrained Jewish construction throughout Judea and Samaria, and authority to fight illegal Arab construction there. These are generally in the purview of the Defense Ministry, which is largely why Smotrich demanded this portfolio. It appears, however, that if a way can be found to "relocate" the above issues to another ministry, such as the Finance Ministry, he will agree to such an arrangement.
His original demand for the Defense Ministry was portrayed by many in the press and the Likud as overly greedy – unfairly so. The list he headed in the elections received no fewer than 14 seats. And even now, after the division of the list into three parts [as was more or less planned in advance, giving 7 seats for Religious-Zionism, 6 for Ben-Gvir, and one for Avi Maoz of Noam], Smotrich's seven seats are still quite substantial. They are certainly more than the five seats brought to a coalition several years ago by Avigdor Lieberman, who was named Defense Minister at the time, and even more than the three MKs of Naftali Bennett when he once received the same post.
In addition, the Religious-Zionism party deserves a senior post for another reason: It made the chief difference that brought victory to Netanyahu and the nationalist camp. This camp's four parties – the Likud, Smotrich/Ben-Gvir, Shas and UTJ – together rose from 52 seats in the previous election (not including, of course, Bennett's Yemina party and its coalition ally New Hope of Gideon Saar) to 64 today. The Likud gained two seats, the hareidi parties remained the same, and the Religious-Zionism party rose from 6 to 14!
Furthermore, on a personal level, Betzalel Smotrich is highly regarded for his broad knowledge and grasp of issues, his political skills, and his proven ability to get things done. Placing either the Treasury or Security portfolio in his hands is a fairly sure recipe for success for the entire government in one of the critical areas of its responsibility.
At the moment, Netanyahu is having a hard time in his coalition negotiations; the most recent headlines blared the news of loud accusations by Shas that the Likud reneged on its commitments, while Netanyahu blames Smotrich… But in truth, Netanyahu made two mistakes regarding Smotrich. One was when he took him for granted, and the other was when he thought he could simply find him a nice job in the government. In truth, Smotrich's objectives were not at all to join the government, but to actually change its policies and alter reality in Israeli governance. Smotrich is quite determined. When Netanyahu told him early on that he cannot appoint him as Defense Minister for at least as long as Joe Biden is President of the US, and that the Finance Ministry is already spoken for [this has since changed], Smotrich shocked him by saying: "Then you can simply form a government with the left-wing; we'll go to the opposition."
When the Prime Minister-designate then offered him ministries such as Education, Interior, and/or Transportation, Smotrich explained, "It's not a matter of which job I get, but rather of being where the real decisions are made, especially regarding Judea and Samaria, and doing things differently than they have been done in the past." He made it clear that previous right-wing governments have made many mistakes that he does not want to see repeated. "If the goal is simply to return to power without a change in policy, I won't be there," he concluded.
So why is Netanyahu being so miserly towards Smotrich and the religious-Zionist public that he represents? It is hard to escape the conclusion that now, once again, Netanyahu seeks to suffice with being Prime Minister, without really trying to implement the nationalist camp's agenda. He fears that if Smotrich and his colleagues are in positions of influence, he will actually have to act quickly and effectively to authorize a normal electricity supply to dozens of small settlements in Judea and Samaria; to build the community in Evyatar [originally established in 2013, but subsequently destroyed by the IDF, and renewed in 2021 with a promise that it would be legalized within six months]; to destroy illegal PA construction in Area C; to advance sovereignty; and to approve increased Jewish construction there. He also fears a Defense Minister who will instruct the IDF to fight the war against terrorism on its own, without "security cooperation" with the PA, and who will punish Abu Mazen with economic sanctions for continuing to pay salaries to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists.
Neither does Netanyahu want a Finance Minister such as Smotrich who will have a hand in every government ministry, and whose likely success in this difficult position will enhance even more the power of the religious-Zionist sector.
The struggle by Smotrich and his party is not for prestige and honor, but rather for influence in implementing better policies. Since without him there is no coalition and no government – unless Netanyahu chooses, totally improbably, to go with the center-left, against all of his campaign promises – it is too bad that time and good-will cooperation are being wasted on lose-lose negotiations.
Hopefully, and according to certain indications, the negotiations will conclude satisfactorily this week.