As we all know, it is difficult to predict the future when one does not know what it holds. I have therefore refrained from commenting on the recent parliamentary election in Israel and the forthcoming mid-term election in the US, both of which will set the course for the West’s future.
The Israeli election has provided no clarity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again defied the opinion polls, which predicted he would suffer a disastrous election result. The party bloc he leads did indeed suffer heavy losses, but it remains by far the largest in parliament.
Bibi’s opponent, the former general Gadi Eisenkot, on the other hand, can hardly be satisfied – even if he pretends to be – as he had set himself the goal of finally getting rid of his number one enemy.
Perhaps he will succeed in this too, but if so, only in alliance with some of Israel’s Arab Knesset members, who cannot exactly be described as supporters of the State of Israel. If the Arabs are to support an Eisenkot government, they will demand a high price, and in that case one must doubt whether Israel can continue the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
There are obvious parallels between Israeli and American politics. Most of the political energy appears to stem from a pure power struggle and opposition to or support for one or the other head of government, and this is clearly more important than what we normally regard as politics.
In several Israeli cities, demonstrations have been announced under the slogan that Arab votes count just as much as Jewish ones – with the implied meaning: It is entirely legitimate for Eisenkot to form a government based on the 19 Arab seats in the Knesset. Whether the opposition leader will dare to do so is another matter.
In any case, it is difficult to see how a government could be formed on the current parliamentary basis, unless one of the parties in the Eisenkot alliance withdraws. So the outcome may well be a general election. In the meantime, Benjamin Netanyahu remains Prime Minister.
The Israeli election has ended in a shambles, but one thing should be clear: Arab Israelis have the same rights as everyone else, and no one has attempted to deprive them of their civil rights. One might therefore hope that the talk of Israel being an apartheid state will die down, but that is probably too much to expect.
