Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be the world's most consummate politician. The recent election gave his right-wing bloc 58 seats in the Knesset. The left-wing bloc led by Blue and White together with Labor–Gesher–Meretz only secured 40 seats, 9% less than in the previous election.
In a fractured Knesset, with the anti-Zionist, Arab-majority Joint Arab List winning an unprecedented 15 seats and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu essentially moving the support of right-wing voters out of the right-wing column, the strong vote in favor of a Netanyahu-led government represents a tremendous achievement.
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If the ostensibly right-wing Yisrael Beytenu would join, Netanyahu would be forming a government reflecting the will of the people. Instead, Liberman is pursuing a vendetta against Netanyahu and not even pretending to be motivated by ideology.
The other significant change in this election is the rise of the Joint Arab List. Previously, it was inconceivable that an Israeli government would contemplate relying on the support of those identifying with Hamas and Hezbollah. Before the election, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz said his party's goal was to get a Jewish majority. However, following the collapse of his base in the elections, he has called Netanyahu a racist for referring to a Zionist majority.
This is disingenuous. Unlike Gantz, Netanyahu does not reject the Arabs as a class but merely the Arab members of Knesset who do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
To accuse those protesting the formation of a coalition with the Arab bloc of being racist and undemocratic is nonsensical.
The Joint Arab List is rejected as a legitimate partner because it insists on transforming Israel into a binational state. Hadash, the largest (and most moderate) of its constituent parties, is a Stalinist group. All of them support our adversaries and defend or rationalize terrorism.
Would any Western country tolerate a group that preached the state's destruction and justified terrorism?
To his eternal shame, Gantz, in addressing the nation on Saturday night, revealed that Blue and White's leadership had no qualms about accommodating Knesset members who seek Israel's destruction. It appears that Liberman, in his hatred for Netanyahu, is also prepared to go along with this cynical ploy. There are no limits to cynicism when Moshe Ya'alon - who members of the Joint Arab List have said should be charged with war crimes – is prepared to canvass their support in order to oust Netanyahu.
To form a government, 61 seats are required. Under normal circumstances, this would require Likud and Blue and White to form a national unity government or either Liberman or Labor–Gesher to join a Likud-led coalition.
For now, the deadlock remains with Netanyahu's opponents demanding he step down as a precondition to negotiations. They do so despite the fact that Gantz's mediocre statements and contradictory policies have alienated even many of Netanyahu's critics.
The prospect of a fourth election is abhorrent and out of the question.
Yet, the willingness to ally with the Joint Arab List demonstrates the extent to which hatred prevails in much of Israeli society.
To most Israelis, Netanyahu, despite his weaknesses, remains the best person to guide this nation during the next few months so that we can capitalize on the Trump peace plan.
The Trump Administration has already set in motion a process to approve annexation by Israel of delineated areas in Judea and Samaria. Bearing in mind the uncertainty in the US over their forthcoming elections (especially with coronavirus undermining the economy), this is possibly a one-time opportunity for Israel to secure its borders with American support.
With the potentially horrendous ramifications of coronavirus, we must have a united government to deal with the decisions that lie ahead.
We should also be concerned about the pressures we will face if Trump and the Republicans are defeated. Given Gantz's performance as leader of the opposition, can we rely on him to advance Israeli interests? Do we know where he stands on major issues?
And now we face the horrifying prospect of rightists Liberman and Ya'alon allying with the anti-Zionist Arab parties to overcome the Zionist majority's decision to support Netanyahu.
Gantz himself has now given formal notice of his intention to form a government relying on the support of the Joint Arab List. This will require significant concessions to an anti-Zionist bloc. Such a government will be unable to proceed with the Trump plan; it will not contemplate annexation of strategic areas even with an apparent green light.
We can only hope there are enough Blue and White Knesset members with a degree of integrity and decency who still believe that the welfare of the nation takes priority over the short-term political goals of their leaders.
Our leaders, including Netanyahu, must reach a solution that does not include a government dependent on Hamas supporters. If they fail to do so, we must mourn the fact that our leaders are perpetuating the tradition of "sinat hinam" or futile hatred, the baseless hatred that led to Israel's destruction 2,000 years ago.
