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The Dynamics of a Right-Wing Coalition WP How the Failure of the Peace Processes Encourages Domestic Populism in Israel

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The Dynamics of a Right-Wing Coalition WP How the Failure of the Peace Processes Encourages Domestic Populism in Israel Introduction Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Comments The Dynamics of a Right-wing Coalition WP How the Failure of the Peace Processes Encourages Domestic Populism in Israel Peter Lintl S Israel has been increasingly criticised for violating substantive democratic principles. The trigger was a series of decisions and initiatives. In July 2016, the Knesset adopted a stricter transparency law for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) financed from abroad, as well as a law empowering it to divest its members of their mandate. For weeks and months, government had made various suggestions for closer oversight of cultural and media institutions (for instance). There has also been repeated disapproval of Su- preme Court judgements, which went hand in hand with calls for Parliament to be en- abled to overrule its verdicts. These advances have had negative repercussions not just in Israel, but internationally as well. The parties of the ruling coalition – Kulanu, time at the moment. However, what is often Yisrael Beitenu, Likud, Shas, Torah Judaism overlooked is that these legal initiatives and Jewish Home – are located on the right tend to come from a part of the govern- of the political spectrum, with the partial ment which is seen as populist or radical, exception of Kulanu. International and and is located on the right fringe of the Israeli media are calling the government political spectrum. Moreover, the forays are “the most right-wing government of all rarely successful since they fail to obtain time”. While this is a comment referring a majority even within government. None- to the parties’ basic political orientation, theless, they are having an influence on it also points to their political work. Cer- the coalition, especially where its agenda- tain laws and draft bills in particular are setting is concerned. drawing critical attention from the point This puts especially Prime Minister and of view of substantial democracy and its Likud chair Benjamin Netanyahu in a tight premises, such as minority rights, freedom spot since it forces him to compete for elec- of expression and the separation of powers. toral votes with these currents. Because of Israel, it is claimed, is moving closer to- this constellation, political discourse in wards a formal democracy, in which sub- Israel as a whole is moving to the right. The stantive rights can be curtailed by majority strength of the political right wing, how- decision. Debates on such proposals cer- ever, can also be explained by Israelis’ dis- tainly take up much of the government’s illusionment with the peace process, and Peter Lintl is a researcher in the project “Israel and its regional and global conflicts: Domestic developments, SWP Comments 45 security issues and foreign affairs”. The project is conducted within the Middle East and Africa Division of SWP and October 2016 funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. 1 the weakness of the opposition parties, they strive for a “state for all citizens” in- in particular the Zionist Union. A party’s stead of a Jewish state. And yet even for stance on the Middle East conflict and its them, that binary pattern forms the politi- possible solutions continues to be a decisive cal frame of reference. criterion in elections. Thus, widespread With the partial exception of Kulanu, all scepticism in Israeli society about the pros- parties in government are from the right of pects of the peace process has handed a po- the political landscape (see diagram). Never- litical advantage to those right-wing parties theless, there is a certain bandwidth of posi- that have always rejected it. Since an almost tions within the coalition, which ranges from flawlessly right-wing government is at the liberal conservative to strictly religious to helms for the first time, its populist compo- a populist or radical right. The latter wants nents are gaining more traction, and are to annexe all settlements in the West Bank, trying to push political discourse further something a majority of the Liberal Con- to the right using legislative forays. This dy- servatives is sceptical about. Similar differ- namic is reinforced by the fact that Netan- ences exist on constitutional issues. While yahu depends on votes from the right-wing the right-wing populists of several parties fringe and is therefore willing to adopt their are pressing for substantive liberal-demo- positions at times. What counts as “left- cratic rights to be curtailed in favour of wing” or “right-wing” in Israel, however, is Jewish group rights, the Liberal Conserva- determined by specific lines of conflict in tives are making more of an effort to bal- Israeli society. ance individual and group rights. This constellation has become particu- larly explosive since Netanyahu realised “Right” and “Left” in Israel during the last elections of 2015 (which he Two major topics determine a party’s posi- nearly lost) that his only hope of remaining tion on the right/left divide. In first place is in office as Prime Minister was to consoli- its stance on whether the Middle East con- date his position inside the Right and en- flict can be peacefully settled through the sure that Likud provides the largest of the creation of a Palestinian state or whether Knesset fractions. Given the coalition’s nar- such a state would increase Israel’s threat row majority (67 out of 120 seats), several levels (or whether to go as far as to annexe of its members would be able to topple the the West Bank). The second issue concerns government. This forces the Prime Minister the normative identity of state and society on occasion to adopt populist right-wing in Israel. What is the correct balance be- stances. Over the past few years, he has tween Jewish and liberal-democratic norms repeatedly proved his ideological flexibility in the state, and what does this mean for and shown that he will not shy away from the rights of non-Jewish minorities? The fur- populism when he deems it opportune. The ther to the “right” a party positions itself, coalition government therefore finds itself the more emphasis it places on the ethnic in a sort of permanent election campaign and/or religious component of Jewishness for the votes of the right-wing fringe. Poli- in the Israeli state. The further to the “left”, ticians feel obliged to prove that they are the more importance it attributes to uni- the true representatives of the Israeli Right. versal and pluralistic values. When repre- Members of Jewish Home, Likud and Yisrael sentatives of the right fringe of the political Beitenu in particular try to outbid each spectrum highlight the significance of the other in political motions, statements and collective, they are also saying that diver- legislative bills. Most of these are incapable gent opinions are virtually unacceptable of obtaining a majority and are only in- and that non-Jewish parts of the population tended to force their topics onto the agenda do not belong. Arab parties, on the other so as to shift the political discourse. Only hand, are outside the left-right divide since rarely are populist initiatives successful SWP Comments 45 October 2016 2 Heuristic diagram: Parties’ positions within the Israeli parliamentary system Liberal democratic United Arab List* (13) Meretz (5) Yesh Atid (11) Kulanu (10) Zionist Union (24) Reject two-state settlement In favour of two-state settlement Yisrael Beitenu (6) Likud * In many regards, the Arab List escapes this (30 seats) divide, partly because the parties it consists of adopt divergent points of view. None supports the idea of a Jewish state, and each has a dif- Shas (7) Jewish ferent stance on the two-state settlement. Home (8) Torah Judaism (6) Parties in government As of August 2016 are shown in italics. Jewish republican enough to be cast into law, for instance as to be bulldozed. Equally controversial was a transparency law for NGOs funded from a proposal by culture and sports minister abroad or a law that regulates the exclusion Miri Regev (Likud) that would make fund- of parliamentarians from the Knesset. ing of cultural and artistic facilities depend- ent on their loyalty towards the state. It is no secret that Regev denies that left-wing Right-wing populist forays or Arab artists possess such loyalty. She One of the best-known attempts is the re- sent questionnaires to artists asking them current demand put forward by justice whether they would be willing to appear minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) that in West Bank settlements. If not, their state the powers of the Supreme Court, seen as funding would be cut. All Jewish Home par- too liberal, be curtailed. In this matter, liamentarians – but also many of Likud’s she has support of several Likud members (including Tzipi Hotovely, Miri Regev, Danny (including Ze’ev Elkin and Yariv Levin). At Danon und Yariv Levin) – de facto demand the start of the legislative period, Shaked the annexation of the Jewish settlements submitted a draft bill that would have in the West Bank. Shaked currently spear- empowered the Knesset to overrule Su- heads this movement by tenaciously draft- preme Court verdicts. Moti Yogev (Jewish ing laws in support of its efforts. As recently Home) even called for the court building as May 2016, she proposed to extend Israeli SWP Comments 45 October 2016 3 civil law to the settlements to legally har- coalition politicians – including many Kula- monise them with Israel. Education minis- nu parliamentarians, but also Likud mem- ter Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) deleted bers such as Benny Begin or Gila Gamliel – the short story “Borderlife” from the state- have been registering their objections, at school syllabus because it revolves around times strongly.
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