by Uri Dromi*
If the COVID-19 crisis weren’t bad enough, then Israelis are about to suffer two more calamities: Their newly formed government is a self-defeating hybrid, and their prime minister is going to stand up in court on Sunday and answer to charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
This government is the product of three election campaigns, which once again produced a draw and a deadlock, paralyzing the country for more than a year. Eventually, the two main rival parties, Likud and Blue and White, decided to form a unity government. Allegedly, this was good news and, in opinion polls, the majority of Israelis supported it.
However, the way this government was formed and its nature make many Israelis sick.
Benjamin Ganz, leader of Blue and White, won the votes of people who believed him when he had promised that he would not sit in government with someone who had been indicted with such three serious charges. So he said. And so did Groucho Marx, who had said that, “Those are my principles and if you don’t like them, well, I have others.”
Ganz’s excuse was the Covid-19 crisis, which presumably demanded joining forces and brushing everything else aside. However, quite surprisingly, in forming the government, he didn’t insist on securing the Ministry of Health to his party.
So much about breaking the hearts of so many voters, and about trust in politicians in general. But when the government itself was presented to the people, even those who had supported the idea of a national unity government were awed at first, and then disgusted.
First, this is a dual-headed government, with a prime minister and an “alternate prime minister,” who will presumably switch positions in 18 months, but, in the meantime, will have veto power over any serious decision each of them would like to make. It’s inevitable, however, that this strange structure will be shattered once its two heads meet a challenge like over President Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century. It allows Israel to annex territory in the West Bank. Netanyahu wants to push it, believing it will be his legacy, Ganz is cautious, trying not to jeopardize the peace with Jordan.
Worse, however, is this government’s gargantuan size: 34 ministers, with their numerous aides, secretaries, drivers etc. This at a time when, because of COVID-19, one out of four Israelis is unemployed, and many business owners will go bankrupt.
Some of the newly invented ministries are ludicrous. When Netanyahu offered Zeev Elkin, one of his Likud seniors, the Ministry of Higher Education (torn from its natural place, the Ministry of Education), he asked if there was anything else he could do for him. “Can I get some water?” asked Elkin, to which Netanyahu replied: “Done! Minister of Higher Education and Water.” A joke, you would think. Elkin has just been named Minister of Higher Education and Water Resources.
And now, Israelis on Sunday will see their prime minister in court, facing charges of corruption. In 2008, when then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced the same charges, it was Netanyahu who said that, “A prime minister who is neck-deep in investigations has no public or moral mandate to make crucial decisions.” So he said.
Still, Israel is much more than its government. COVID-19 has highlighted what we Israelis are known for. Medical staffs did wonders, with Arab doctors and nurses being singled out for their amazing performances — which will not go unnoticed in future Jewish-Arab relations in Israel.
Then came the mix of solidarity and ingenuity: When old people, secluded in their homes, were craving to see their grandchildren, firefighters stepped in. They lifted the kids with their cranes up to the level of the their delighted grandparents’ balconies.
Plus, there were the geniuses of the IDF Intelligence elite unit, who helped the healthcare system cope with the crisis efficiently. Once their contribution was over, they returned to their crucially important business, and it seems that they did well recently: The Washington Post attributes to Israel a cyber attack that paralyzed Iran’s big Shahid Rajaee port, presumably in response to Iran’s previous attempt to hit Israel’s water system.
Despite the three calamities they face, Israelis are alive and kicking.
*was the spokesman of the Rabin and Peres governments, 1992-1996
**first published in: "The Miami Herald"
By: N. Peter Kramer
