Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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The long and divisive reign of Benjamin Netanyahu, the dominant Israeli politician of the past generation, officially ended on Sunday, at least for the time being, as the country’s Parliament gave its vote of confidence to a precarious coalition government stitched together by widely disparate anti-Netanyahu forces.

Naftali Bennett, a former aide to Mr. Netanyahu who opposes a Palestinian state and is considered to the right of his former ally, formally replaces him as prime minister. Yair Lapid, a centrist leader, is set to take Mr. Bennett’s place after two years, if their government can hold together that long.

They lead an eight-party alliance ranging from left to right, from secular to religious, that agrees on little but a desire to oust Mr. Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in the country’s history, and to end Israel’s lengthy political gridlock.

In a speech made before the confidence vote, Mr. Bennett hailed his unlikely coalition as an essential antidote to an intractable stalemate.

“We stopped the train before the abyss,” Mr. Bennett said. “The time has come for different leaders, from all parts of the people, to stop, to stop this madness.”
Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, voted by a slim majority to install the new government.

It was a watershed moment for politics in Israel, where Mr. Netanyahu, 71, had served as prime minister for a total of 15 years, including the last 12 years uninterrupted. But given Mr. Netanyahu’s record as a shrewd political operator who has defied many previous predictions of his political demise, few Israelis are writing off his career.

Even out of government and standing trial on corruption charges, he remains a formidable force who will likely try to drive wedges between the coalition parties. He remains the leader of the parliamentary opposition and a cagey tactician, with a sizable following and powerful allies.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/13 ... ker-israel

A question is will Netanyahu vacate the prime minister's residence or will he have to be evicted? And can Bennett keep his very diverse coalition together ?
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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The new government is expected to win a narrow majority in the 120-member assembly, after which it will be sworn in. The government plans to hold its first official meeting later this evening.

It’s unclear when Netanyahu will move out of the official residence. He has lashed out at the new government in apocalyptic terms and accused Bennett of defrauding voters by running as a right-wing stalwart and then partnering with the left.

Netanyahu’s supporters have held angry protests outside the homes of rival lawmakers, who say they have received death threats naming their family members. Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service issued a rare public warning about the incitement earlier this month, saying it could lead to violence.

Netanyahu has condemned the incitement while noting that he has also been a target.

His place in Israeli history is secure, having served as prime minister for a total of 15 years — more than any other, including the country’s founder, David Ben-Gurion.

Netanyahu began his long rule by defying the Obama administration, refusing to freeze settlement construction as it tried unsuccessfully to revive the peace process. Relations with Israel’s closest ally grew even rockier when Netanyahu vigorously campaigned against President Barack Obama’s emerging nuclear deal with Iran, even denouncing it in an address to the U.S. Congress.

But he suffered few if any consequences from those clashes and was richly rewarded by the Trump administration, which recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, helped broker normalization agreements with four Arab states and withdrew the U.S. from the Iran deal.

Netanyahu has portrayed himself as a world-class statesman, boasting of his close ties with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also cultivated ties with Arab and African countries that long shunned Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians.

But he has gotten a far chillier reception from the Biden administration and is widely seen as having undermined the long tradition of bipartisan support for Israel in the United States.

His reputation as a political magician has also faded at home, where he has become a deeply polarizing figure. Critics say he has long pursued a divide-and-conquer strategy that aggravated rifts in Israeli society between Jews and Arabs and between his close ultra-Orthodox allies and secular Jews.

In November 2019, he was indicted for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. He refused calls to step down, instead lashing out at the media, judiciary and law enforcement, going so far as to accuse his political opponents of orchestrating an attempted coup. Last year, protesters began holding weekly rallies across the country calling on him to resign.

Netanyahu remains popular among the hard-line nationalists who dominate Israeli politics, but he could soon face a leadership challenge from within his own party. A less polarizing Likud leader would stand a good chance of assembling a coalition that is both farther to the right and more stable than the government that is set to be sworn in.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/israel- ... 7e3d04bb47

BiBi is already beginning to sound like TFG. They need to quickly try him and get a conviction, then lock him up and make sure he can’t hold any office again.

His swan song.

Bye, bye BiBi
Bye, bye BiBi
Bye, bye BiBi
We love to see you go.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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12 consecutive years is too long for anyone to lead a nation. Not even scientifically minded Angela Merkel can survive without being corrupted by that much power for that long, but at least she is stepping down gracefully.

FDR, Margaret Thatcher, Netanyahu, Merkel, have ALL come to the mistaken conclusion that they are indispensable, just like every dictator. In a democracy, NO ONE is indispensable.

FDR had no business running in 1944, dying of heart disease, which killed him in mid-April of 1945, less than 3 months after the new inauguration date, and 5 months after the election.

Thatcher was shocked, dismayed, outraged at being ousted by the Tories, accusing them of betrayal, and other crimes, claiming the UK couldn't function without her.
Netanyahu is following that same script.

And, of course, the dictators like Putin, Erdogan, Orban, etc, who DESTROYED their democracies and economies claim the same thing. Power corrupts.

Only 3 former Presidents ever tried to get the office back: Millard FIllmore (1856), Grover Cleveland (1892--Successfully), and Theodore Roosevelt (1912). TFG may WELL try in 2024, despite being the worst asshole to hold the office. Plus, he'll be the first (and only) since the 22nd Amendment limited a person to 2 full terms + less than half of an inherited term.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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The new Israeli cabinet with Israeli president Reuven Rivlin after they were sworn in.

Image
To his supporters, Netanyahu is a global statesman uniquely capable of leading the country through its many security challenges.

But to his critics, he has become a polarizing and autocratic leader who used divide-and-rule tactics to aggravate the many rifts in Israeli society. Those include tensions between Jews and Arabs, and within the Jewish majority between his religious and nationalist base and his more secular and dovish opponents.
https://apnews.com/article/government-a ... 7029a8ce68

The ultra orthodox have lost their special position but many Israelis resented the ultra orthodox constantly breaking the COVID quarantine and not suffering consequences since they were part of the government.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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The Ultra-Orthodox have demanded and received that:

They have power over the government.
That they get "paid" for years while they study in yeshivas.
That they are exempt from military service.
That laws and international agreements don't apply to them.
That they can infect the nation with Covid because they don't social distance.
That only THEY get to decide who is or is not a Jew, whose conversions are legit, and the only Jewish marriage that the state recognizes is an Orthodox one.
And ANYONE who criticizes or even questions them is loudly called "NAZI!!!!".

I'm a Jew and they are a shande to every clear-thinking Jew in the world. They, and "WhataYahoo" have created deep, deep divides among Jews in America.
Our marriage, by a Conservative rabbi, is not recognized in Israel as anything more than a civil union, not a Jewish one.

IAnd here's the rub: They VEHEMENTLY opposed the founding of the State of Israel, particularly the Chasidim! Because, being religious fanatics, who believe strongly in the supernatural, since the Moshiach (Messiah) hadn't come as promised in the OT, that the State of Israel was in violation of God's Command. Yet when it was founded, proven strong, they then have done what they could to take over the place.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:59 am 12 consecutive years is too long for anyone to lead a nation. Not even scientifically minded Angela Merkel can survive without being corrupted by that much power for that long, but at least she is stepping down gracefully.

FDR, Margaret Thatcher, Netanyahu, Merkel, have ALL come to the mistaken conclusion that they are indispensable, just like every dictator. In a democracy, NO ONE is indispensable.

FDR had no business running in 1944, dying of heart disease, which killed him in mid-April of 1945, less than 3 months after the new inauguration date, and 5 months after the election.

Thatcher was shocked, dismayed, outraged at being ousted by the Tories, accusing them of betrayal, and other crimes, claiming the UK couldn't function without her.
Netanyahu is following that same script.

And, of course, the dictators like Putin, Erdogan, Orban, etc, who DESTROYED their democracies and economies claim the same thing. Power corrupts.

Only 3 former Presidents ever tried to get the office back: Millard FIllmore (1856), Grover Cleveland (1892--Successfully), and Theodore Roosevelt (1912). TFG may WELL try in 2024, despite being the worst asshole to hold the office. Plus, he'll be the first (and only) since the 22nd Amendment limited a person to 2 full terms + less than half of an inherited term.

Yes Bibi, his wife Sara and their son Yair all felt it was their 'divine right' to stay in office. The Likud Party would still be in power if Netanyahu wasn't their leader, Bennett and others would feel more comfortable in a right wing coalition. If Netanyahu is convicted, he'll face a challenge for party leadership.


Yes, Merkel has been chancellor for 15 years, originally leader of her Christian Democratic Party and chancellor, now just chancellor. She proved far more popular than the number two Social Democratic Party and its leaders, she has been a safe pair of hands that German voters have trusted.

Margaret Thatcher was long past her sell by date, it was her own party that threw her out. Tony Blair also stayed too long, he still hasn't recovered from supporting W's invasion of Iraq.

Yes the dictators that use "democratic elections" as a cover for staying in office.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Netanyahu is OUT as Israeli prime minister

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:32 am The Ultra-Orthodox have demanded and received that:

They have power over the government.
That they get "paid" for years while they study in yeshivas.
That they are exempt from military service.
That laws and international agreements don't apply to them.
That they can infect the nation with Covid because they don't social distance.
That only THEY get to decide who is or is not a Jew, whose conversions are legit, and the only Jewish marriage that the state recognizes is an Orthodox one.
And ANYONE who criticizes or even questions them is loudly called "NAZI!!!!".

I'm a Jew and they are a shande to every clear-thinking Jew in the world. They, and "WhataYahoo" have created deep, deep divides among Jews in America.
Our marriage, by a Conservative rabbi, is not recognized in Israel as anything more than a civil union, not a Jewish one.

IAnd here's the rub: They VEHEMENTLY opposed the founding of the State of Israel, particularly the Chasidim! Because, being religious fanatics, who believe strongly in the supernatural, since the Moshiach (Messiah) hadn't come as promised in the OT, that the State of Israel was in violation of God's Command. Yet when it was founded, proven strong, they then have done what they could to take over the place.

I'd like to see this government reverse all those "special privileges" enjoyed by the ultra orthodox but it will be a slow process. Bennett is Orthodox and has to keep the coalition together so slowly slowly. The chief rabbi controlling Jewish marriage is ridiculous, marriage should be secular and denominations can have their own blessing services. Like all religions they want to dominate and control.

IIRC Israel was founded by socialists, the Labor Party and drifted rightward. Yair Lapid has the largest party in the coalition but sacrificed becoming PM because Bennett brought in more votes for the coalition. Lapid is now Foreign Minister and talked yesterday to ministry staff about his goals one of which is to repair relations with American Jews.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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