Israel is under attack, only this time the attack is coming from within.
What Benjamin Netanyahu showed on Tuesday is that there is no line he is not willing to cross when it comes to undermining, weakening and sabotaging Israel’s democratic character and rule of law.
Establishing a government and lying that he would not engage in “tricks or shticks?” That was last year. Promising to pass a two-year budget and then refusing to pass it for even one year? That, too, we thought, was the worst it could get.
But what Israelis witnessed on Tuesday went beyond: Here was a single person holding an entire nation hostage solely to advance his own personal interests.
Netanyahu's refusal to appoint a justice minister is a direct assault on this nation. It is that simple.
His reasoning is also simple: Netanyahu does not want to fill the role with someone who is not subservient and willing to go along with coordinated efforts to escape his bribery trial.
Netanyahu’s hope is that if he succeeds in forming a new government, whomever he appoints as justice minister will then reciprocate and appoint a friendly state prosecutor and attorney-general, who together will find a way to delay or even cancel the prime minister’s trial.
The fight inside the cabinet on Tuesday illustrates the threat facing Israel today: The government is being run by a person who puts himself before the nation.
We saw Netanyahu do this a year ago, when he violated the coalition agreement with Benny Gantz and refused to pass a budget during a global crisis, instead taking Israel to a fourth election. He did this again on Tuesday, when he refused a court order to appoint a justice minister.
Peter Lerner, a former military spokesman and prominent pro-Israel advocate, tweeted that if this is what Netanyahu does when everyone is watching, imagine what he does when people are not watching.
The truth is that we already know: Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000 brought against the prime minister include charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – all examples of the alleged corruption he has engaged in from the seat of power when he indeed thought people were not watching.
Some Israelis compared what happened at Tuesday’s cabinet session to the violent mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6. There is a stark difference. Then-US president Donald Trump might have incited the mob to storm the Capitol Hill that day, but he himself did not go with them.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu was the person who personally violated Israeli law by trying to appoint one of his Likud cronies as justice minister, breaking the law that he himself passed and violating the agreement with Blue and White that he himself signed.
If anyone had any more doubt, what happened on Tuesday made clear why Netanyahu can no longer serve as prime minister. His decisions are not made to advance the security, safety and stability of the country or its citizens, but rather what’s good for him and him alone.
Israel deserves better.