T. Belman. Netanyahu deserves to be Prime Minister but if he can’t find an extra two seats he should resign for the good of Israel and allow a rightwing government to form. Sitting in opposition is no answer.
Trump, despite a great record, had to accept defeat. So must Bibi.
Anti-Bibi bloc aims to replace his ally, speaker Levin * PM says Bennett replacing him would be “absurd.”
By GIL HOFFMAN, JPOST APRIL 19, 2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost control of the Knesset and may soon also lose the Prime Minister’s Office, after the anti-Netanyahu bloc defeated him in a key vote in the parliament on Monday.
Netanyahu’s opponents succeeded in passing their proposal for control over the powerful Knesset Arrangements Committee, which runs the Knesset until a government is formed, thanks to the support of the Ra’am (United Arab List) Party led by MK Mansour Abbas.
The proposal of Yesh Atid faction chairman Meir Cohen passed by a vote of 60 to 51. Party sources said their victory came following a successful meeting earlier Monday between their leader, Yair Lapid, and Abbas.
“I am thankful to my partners,” Lapid wrote on Twitter. “The victory in the vote on the Arrangements Committee is another step on the way to a unity government in Israel.”
In exchange for his support, Lapid offered Ra’am a spot on the Knesset Finance Committee, chairmanship of a committee on fighting violence in the Arab sector and a deputy Knesset speaker post. But in an interview with Channel 12, Abbas said the posts
did not influence his decision.
“We wanted to keep our role holding the balance of power in the Knesset and show we weren’t in anyone’s pocket,” said Abbas, who added he was also angered by the constant attacks on him by Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, a key member of Netanyahu’s bloc.
Yesh Atid officials said their first goal would be to bring to a vote having Cohen replace Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, who is the MK closest to Netanyahu. The Lapid bloc’s majority on the committee could help it advance anti-Netanyahu legislation, including a bill that would prevent a candidate who is under criminal indictment from forming a government.
The Arrangements Committee will decide the makeup of the temporary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and Finance Committee, which provide oversight over Netanyahu and his government. It will also appoint the Knesset speaker’s deputies, which will allow starting the process of electing a new president.
Netanyahu thought he would have a majority on the committee, due to an agreement between Likud and Yamina. According to the deal, Yamina would receive a second slot on the committee at the expense of Likud, in return for its votes. But then, the Ra’am MKs, who were angered by Netanyahu’s deal with Yamina, came into the plenum and defeated the Likud proposal by a vote of 60-58. That led to the vote on the anti-Netanyahu bloc’s proposal, which Yamina’s seven MKs did not attend.
Yamina leader Naftali Bennett has made a decision to “go with the Left,” Netanyahu said in a closed-door meeting with United Torah Judaism MKs on Monday at the Knesset. He and Bennett held a tense meeting on Monday, their fifth since Netanyahu received a four-week mandate to form a government from President Reuven Rivlin two weeks ago.
“His feeling is that he has closed a deal over there,” a UTJ MK told The Jerusalem Post after the meeting with Netanyahu.
Earlier, Netanyahu told his Likud faction that a government led by Bennett, whose party has seven seats, would be “absurd.”
“The moment of truth for Bennett has arrived,” Netanyahu said. “He promised not to sit under Lapid, with Meretz and Labor and with the support of the Joint List. So he must stop galloping toward a left-wing government.”
In the closed-door portion of the faction meeting, Netanyahu said that what his opponents call a unity government would only bring more governmental paralysis and would be “very bad for Israel.”
Abbas said on Monday that he does not rule out enabling a government led by Bennett, just like he would not rule out enabling a government led by Netanyahu. Speaking with the emblem of Israel behind him, he said it is wrong to call his faction’s MKs supporters of terror, as Smotrich has.
Smotrich meanwhile called on Bennett to decide whether he will be with the Right or the Left. He said he did not believe that Bennett really backs a government that would rely on Ra’am, which he said identifies with Israel’s enemies.
“As soon as it is clear where everyone stands, I am sure a right-wing government of the entire nationalist bloc can be formed,” Smotrich told his faction meeting.
New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar told his faction that he would not enable Netanyahu to form a government, or initiate a new Knesset race or a direct election for prime minister.
Sa’ar spoke for the first time since Netanyahu called on him to “come home to Likud” in a speech in Ramat Gan on Friday.
“Our view hasn’t changed,” Sa’ar said. “There are two alternatives: A right-wing government led by someone else [besides Netanyahu] or a unity government that will allow New Hope to maintain its worldview. Both options are better than new elections, whether for the Knesset or just for prime minister.”
In an effort to build a coalition, Lapid met on Monday with the heads of Yisrael Beytenu, Labor, Meretz and the Joint List, as well as Ra’am.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz told his Blue and White faction that continued political uncertainty would be dangerous for Israel.
“If we don’t unite among us, we won’t be strong against our enemies,” Gantz said.
Idan Zonshine and Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.
Dr. Alex Grobman has an op-ed in Arutz Sheva describing well the ally that these poor champions of Israel have chosen to help guide them in their quest to wrest the leadership from Netanyahu. Their judgement in the elevation of a malefactor such as Abbass adds to his step-wise normalization in Israeli politics that has been seen over the past several of these unproductive elections that have been used towards many unfortunate realities. But of all the unfortunate realities to emerge, the emergence of Abbass into the realm of acceptable political partners must be viewed as both most paramount and most unwise. The Arab youth are being led to view this man, and more importantly his movement, as a rational, moderate and mainstream party when in fact he is an advocate and leader of a movement built on terror, murder and indiscriminate violence. These young arabs will be the leaders and advocates facing us in the coming years and to acknowledge Abbas with any level of normalization within the Israeli body politic renders credence to his extreme values and further undermines any movement toward the acceptance of peace within Israeli borders that is now coming to light with many of her neighbors.
Dr. Grobman closes his piece with this final note
Such words should not even bear mentioning. This is utter folly.
Here is the link for Grubman’s article:https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/304724
And so, here we are. It seems much has been decided in this latest move by Ra’am to maintain their power over the Jews and the Jewish State. But in truth, it was actually the Jews who have empowered Ra’am. These renegade zionists, such as Sa’ar and Lapid, have taken an unthinkable move as to award a position of such rare authority upon these unapologetic proponents of terrorist exploits which have been conducted against us since the rape of Hebron, some 100yrs ago. Are we really so blind to the dilemmas crowding on our borders that we must invite their minions to occupy the seat of power within our capital to gain our attentions? The myopic obsessions of the many fools who only gain Netanyahu’s destruction in exchange for such gifts as these speaks as a thunderclap as to their blindness of the motivations that move Ra’am in this matter. But Ra’am has the very great advantage in their clarity of thought here – they will ever be motivated towards our destruction. They do not care for the people who support them. They do not care for the political stability of any nation. They are only moved by their philosophical tenets which require our undoing. They have come to destroy us and we have lent them the keys of oversight by which they will be too happy to exploit towards that goal. And their many and newly won Jewish friends seem conspicuously impervious to the stigma that only an alliance such as this can bring. These terror motivating barbarians are now empowered to wield their influence against us from within our most authoritative political committees and dictate the content of our most vital concerns – foreign policy and defense of the state. Should this move result in the downfall of Netanyahu, it surely would be counted as a victory. But that victory is for our Islamist neighbors and, with their designs for us in mind, such a dark victory should leave each of us in a state of horror and disbelief.
Must be something in Israel in the water since they have completely, lost their minds.
Israelis have completely, lost their minds.
The slime has risen to the top.