There has been a lot of preoccupation recently with Naftali Bennett's six-month anniversary since taking office as prime minister of Israel. Reading statements by the right-wing and national religious camp, I couldn't help but notice a common denominator: most of them did not look at the coalition through the prism of its contributions to policy at all.
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Rather, their criticism toward the current government focused on the "discourse of identity," which also sheds light on the tenure of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who set up a camp based on identity alone ("right-winger through and through") without being required to bring this about in policy.
Religious Zionist Party MK Orit Strook claimed this week that a government that includes Arab MK Mansour Abbas is illegitimate because it promotes values that go against the Zionist narrative. The fact that a Muslim lawmaker is promoting a policy of building a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem – that she and her colleagues failed to promote in previous right-wing governments – is of no interest to Strook.
Theirs is a "discourse of identity" not a "discourse of policy."
At the same time, lecturer and opinion-writer Eithan Orkibi criticized members of New Hope – established by Gideon Sa'ar, who is now justice minister – for joining a party that was anything but authentic. This is in contrast to the Likud, which Orkibi views as the only "true" political party with long-standing traditions.
Journalist Haggai Hoberman – who has monitored every political move by all ministers and MKs for decades – pointed out that the Bennett-Lapid government is one that, compared to its predecessor, promotes right-wing interests that have stalled for years.
The expansion of 3,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria, construction of Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, and – the one I find to be the most exciting – the construction of Jewish settlement in the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, the Netanyahu government was content with a mere sign that said "Trump Heights," which, by the way, also reflects the rest of its contributions to national policy. It's about actions, not words.
Two types of "national right-wing camps" are emerging before us. One seeks actions and policies and consists of individuals who will change the prime minister or the mayor they support, or their bank or health fund when they feel dissatisfied with their service. The second's main priority is not policy. Its members seek a sense of identity, family, culture, and belonging, and most importantly, legitimization for who they are.
So what is it that kept Netanyahu in power for so many years, seeing that he did not build a single settlement in Samaria but became the prime minister of many right-wingers? These were probably members of the second type, who wanted him not for settlements, but for language and identity, which exempted Netanyahu from doing actual work and with social media posts sufficing.
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