The Biden administration has begun sending signals in the Middle East, Iran is stepping up its nuclear development, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague has opened criminal investigations against Israel for alleged war crimes in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
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And yet, Israel's right-wing parties seem to not have a care in the world. Otherwise, how can their behavior be explained?
On Thursday, right before the deadline for parties to submit their lists for the March 23 Knesset election to the Central Elections Committee, national religious parties Yamina and Habayit Hayehudi announced that they would run on a joint ticket.
Such a move by a political party that receives less than half a percent of the public's vote might seem insignificant, but the story behind this lengthy stubborn struggle is beginning to emerge as a pattern that could endanger the entire Right.
It seems that Yamina leader Naftali Bennet does not need a statement of support from Habayit Hayehudi leader Hagit Moshe. Instead, he seeks to deduct half a Knesset seat from the party and drive head of the National Religious Party Bezalel Smotrich closer to the minimum electoral threshold.
In other words, legitimate political rivalry has become ideological self-harm. It is obvious to everyone that a fully right-wing government is only possible if all right-wing parties pass the electoral threshold.
This latest move follows a series of dangerous adventures of the Right, because they want to evacuate the Khan al-Ahmad village and are willing to join the Lapid-Lieberman-Meretz government. A mere few weeks ago, MK Matan Kahana stated that Yamina did not object to being in the government with left-wing party Meretz using the "tackling the coronavirus above all" excuse.
While Bennett keeps attacking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he does not utter a single word of criticism against the opposing ideology of his potential partners from the Opposition.
It might seem that all this stems from a desire to gain more seats "in the center," so let's delve deeper. The trend began just four days after the 20th Knesset was dissolved when Benett and MK Ayelet Shaked formed the New Right party and abandoned Habayit Hayehudi.
The arrogant adventure ended during the election in March 2019, below the electoral threshold and having lost four critical seats, when only one seat was missing to create a stable right-wing government, without secular nationalist Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman.
In the most recent election (March 2020), the Right did not rush to unite with Smotrich, leaving the radical Otzma Yehudit out on purpose. Three elections, three failures, zero lessons learned. At this time, the fourth time around, the situation is even more serious.
Imagine if the Left had an opportunity to form a fully left-wing coalition, without any compromises. Then, and only then, the most leftist party in the bloc, which claims that it is "more left" than the Labor party, would hint that it was considering an alternative. This is Yamina's situation at the moment.
It turns out that in politics, suicidal tendencies can turn into a chronic illness. The wish to gain a few more votes through a vague campaign is starting blur the difference between the means and the end. Whoever loses sight of the ideological goal, i.e., forming a fully right-wing government, or whoever prevents that formation, will not get another political revival. Not in the right-wing camp.
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