The time has come for a national unity government.
Unlike what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement earlier this week – that use of the term ‘unity’ is “laundering words” and an attempt to mislead the public – such a government, from Yamina on the Right to Meretz on the Left, is exactly what the torn and split country needs right now.
The past two years have taken a severe toll on the Israeli public.
Slandering of different groups – leftists, settlers, Russian immigrants, haredim (ultra-Orthodox), and others – became the norm and trickled down from politicians, who used the division to score points with their base and the wider public.
An example of such rhetoric was the huge signs declaring “leftist are traitors” seen at pro-Netanyahu protests, one even as recent as this past week at a demonstration in Habima Square in Tel Aviv.
And this is not surprising. At the same speech this week, Netanyahu said Yamina leader Naftali Bennett’s efforts to form a unity government will lead to a “dangerous left-wing government.”
Set aside the absurdity of the sentiment – that a government that includes Bennett, Gideon Sa’ar, and Avigdor Liberman is left-wing – the fact that the prime minister keeps repeating the idea illustrates Israel’s current problems.
And this is what brings together Yamina, Yesh Atid, New Hope, Blue and White, Yisrael Beytenu, Meretz and Labor – they all believe in a fair and honest political game.
These parties need to show the public now that politicians have what to gain from being compassionate and considerate, and not only from blasting their competitors.
The leaders of the two major parties in the coalition being built – Bennett and Lapid – need to show the public that the premiership is not a goal in and of itself, but a means through which to promote the country. They need to show that being in power, and the perks that come with it, is not the ultimate goal, and can be shared; that conceding is not a weakness, but something you sometimes do in politics.
And this critical point in time is an opportunity to bring about another major change in Israeli politics – the inclusion of Arab parties in the government. The past four rounds of elections have shown us the major changes Arab society in Israel is undergoing.
Arabs want to be included. They want to been seen and heard, and to have the ability to influence their lives.
It started when the Joint List decided to recommend a candidate to the president after the second election in 2019. Now, there are two Arab parties that want to be part of the process.
Yes, there are still obstacles. Balad, the nationalist component of the Joint List, is still talking the language of yesterday and refuses to accept this change.
But Ayman Odeh’s Hadash, Ahmad Tibi’s Ta’al and Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am want in.
True, it would be impossible to bridge between their views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the view held by Zionist parties. But the past two years have taught us that politics is way more than that. The Israeli public is yearning for unity.
And this is why all parties – including Left, Right, haredim and Arabs – should be invited to take part in the healing process.
In the given situation, this is the only option. Netanyahu, who failed to form a functioning government and to receive the support from the majority of the public in the last four elections, does not have the power to construct a coalition – only to try and sabotage the possibility of others to form an alternative one.
He will invest all of his efforts to stop the process of creating a unity government.
It will be up to Bennett and Lapid to ignore the background noise while staying focused on the true goal – bringing the country together, pulling Israel out of the political mud and ending the more than two years of political upheaval and instability.
As Bennett said earlier this week, this is the time to “form a broad emergency government that will get the cart out of the mud.”
Lapid and Bennett – the country is watching.