On November 2, 1965, I had the privilege of participating for the first time in the vote to elect the sixth Knesset. At that time, two years before the Six-Day War, Ben-Gurion, the founder of the Jewish state, had resigned and wanted to shed light on a political scandal involving the Minister of Defense, Pinhas Lavon. Furious, he formed a new party, Rafi, with Dayan and Peres, and initiated a process of electoral reform to change the flawed proportional representation system. He failed and won only 10 seats…
For over 60 years I have closely followed election campaigns, voting in the parliamentary elections about twenty times. At each election, and again these past few days, no party has obtained an absolute majority to form a government. This is the great affliction of Israeli democracy.
This voting system is truly bizarre, absurd. For example, Likud, which won 32 seats in 2022 with 1,115,336 votes, now only has 27 seats with almost the same number of voters. Even more astonishing, 306,679 votes from several small and new parties were eliminated for failing to reach the eligibility threshold of 184,947 votes.
It is therefore imperative to urgently change the electoral system.
We should also review the ongoing publication of polls that no longer present a credible and honest picture of voting intentions.
Let us respect the will of the people and warmly commend the solidarity and civic duty of all Israelis who consistently demonstrate for a noble cause. Eight out of ten voted. In no other democracy on Earth do voters travel thousands of kilometers, crossing oceans and continents against all odds, to cast their ballots. A phenomenon unique in the world.
The official results prove that the overwhelming majority of Zionist Israelis are centrist and, above all, right-wing. The Labor Party, the party of Ben-Gurion, Golda, and Rabin, has virtually disappeared from the political scene, as the new far-left movement led by Yair Golan, the Democrats, won only 8 seats.
For two decades, in the absence of ideological parties, we have witnessed the proliferation of mood formations, ephemeral parties that disappear like that of Benny Gantz or that of Yair Lapid which today obtains only a handful of seats and in total a dozen with Naftali Bennet.
Gadi Eizenkot, who formed a new party just a year ago, achieved an excellent and admirable result but did not win these elections since he only obtained 21 seats.
Presenting a homogenous opposition of 65 members of parliament misinforms and manipulates public opinion. It is also inconceivable and irresponsible to hastily convene a new Knesset, elect a new speaker, repeal laws, and pass others without the consent of all the party leaders, who represent 120 members. This is a slap in the face to a large portion of the electorate.
Consequently, a minority government will remain unstable and dependent on the whims of small, pivotal parties. This ill-considered approach risks exacerbating disputes, intensifying public debate, reigniting passions, and breeding resentment and hatred. This government cannot last long, and therefore all the maneuvering and retroactive laws will be completely futile.
The protest vote against Netanyahu therefore failed despite all the efforts against him, particularly in the press, the numerous failures of his government, his ongoing trial, and his refusal to start a commission of inquiry into his responsibility in the massacre of October 7, 2023.
Nevertheless, let's be frank, Netanyahu is a textbook case in election campaigns, a true political animal.
The strong showing of Arab Israeli parties is historic, but the main person responsible for their rise to power is Itamar Ben-Gvir. His discriminatory and racist policies toward 20 percent of the Israeli population have backfired, and it is they who are now claiming victory and are the kingmakers.
We are no longer surprised by suspicions of irregularities and electoral fraud involving Qatari funds. The Emirs, with their overflowing pockets, can buy whatever they desire and invest in foreign countries as part of a covert Islamic war. An investigation by Shin Bet and Mossad is necessary to verify whether other states, such as Turkey, attempted to intervene. This dangerous intervention is a genuine strategic threat. However, an entire community that voted democratically and legally cannot be incriminated.
Outrageous are the reports in the international press that hail the victory of the Arab minority and describe it as a great victory for the Palestinians of 1948, the temporary inhabitants of Israel… Do they indirectly justify the "resistance," the dream of realizing the slogan "from the river to the sea"? Let us reject with contempt this manipulation and disinformation and clarify that the Arabs of Israel constitute a minority, albeit a significant one, within the only Jewish state on the planet, which is surrounded by 21 Arab countries. We categorically reject a binational state. It is contrary to the very essence of Zionism, our noble national liberation movement.
We should distinguish between Arab Israeli leaders and their population. If they wish to participate in the national effort, they must first recognize the existence of their state, which is a democratic and Jewish state according to the proclamation of the State of Israel, and declare unambiguously and clearly that Hamas is a terrorist organization fully responsible for the massacre of October 7, 2023.
Unfortunately, some opposition political leaders prefer personal revenge to the proposal to form a government of national unity and jointly manage the government crisis and current affairs. They are stirring up discord by once again spreading hatred and bad faith. They are capable of lying to their audience, changing their opinions and ideologies, turning their coats, and even making a pact with the devil just to see Netanyahu behind bars.
Certainly, politics is sometimes dirty and sickening, Netanyahu himself has also contributed to this unhealthy climate, but the current situation is glaring, the threats are omnipresent and the war is not yet over.
Let's put our personal quarrels, grudges and egos aside because the crisis is so deep and so serious.
It is pointless and ridiculous to gamble with our future like angry children and then demand that the President of the United States intervene… Let us take our own destiny into our own hands.
We are at an impasse, and no party has an absolute majority. Does personal vengeance prevail over the interests of the state, and are all means therefore permissible to oust Netanyahu from power and join forces with non-Zionist parties that spread hatred against IDF soldiers and glorify terrorists, both at home and abroad?
How can one ignore messages that disregard the Jewish character of the state and claim that a Jewish majority is a form of racism and apartheid? Can they, under these conditions, sit within a Zionist coalition? Approve the annexation of the Jordan Valley and defensible borders? The resumption of war against Iran, against the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, or against the Lebanese Hezbollah?
Of course, the Arab population represents more than 20% of the total population; they are part of Israeli society, and their overwhelming majority contributes in their own way to the national civic effort. We should encourage them and integrate them for the common good. Isn't it time, moreover, to appoint a non-Jewish doctor to head the Ministry of Health?
Faced with the impasse and the risk of new elections, only a small, national unity government will be able to urgently address daily affairs, pressing and sensitive issues, and implement all necessary reforms.
The national unity government formed by Shamir and Peres in 1984 was a marriage of convenience and forced, yet it managed to survive for almost 8 years despite and in spite of deep differences.
Let us give the people hope while awaiting better days. Let us emphasize that the enduring strength of the Jewish people has always been reinforced through unity.
