Various Jewish groups to politicians in both the East and the West have expressed their concerns about the new government over the weeks. Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich's inclusion in the coalition is the main reason why it is seen as the most "radical" government in Israeli history, and they’re the reason for the concerns. Ben-Gvir was appointed as National Security Minister and now has a say in the management of Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, while Smotrich was made Minister of Finance.
Newly elected Ben-Gvir is a disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane was an American-born Israeli-ordained Orthodox rabbi, writer, and ultranationalist politician. Kahane’s party was even declared a “terror group” by the state of Israel. With fierce racism and anti-Arab hatred, his follower Dr. Benjamin Baruch Goldstein raided the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron on Feb. 25, 1994, and killed 29 Palestinians, including an 11-year-old boy. After the massacre, he dressed as Baruch Goldstein and said "he's my hero." He is known for inciting Jews to harass and attack the Palestinian inhabitants of the city of Hebron. He personally attacked a Palestinian hunger striker in his hospital room. He called for the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He also revealed his hatred of Christians by proudly photographing his former party colleague, Michael Ben-Ari, ripping apart a copy of the New Testament.
In December 2021, he pulled a gun on Arab security guards in an argument over parking. In the same month, he went to protest the speech in an Israeli high school given by both Israeli and Palestinian parents, who lost their loved ones against violence, and said, “What are bereaved families? That’s who threw Molotov cocktails at IDF soldiers. That’s who threw stones. So thank God they killed them!" Even the Australian Jewish News published an article with the caption "There is a monster in the Knesset," emphasizing that he is a complete monster.
Here is Ben-Gvir: the one who respectfully hangs a picture of "this monster" in his house.
It should be stated that Bezalel Smotrich, who has a larger share of the vote, is not much behind Ben-Gvir. His nationalist Religious Zionist Party openly advocates reaching the promised land in the Torah, the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, he opposes the idea of a Palestinian state. In 2018, he said about Ahed Tamimi, who attracted the attention of the whole world with her images of resistance to Israeli soldiers and her imprisonment, that she "deserved a bullet to her kneecap" and stated that his only regret was that she was imprisoned instead of being shot.
In 2021 Smotrich attacked Arab deputies in the Knesset with the following statements: "You are here by mistake because Ben Gurion didn't finish the job and throw you out in 1948." By tweeting "There will come a day, my son, when the Israeli flag will be raised proudly on the Temple Mount, in the Temple," he clearly expressed his desire to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque and erect his own temple, just like Ben-Gvir.
It is known that the stance they displayed without political courtesy and delicacy even drew the reaction of Israeli intelligence. Yitzhak Ilan, the former vice president of the Shin Bet, has described Smotrich as a "Jewish terrorist" who planned a "terror attack" that would manifest in the form of blowing up cars in 2005 to prevent Israel's decision to withdraw from Gaza. Shabtai Shavit, the former head of the Mossad, said: “Are you willing to live in the State of Israel he describes? I will not stay for a minute in Smotrich’s Israel...”
In this case, we can determine that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are elements that can cause division even among those who defend Israel's occupying policies.
Meanwhile, the difficulty they face even in forming the coalition despite having a quorum makes them question how long the government can continue. Miri Regev, now once again Transport Minister, said on Nov. 6 that she expected the government to be formed within "two weeks."
However, Benjamin Netanyahu sought 10 days from President Isaac Herzog and was only able to form a coalition in just two months. This situation indicates that they are on a more difficult relationship network and a more delicate balance than they expected. It is also known that the relations between Netanyahu and Smotrich and their working harmony are not very good. Even though Smotrich was in his Cabinet in 2019, he used the term "weak" for Netanyahu, and he also slammed Netanyahu for having "zero leadership, zero governance." It was reported in the news that Netanyahu was considering dismissing him from the ministry for such a harsh outburst, and Smotrich eventually apologized.
In October 2022, however, the tapes in which Smotrich spoke harshly about Netanyahu appeared in the Israeli media, where it was learned that Smotrich said of Netanyahu, "He’s a liar, a son of a liar." Therefore, we can state that the probability of the coalition having difficulties in working in harmony is not small at all.
This is an issue that Israeli opponents also emphasized during the coalition formation process. Avigdor Liberman, the Yisrael Beiteinu Party chairperson, declared that "Netanyahu must be a suicide bomber to give the Haredim (known as Ultra-Orthodox Jews) the chairmanship of the Knesset Finance Committee, and Smotrich the Finance Ministry. Smotrich will totally ignore him the moment after the appointment." Yulia Malinovsky, a member of Liberman's party said, "Bibi is trying to get rid of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.”
This situation caught the attention of the United Torah Judaism Party, which is one of the coalition partners, and openly warned that Likud should come to their senses and understand that there will be no government without Smotrich. Ze'ev Elkin, one of the ministers of the previous government, predicted that the coalition could last for two or three years until Ben-Gvir topples it. In short, although the parties forming the coalition meet in the "right party" class, they are known for the existence of issues that they disagree with and for being distant groups. So, as many expect, they are very likely to experience conflicts during their work that could shorten the life of the government.
