Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Monday the end of their governing coalition, which had just recently marked its one-year anniversary. Lapid will assume the premiership until the formation of a new government after elections, the fifth in three years.
The possibility of losing a vote of no confidence in the Knesset later this week, combined with the failure to extend emergency regulations that enable Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank to live under Israeli law appeared to be the main impetus for this decision. Once the Knesset dissolves, it will have done so on the initiative of the government, always a better appearance for the incumbent parties heading into an election. The dissolution will also result in an automatic seven-month extension of the West Bank regulations, which were set to expire on July 1.
The short lived Bennett-Lapid government will be justly remembered for two things: removing from power Benjamin Netanyahu, who had become singularly obsessed with using his office to thwart his corruption trial; and being the first Israeli government to include an Arab party, Ra’am, in its coalition.
Yet it would be a mistake to view this government’s accomplishments in such purely negative and symbolic terms. Stopping Netanyahu and showing that Arab-Jewish partnership is possible were certainly important, but the coalition, despite its narrow and often shaky majority, made concrete advances toward building a shared society for Jewish and Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel.
One of the most pressing domestic issues for Arab citizens of Israel has been rampant crime and violence in their communities. While international audiences are used to seeing violent police responses to Arab demonstrations in Jerusalem and other major cities, a very different problem has been taking place elsewhere in the country. The police have neglected Arab cities and towns for years, where gangs and mafias proliferate.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Monday the end of their governing coalition, which had just recently marked its one-year anniversary. Lapid will assume the premiership until the formation of a new government after elections, the fifth in three years.
The possibility of losing a vote of no confidence in the Knesset later this week, combined with the failure to extend emergency regulations that enable Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank to live under Israeli law appeared to be the main impetus for this decision. Once the Knesset dissolves, it will have done so on the initiative of the government, always a better appearance for the incumbent parties heading into an election. The dissolution will also result in an automatic seven-month extension of the West Bank regulations, which were set to expire on July 1.
The short lived Bennett-Lapid government will be justly remembered for two things: removing from power Benjamin Netanyahu, who had become singularly obsessed with using his office to thwart his corruption trial; and being the first Israeli government to include an Arab party, Ra’am, in its coalition.
Yet it would be a mistake to view this government’s accomplishments in such purely negative and symbolic terms. Stopping Netanyahu and showing that Arab-Jewish partnership is possible were certainly important, but the coalition, despite its narrow and often shaky majority, made concrete advances toward building a shared society for Jewish and Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel.
One of the most pressing domestic issues for Arab citizens of Israel has been rampant crime and violence in their communities. While international audiences are used to seeing violent police responses to Arab demonstrations in Jerusalem and other major cities, a very different problem has been taking place elsewhere in the country. The police have neglected Arab cities and towns for years, where gangs and mafias proliferate.
But the experience of the last year should inform future progressive strategies. Something different and positive took place this last year, and it would be foolish to pretend as if nothing has changed.