As Israel spirals deeper into crisis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government prepares a set of reforms that would give it near-absolute power. If they succeed, their political move might be remembered as one of the most brilliant shock takeovers in history.
In a Thursday announcement to the Israeli public, Netanyahu effectively declared an emergency state, comparing the situation in Israel to the one before the Six-Day War of 1967, during which it occupied the modern-day Palestinian Territories.
“I would like to show my appreciation to the people on the other side of the political spectrum,” Netanyahu said. “They understand we are in a state of emergency.” He continued, saying that Israelis “have to put politics aside and do what has to be done.”
“Doing what has to be done” has many meanings, but a simple rule of thumb says none of them are ever good. As the COVID-19 crisis keeps getting worse, Justice Minister Amir Ohana expanded his own authority, allowing him to freeze all court activity, according to Haaretz.
Sunday morning, Ohana issued an order, shifting all court activity to a “state of exceptional emergency,” postponing Netanyahu’s trial, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile, in a tweet calling for the formation of a “National Distress Government,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett slipped a key phrase, saying, “We will pass a bill freezing the political situation for a period of six months.”
If Blue and White leader, former IDF chief of general staff Benny Gantz does join Netanyahu’s “National Distress Government,” Joint List leader Ayman Odeh will automatically become the head of the opposition.
Odeh’s Joint List, an anti-Zionist electoral list comprised predominantly of Arab Israelis, serves as Israel’s third-largest parliamentary faction and was holding negotiations with Gantz during the last few weeks, outlining a potential minority government.
As the prime minister is obliged by Israeli law to brief the opposition leader on security issues and other issues concerning government actions once every two months, Netanyahu’s Likud Party is preparing a bill that would limit the authority of the head of the opposition.
Likud MK Shlomo Kar’i told Israeli daily Maariv he had submitted a bill, according to which, if a faction does not hold more than 15 seats—the exact number of seats the Joint List won in the March election—Odeh’s position would be “passed along all opposition party leaders.” Kar’i added that in that case, “the head of the opposition will not be briefed by the prime minister.”
As Israel imposes restrictions on movement, employment and public gatherings, its citizens focus on the economic impact of the crisis in a perfect example of the Rally ‘Round the Flag Effect. In quite a comic way, the new restrictions limiting workplaces to ten workers make it impossible for the 120-member Knesset to overturn government decisions.
The dystopian scenario that seems ever-so-close would give Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc—with the help of the naive generals doomed to view reality through their familiar militaristic prism—near-absolute power over the state.
If the steps taken by the right-wing “National Bloc” prove successful, their move might be remembered as one of the most brilliant shock takeovers in history.
The Establishment 