The so-called unity government of last year fell apart for a simple reason, it wasn’t unifying the country. In reality, a minority of parties joined together to build a patchy coalition that stifled the voices of some of the largest sectors in Israeli society.
For this reason, it is no surprise that the coalition was threatened from the onset and quickly fell apart without any major accomplishments.
Before we get to what a real, sustainable and lasting unity government can look like today, let’s first ask ourselves which constituencies actually make up the majority of Israeli society. We have four distinct groups: religious, religious-nationalist, non-religious westerners and non-religious nationalists.
Within these groups, of course, are subsections taking on many forms. As a whole, these groups are led by Shas/UTJ (religious), Otzma Yehudit/Religious Zionist (religious-nationalist), Yesh Atid/National Unity (non-religious westerners) and Likud/Yisrael Beytenu (non-religious nationalist). Only a government with cabinet members from each of these parties could be considered unity.
Unfortunately, the media latched onto the idea of a government containing members of Arab parties, meaning that this was a real unity government, though as we see from above the government lacked 2.5 of the groups that make up the majority of Israel – clearly not a real unity government.
With this understanding of what makes a real unity government, we can now figure out how it is possible. More so, how differing factions can actually come together to lead the country in a positive direction.
From recent polling, which generally is close to the actual results, it appears the right-wing bloc led by Likud and its leader Benjamin Netanyahu will have the initial mandate to form a coalition. Given the nature of Israeli politics today, this coalition will be hard-fought and fragile from day one.
Currently, Netanyahu has support from both the religious and the religious-nationalist bloc, yet lacks support from the non-religious westerners and half of the non-religious nationalists. Without getting into their reasons for not supporting Netanyahu, it must be noted that they have publicly ruled out joining a government led by him.
As mentioned, whether you like Netanyahu or not, it appears he will be the next prime minister of Israel. Given this fact, it would seem to be in the best interests of the leaders of Yesh Atid (Prime Minister Yair Lapid), National Unity (Benny Gantz), and Yisrael Beytenu (Avigdor Liberman) to set aside their personal differences with Netanyahu and seek to join a real unity government.
Why? Not to sell themselves out, but for the simple reason that the country is better off with them in ministerial positions and actually representing the country, instead of sitting on the sidelines in opposition.
Who are these leaders and what do they offer?
Lapid, the current prime minister and leader of Yesh Atid, is a strong representative of the non-religious Westerner segment of Israeli society. He lived some time as a child in London, has perfect English and is very committed to the ideals of democracy and equality.
Also serving as foreign minister, he clearly gets along well with foreign leaders across the world. Though a role he has not served in for a while, he has the potential to serve well in it for many years.
Gantz is the defense minister and heads the National Unity ticket in the upcoming election. He has a stellar military career, having served honorably in a number of wars, culminating in his tenure as chief of staff, the highest position in the military, for five years.
He keenly understands Israel’s security needs and how to best keep our borders protected. There are likely few individuals in the country better equipped to serve as defense minister than Gantz, and surely none are currently in contention for the position.
Liberman is the leader of Yisrael Beytenu and the current finance minister. He has previously served in a number of ministerial roles and has a good sense of varying aspects of Israeli governance.
In his short tenure as finance minister, he has overseen great initiatives, such as cutting down on corruption, increasing competition, lowering costs and strengthening the shekel.
Liberman could easily continue in his role as finance minister, or he could transition to any number of other roles. In any case, his skills and experience should be put into practice rather than set aside.
Why not make a unity government?
The above three have strong disagreements with Netanyahu, especially on the point of Netanyahu’s pending prosecution for corruption charges.
It is still unknown where that investigation will go but it does not seem that it will stop the inevitable of him reattaining power. So if the issue of not serving in a cabinet with Netanyahu is purely based on the potential of prosecution and any of the three feel it is against themselves morally to serve, then no one can force them otherwise.
But I do not believe that to be the case. If the reason for not joining forces is a difference in opinions, then I would ask them to look no further than the current coalition which contains Arab parties.
Of course, there are a number of issues that they do not agree on, yet nevertheless, they set those aside to build a government. If neither of these is sufficient reason to refuse to join Netanyahu’s coalition, then there seems to be no reason against it.
The future of the nation is more important than any personal quarrel. That is the role of a public servant, to serve the public even if it may not always be in that individual’s personal interest.
Israel, for the first time in years, has the potential to form a strong and lasting government. It could be led by leaders representing every major constituency in Israel today, working together to find common ground on issues such as security, religion, education, infrastructure and the economy. We cannot afford a government that is so one-sided that millions feel completely alienated and unrepresented by their government.
That is not a unity government. Together we can build a strong unity government that actually unifies instead of divides. With so many dangers facing our country, we must let our strengths shine forth and work together.
The writer, a Jerusalem Post staff member, is an entrepreneur and Hebrew thinker, known as Osher in Hebrew. A recent oleh, he also helps oversee the start-up ecosystem in Jerusalem with Made in JLM. On Twitter: @troyfritzhand.