"Politics is the art of the possible," as the saying goes. In their inclination to accept the package presented to them by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, United Right faction members Rafi Peretz and in particular Bezalel Smotrich are upholding this rule at a necessary time.
Membership in the cabinet serves to upgrade the status of these two lawmakers from onlookers in a paralyzed Knesset to officials who have a real say on Israel's security. As Yisrael Katz has shown, the Transportation Ministry, which Netanyahu has offered to Smotrich, can be just as important as the Justice Ministry. While it may not allow Smotrich to bulldoze the High Court of Justice, it will certainly enable whoever is in charge to lay down railroad tracks to the Judea and Samaria community of Ariel and the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim or pave roads with significant importance for the settlement enterprise.
Smotrich played into Netanyahu's hands when he called for Israel to be ruled by Jewish law, and made a political mistake when he adamantly defended his remarks. Still, it is very likely that with our without this mistake, he would not have been tasked with the justice portfolio. There is something to be said for Likud MK David Bitan's claim that the Education and Justice ministries were afforded to the Habayit Hayehudi party – now a member of the United Right - when they had eight Knesset seats, not five. It is also clear that Netanyahu's legal status was the motivation behind his appointment of Likud MK Amir Ohana to the role, so that the battle for the Justice Ministry was likely over before it began.
Smotrich's apparent willingness to accept the offer is a testament to his maturity. By all accounts a talented politician, this rigid ideologue has shown he knows when to compromise. This move is expected to calm tensions in the right-wing camp and contribute to good relations among the religious Zionists. But as far as the sector is concerned, its other leaders – New Right party leaders Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, but also Rafi Peretz, must do what needs to be done to join forces and put an end to the division and disputes.
