Laugh with us: A JTown Israeli Democracy Exploration
Why Israeli elections again, who is the PM and what is Israeli democracy?
The Israeli government has collapsed. It is parliamentary, with proportional representation and requires a majority of 61 out of 120 seats for a government.
Bibi’s Likud party won the most seats in the last election (4th in 2 years) but Netenyahu couldn’t form a government. This was in part due to the strength of marginal parties of under 10 seats.
The current prime minister, Naftali Bennet, had 7 seats, or 7 people from his Yamina party were elected. Then two left the party so he was governing, after some other changes, a 60 seat then 59 seat minority government coalition at one point, if I’m not mistaken, with only 5 seats out of 120. His party was said to be right wing. People generally dismissed that with the coalition forming .
His coalition partners included marginally small left wing parties Meretz and Labor and marginally small Islamic Movement. Bibi fir example usually includes marginally small religious parties. So Bennet also partnered with Yair Lapid’s Yeah Atid party, said by media to be centrist, others left, the second largest after Bibi’s Likud. Bennet and Lapid have a power sharing rotation. So now the Knesset is dissolving and Lapid will be the “Caretaker” government PM, whatever caretaker means.
See during the 4 elections there was no efficient governing. In effect no real government. Just rotating oligarchy parties continually running for office with legislative officials being given Minister jobs for the duration of the government between elections. So Gantz, who’s blue and white party was the second largest three elections ago with four former IDF chiefs of staff on the roster, who is currently Defense Minister, was also Defense Minister under Bibi when he and Bibi had a power sharing government but Bibi Bibi’s him with a no-budget move that forced elections.
Avigdor Liberman, the Russian anti-religioys party, was also Bibi’s Def Min before the first of the elections of the last five, as was Bennet. Then after the last government was formed he became Finance Minister.
The current Health Minister is from Meretz, a far left party and the head of Labor, Merav Michaelis, who made up her own grammatically incorrect version of Hebrew to turn language feminist and always wears black, is the Transportation Minister although none have formal training in these fields.
Bibi fir instance had United Torah Judaism’s head (a religious party) Litzman, as Health Minister. Litzman got into helping pedophiles trouble but pled out , no jail. So now Lapid will become Prime Minister. His father, who was a vehement racist against Jews of non-European background and Arabs, Tommy Lapid, was a minister with his Shinui, or Change, party, 20 some years ago.
Yair, hos son, never finished high school and did not serve in a combat unit. He started off as a TV personality and then transitioned to politics, like former Labor head Shelly Yehemovich and other journalists who interview politicians until they become politicians. Shelly left the Knesset and now has a radio show.
There are very tight relationships in Israel between news media and politicians. So now we see what Yair Lapid, with no training in anything, will do as PM when any move he makes politically or policy wise or attempted appointments, will be challenged by the right wing opposition via the attorney general, who is basically a babysitter when the Knesset is bad.
The right wing win the majority of seats of the last elections and is predicted to again though Bibi may not be able to firm a government again so we will have elections again after that. The tem election rule says if we go past 10 in 10 years the IDF takes over. No that was a joke.
Israel is legally obligated to have a Constitution but does not so there is an argument to be made that every Knesset is in a way illegal or at the very least not following the law by creating a Constitution.
Years ago when there was a low voter turnout, Tzipi Livni, a legislator and minister, first with Likud them with Ehud Olmert’s Kadima, suggested mandating voting and fining citizens who do not vite. This did not go over well. Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and became prime minister after Ariel Sharon had a neurological event.
Olmert then bolted Likud to firm Kadima, which means “forward.” He, like former president Moshe Katzav, who raoed someone while in office, served prison time like Shas’s Aryeh Deri for bribary. Shas was a huge Mizrachi religious party and is now marginal. Bibi is on trial maybe for getting cigars or something. I don’t really follow the news often.
He is suing Olmert for saying he’s mentally ill. Olmert is out of prison and gets interviewed by the responsible 4th estate here and there about the Netanyahus.
The Arab parties had a combined list to become the 3rd largest bloc but I believe they don’t now. Some of their members of Parliament have taken heat fir recently telling Arab members of Israel’s security services to throw their weapons away and stop being lap dogs for the Ziomists. Ben Gvir, an MK who is regularly accused of racism, argues with Arab MK and sometimes Knesset speaker Ahmed Tobi, saying on session that he is a tertorist.
So Lapid, who has no GED or university degree takes over as we head into elections. Meanwhile they all make a minimum 60,000 shekels a month with minimum wage around 30 sheks an hour. So I may vote white ballot. It means your vote goes to no party but you affect percentages, hurting smaller parties that require a 3.5% threshold of votes to enter the knesset.
Democracy. The only one in the Middle East. It’s subtle oligarchical anarchy with elections and Everyone gets paid.
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