Broken Israel? A possible reset.

It came down to the wire, and it may yet blow up before a confirmatory vote is held, but as of this writing the Israeli parties in opposition to soon-to-be former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed a coalition deal.

I followed the torturous negotiations on Israeli English-language media, and as I tweeted, Israeli politics make those of the Sublime Porte under the Turks or the Sacred Palace under the Byzantine emperors seem like a New Hampshire town meeting. (See here for what I mean.) When I say that Israel is broken, that is not hyperbole. Its politics truly are riven to an extent not seen in any other advanced democracy. Not even the US, which has the saving graces of a two-party system and a strong federal structure. The new Knesset will have thirteen parties sitting in it. In my younger days I was a proponent of a parliamentary system for the US. Needless to say, thank goodness we don't have that mess.

Israeli coalitions yoke together disparate elements. The previous government spanned the gamut from the Haredi parties to left-wing Labor. But if this government holds, it'll be one never seen in Israeli politics. 

Consider this: Naftali Bennett draws his support from the Jewish nationalist camp. This camp is far from Arab-friendly. And who will the MKs of Yamina be sitting with? Their coalition partners from the United Arab List, an Islamist party. For the first time in Israel's history, an Arab party will be in government. And what UAL leader Mansour Abbas is asking for is not a resolution to the Palestinian conflict, but that attention be paid to the needs of Israeli Arabs. He's eschewed pan-Arabism for local concerns. That's what allowed him to decide to join an Israeli government. His inclusion in the coalition, and his focus on issues affecting Israeli Arabs, are watersheds.

If this coalition holds—I have to keep saying this, because this is so unprecedented—it will give Israel pause for a reset, much like Joe Biden's victory has given us one. Arabs are part of the government. Netanyahu will be out of office for the first time in a dozen years. Also, all thought of him corrupting the legal system to avoid his criminal trial have gone up in smoke. There's a very good chance that he'll be convicted not too many months into this new government. The Middle East may be on the cusp of the post-Netanyahu era, with an Israel in which its Arab minority is represented in the government. 

Of course, the ability of Yesh Atid leader Ya'ir Lapid being able to bring Abbas into the government is due completely to Netanyahu. He, too, courted the UAL. Once he did that—even though he failed, and would have lost the Kahanist fascists if he had succeeded—that opened the door for Lapid to make the same gambit. Abbas held out for the best deal, and got it. Almost like normal politics. Netanyahu sowed the seeds for his own destruction, by making an opening to Abbas, and by completely misreading the situation by provoking a war with Hamas, which led to Jewish-Arab riots in Israel's cities. It still took a lot of hauling, but Israelis had finally had enough of his chaotic administration.

Again, it could all still go wrong. But at day's end, Israelis are in a better place than they were at the day's beginning. And that's not nothing.