Tuesday, March 23rd people in Israel headed to the polls for the fourth time in two years, and once again, the outcome is unclear. Benjamin Netanyahu failed to gain enough seats to form a Government outright and now the negotiations. Prime Minister Netanyahu is described as desperate to hold onto power. It is widely reported that he hopes to use his office as a shield against serious corruption charges. It is reported that he is considering an Arab Islamist fringe party to cobble together a majority.
Mr Netanyahu is clearly intent on holding on to office by any means necessary. His clear affection for Trump, and his abysmal treatment of President Obama has allienated many in the Democratic caucus here. However, in Israel there is a hard core of conservative Israelis who support Netanyahu’s hard line stances in spite of his many sins against Democracy. Just as it is here, many folks will sacrifice their freedoms for a sense of security.
Israel may serve as an example of what might have happened here if Donald Trump had been more competent. It will be very difficult for the Biden Administration to form a good working relationship with Netanyahu, and we can exepct that any concessions made to that effort will come from our side of the table. Bibi still has a prefernce for the right wing in America. I would not be surprised to see him at campaign events for republicans in 2022. He is unlikely to do anything that would look like a foreign policy victory for President Biden.
Will all of this keep Mr. Netanyahu out of jail? Chances are good that it will. Meanwhile, life for those inside of Israel, but outside of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition will likely further decline, and the faint glimmer of a peaceful solution will quietly snuff out.
Americans have always supported Israel whole heartedly. Mr Netanyahu abuses that special relationship cynically believing that he and his allies here on the right can swat away any and all criticism as anti-semetic and anti-Israel. Just as it is with the MAGA crowd, some folks like Bibi because he is just awful. Unfortunately for Israel and the rest of the World, Mr. Netanyahu is better at this sort of thing than Trump ever was.