The political alliance that sustained the right-wing bloc comprising the Likud, ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, and national-religious faction Yamina, was a win-win situation for all involved.
It gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the peace of mind that none of Likud's natural partners bolted in favor of Blue and White, and it gave the sectorial parties a sense of security that if Netanyahu strikes a unity deal with Blue and White, they will not be left behind.
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However, although the political dependency was supposedly mutual and served both sides, Netanyahu was its main beneficiary.
The right-wing bloc kept him in power during an extended period during which he was not, in fact, an elected prime minister, and its members stood by his side through three grueling and consecutive electoral campaigns. Moreover, they did so at a political cost, despite being able to exit the alliance at any given moment during the past 18 months.
But while the right-wing bloc rallied around Netanyahu, they did not rally around each other. Shas chief Aryeh Deri personally guaranteed the terms of the unity deal vis-à-vis Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, but offered no such assurances to Yanima leader Naftali Bennett or UTJ head Yakov Litzman.
This, however, did not exempt Netanyahu from his responsibility to the alliance.
Yamina, an alliance of the Habayit Hayehudi, the National Union and New Right parties, went to bat for Netanyahu time and again, but when it was his turn to repay the favor, he opted to sign a unity deal that excluded them from the government.
In effect, Netanyahu treated Yamina as if it was expendable. Naming Yuli Edelstein as health minister in the next government knowing that Bennett was interested in the ministry was a gross affront to the national-religious electorate. It would have given Bennet a dignified follow-up for the Defense Ministry, but even that was too much for Netanyahu, who in this case, was probably motivated by the personal animosity he feels for Yamina's leader.
Although Netanyahu's motives for appointing Edelstein as health minister may not have been the purest, accepting the position was the right move for the former Knesset speaker.
It may not be the job of his dream, but after the sour departure from the Speaker's Office, it is a fresh start, especially given the newfound prominence the Health Ministry has gained during the coronavirus pandemic.
