Gantz, Benny

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      Why Israel Faces a Fourth Election in Just Two Years

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWhy Israel Faces a Fourth Election in Just Two YearsWhat to know as Israel gears up for another vote, this time set for March 23.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, center, is again fighting for political survival.Credit…Amir Cohen/ReutersDec. 23, 2020, 9:05 a.m. ETJERUSALEM — With Israel heading to its fourth election in two years after the collapse of its government, many in the country are wondering whether it’s a case of too much democracy.The last three ballots ended inconclusively, with no single candidate able to muster the parliamentary majority required to form a government. The stalemate allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party to persuade his main rival, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party, to join forces in an uneasy coalition.It lasted just seven months.Mr. Netanyahu now finds himself again fighting for political survival while on trial, charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated the Israeli economy.Here is what to watch for as Israel gears up for another election, this time set for March 23.Why is this happening?A protest in Jerusalem this month over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, corruption and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Credit…Amir Cohen/ReutersThe main reason, analysts say, is Mr. Netanyahu’s legal and political calculation that he can best fight his criminal case from the prime minister’s office. They say he is ready to take the country to election after election in an effort to cling to power.Ostensibly, the latest government fell over Mr. Netanyahu’s refusal to pass a state budget for 2020 by the legal deadline of midnight on Tuesday, in violation of his coalition agreement with Mr. Gantz.Mr. Netanyahu is betting on being able to form a more sympathetic government that could grant him immunity from prosecution, analysts say. His corruption trial is scheduled to move into an intensive evidentiary stage early next year, when the country will witness the spectacle of his appearing in court.Mr. Netanyahu blamed Mr. Gantz for the breakdown in the coalition government, saying that he and his Blue and White party refused to allow the prime minister any say in a series of upcoming government and judicial appointments. But opinion polls indicate that most Israelis blame Mr. Netanyahu.“There are a lot of smoke screens, but I think we need to be fair and to be quite explicit about it,” said Yohanan Plesner, the president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a nonpartisan research group.“This won’t end until either Mr. Netanyahu is replaced or if he finds a way, by legislation or political maneuvering, to either put his trial on hold or to suspend it altogether,” Mr. Plesner said.What happened in the last three elections?Benny Gantz, the Blue and White party leader, addressing supporters in February.Credit…Dan Balilty for The New York TimesThe last three ballots were essentially a face-off between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz, a former army chief who entered politics two years ago.Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, came with a strong Likud base and experience. The centrist Blue and White under Mr. Gantz promised national unity and the rule of law.Banding together with smaller parties that vaguely divided up along right-wing-religious and center-left lines, the two blocs ended up in a chronic tie. After two elections failed to produce a stable government, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz joined forces.Will Round 4 be different?A new conservative challenger, Gideon Saar, center, hopes to draw voters away from Mr. Netanyahu.Credit…Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPerhaps. A few weeks ago, opinion polls indicated that Mr. Netanyahu would be well positioned to form a new government made up of right-wing loyalists and his ultra-Orthodox allies. But a new conservative challenger, Gideon Saar, has since entered the ring and rejiggered the electoral map, competing for Mr. Netanyahu’s base voters, among others.Mr. Saar, who lost to Mr. Netanyahu in a Likud leadership race a year ago, recently defected from the party and set up a rival one called New Hope, taking a few coalition members with him. Osnat Mark, a Likud lawmaker and Netanyahu loyalist, called New Hope “a party of traitors and deserters.”Mr. Gantz lost most of his public support after joining forces with Mr. Netanyahu, having previously made an election pledge not to. With his Blue and White party now disintegrating amid infighting, the main battle this time is likely to be for the leadership of the right.Numerous polls taken since Mr. Saar’s move suggest, however, that there is still no party leader with an easy path to forming a government.Because no single party ever manages to command an outright majority in the 120-seat Parliament, larger parties must join forces with smaller ones to form a viable coalition. That often gives minor coalition partners disproportionate leverage.If no candidate garners a majority of 61 this time, Israel’s political crisis could go on. And on.What’s at stake for Mr. Netanyahu and for Israel?Israelis at a Dubai shopping mall during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in October. Israel and the Emirates reached a landmark accord this year.Credit…Dan Balilty for The New York TimesA March election comes with significant risk for Mr. Netanyahu, who tried unsuccessfully to postpone Parliament’s budget deadline after Mr. Saar broke away.Israel’s coronavirus vaccination campaign is just getting underway, so a late spring or summer vote might have been more advantageous for him, because an economic recovery might have begun by then.Instead, the campaign will take place as Israel grapples with a third wave of the virus.In another handicap for Mr. Netanyahu, he will be facing voters this time without the support and election gifts provided by his closest international ally, President Trump, and will instead have to deal with the Biden administration after it takes over in January.Yet Mr. Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, also has plenty he can boast about. With the help of the Trump administration, he has delivered deals to establish diplomatic relations with four formerly hostile Arab countries in the past four months.His administrations have led the country through years of relative security stability, and the country has now secured millions of coronavirus vaccine doses.“Israel could definitely become one of the first countries to emerge from the crisis,” he said in a televised address on Tuesday night.Election promises made by his staunchest political opponents, including Mr. Gantz, never to sit in a coalition led by a prime minister under criminal indictment have proved worthless in the past.With politicians at loggerheads over fundamental issues like equality and the powers of the courts, Israelis must now decide what kind of democracy they want and which candidate is best equipped to contend with challenges posed by the coronavirus and with regional threats from Iran and its proxies.Whatever the case, this next election, like the three before it, is set to largely be a contest between the “Only Bibi” and “Anyone but Bibi” camps.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Israeli Government Collapses, Forcing 4th Election in 2 Years

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyIsraeli Government Collapses, Forcing 4th Election in 2 YearsA protracted political crisis revolving around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal troubles brings down the coalition government.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I’m not afraid of elections. We’re ready for them. We’ll win.”Credit…Pool photo by Ronen ZvulunDec. 22, 2020Updated 5:09 p.m. ETJERUSALEM — Israel’s government collapsed Tuesday, pushing the country into yet another early election — the fourth in two years.The Israeli Parliament dissolved itself at midnight on Tuesday. The move forced a new election after weeks of infighting and paralysis in the so-called unity government, an uneasy coalition sworn in just seven months ago that paired Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party with his main rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party.Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz blamed each other for the crisis.“I think at the current time, we should have united forces to find a way to avert these needless elections,” Mr. Netanyahu said in Parliament early Tuesday as he tried, and failed, to seek a delay in its dissolution.A new election must take place in three months and is scheduled for March 23. But an election date in the late spring or summer, once the coronavirus vaccination campaign is well underway, might have been more advantageous for Mr. Netanyahu.Parliament automatically dispersed at midnight after failing to meet the legal deadline for approving a budget for 2020. Mr. Netanyahu, whose party holds the finance portfolio, had refused to present a budget, in violation of his coalition agreement with Mr. Gantz — the ostensible reason for the government breakdown.But at the heart of the crisis lies a deep, mutual distrust between the two men and a country fundamentally split over the fate of Mr. Netanyahu, whose corruption trial is scheduled to move into an intensive, evidentiary stage in early 2021, requiring his regular presence in court. He has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing.Benny Gantz, left, and Mr. Netanyahu have blamed each other for the crisis that has brought their government to the point of collapse.Credit…Pool photo by Tal ShaharAnalysts said that Mr. Netanyahu was gambling on another election in the hope of forming a right-wing, religious government that would grant him some kind of immunity from prosecution.“It’s not the budget, stupid,” said Reuven Hazan, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mr. Netanyahu “needs a government that will pass legislation either to delay his case for the foreseeable future or cancel it altogether,” he added.But failing to present a budget and forcing the dispersal of Parliament provides him with an escape hatch from the coalition agreement stipulating that Mr. Gantz should take over as prime minister 11 months from now. From the inception of the unity government, few people, including Mr. Gantz, expected Mr. Netanyahu to honor that agreement.Mr. Gantz’s party, for its part, refused to back any compromise with Mr. Netanyahu over the authority for making key appointments, including for the posts of attorney general and state attorney. A compromise would have violated Blue and White’s flagship policy of upholding the rule of law but would have kept the government on life support.Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who is renowned for his political savvy, quickly pivoted into campaign mode.“The majority of the citizens of Israel see our leadership and our tremendous achievements,” he said in a televised address on Tuesday evening. “We are bringing in millions of vaccinations, delivering historic peace agreements, curbing the Iranian threat and turning Israel into one of the world’s leading economies.”Mr. Gantz said his party had entered Mr. Netanyahu’s government, despite paying a high political price, “to serve the best interests of the country, given the needs and scale of the moment.”“Unfortunately,” he added, “we found no partner on the other end.”A demonstrator was detained in Jerusalem this month during a protest against Mr. Netanyahu and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.Credit…Amir Cohen/ReutersThe current government will remain in place in a caretaker capacity until after the election and the formation of a new government, a process that could take many months.Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz are taking a considerable political risk by going back to the polls.The unity government was formed as a last resort after three inconclusive elections ended without any one candidate being able to muster a parliamentary majority. While Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party were far ahead in the polls a few weeks ago, a new conservative challenger, Gideon Saar, has shaken things up.Mr. Saar, who lost to Mr. Netanyahu in a Likud leadership race a year ago, recently defected from the party and set up a rival one called New Hope. Drawing support from disenchanted voters from both the right and the political center, Mr. Saar’s move has muddied any clear path back to power for Mr. Netanyahu, according to recent opinion polls, meaning that Israel’s political morass may persist even beyond a new election.Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White party had already lost the bulk of its popular support after it broke its campaign promise and entered into government with a prime minister under indictment. Critics say that Mr. Gantz, a former army chief, is a weak and indecisive party leader and that his two-year political career is all but over.“I think he needs to get up and go,” Professor Hazan, the political science expert, said.Damning him further, Mr. Netanyahu said that he had actually reached a compromise with Mr. Gantz on Monday on the issue of appointments and authorities, but that rebels within the Blue and White party, including the justice minister, Avi Nissenkorn, had blocked Mr. Gantz from making the deal.Miki Zohar, a Likud official, said Blue and White was committing “political suicide.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Israel Takes First Step Toward New Election

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyIsrael Takes First Step Toward New ElectionPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners sided with the opposition in a preliminary vote to bring down the government, which has been largely paralyzed over infighting.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, center, persuaded his rival Benny Gantz to join a unity government after three inconclusive elections.Credit…Pool photo by Alex KolomoiskyBy More