By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM — I’m among those who had a sleepless night between Thursday and Friday because of Binyamin Netanyahu, the old/new Prime Minister of Israel. He was due to present his new government to the Knesset at 7p.m. local time. However, the event was postponed for a couple of hours because he was still haggling with members of his own party over portfolios. When the event finally took place, it gave many of us much cause for concern.
The oversized cabinet – including two sinecures named “minister without portfolio” and several deputy ministers – was presented with the notable absence of Gilad Erdan, who received most votes in the Likud primaries. He now joins other prominent party members, past and present, who’ve stepped aside or been pushed out to make room for Netanyahu’s vociferous coalition partners and inane party cronies.
Therefore, sleep eluded me even after the raucous and undignified ceremony was over. My restlessness was partly inspired by the forceful and, I believe, effective speech by the normally well-spoken and well-mannered Leader of the Opposition, Isaac Herzog.
Like Herzog I want to know why, at a time when Israel is doing very badly on the international arena, the Prime Minister has kept the foreign ministry for himself, appointing an unknown and inexperienced deputy. If having Avigdor Lieberman in that post in the last government wasn’t bad enough.
I’m also troubled that Netanyahu has kept for himself the ministry of communication. Like other right-wing politicians, Netanyahu wants to clip the wings of the media that dare criticize him. (Canadians will remember the obsession of Brian Mulroney and well know the non-cooperation with the media of Stephen Harper.)
There’s no less reason to be alarmed by the appointment of Ayelet Shaked as Justice Minister. She’s a notorious critic of Israel’s bastion of democracy, its Supreme Court. Will she try to tamper with it now? Will her party leader Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) as Education Minister try to turn Israel’s students into rabid nationalists? And will their colleague Uri Ariel, now Minister of Agriculture, try to drain the country’s resources for the benefit of the settlers in the West Bank?
These worries made me almost forget the billions that are to be given to the ultra-Orthodox to pursue their aims of funding yeshivot that offer no general education thus rendering its graduates unemployed for life, dependent on welfare. The ultras will also do their utmost to further curtail the legitimate rights of liberal and secular Jews.
But I couldn’t help thinking of the petition that no doubt will reach the courts very soon seeking to disqualify Arieh Deri, the leader of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas, from being a government minister in view of his criminal record. Though there may be no formal grounds for keeping him out of power, even the Attorney General is said to have warned the Prime Minister that the Supreme Court may agree with the petitioners.
And what about the rights of Israeli Arabs, and peace with the Palestinians?
A hopeful sign in all this is that such a government can’t last long; the mood in the Knesset last night was a clear indicator. However, I still maintain that, in the present situation, no party wants another election, so the country will have to limp along.
Another possible reason for hope is that Moshe Kahlon, the leader of Kulanu, will heed Herzog’s call and realize that he won’t be able to achieve much in the Netanyahu government and jump ship to join Herzog in a new and healthier coalition.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. You may send your comment to dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com, or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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