Come next month, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition will likely breathe a collective sigh of relief. With the Knesset's summer recess on the horizon, they'll enjoy a three-month respite from parliamentary scrutiny, lasting well past the High Holidays until the winter session begins on October 27.
This period of relative calm coincides with a somber milestone: the first anniversary of the October 7 disaster. Nearly a year has passed without substantial investigations or any acknowledgment of responsibility from the political leadership, including Netanyahu himself. Calls for a state commission of inquiry are consistently deflected with vague promises of post-war action – a war with no end in sight.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, July is expected to pass without major political upheavals. Even Netanyahu's planned address to the US Congress on July 24 – strategically scheduled for the Knesset's final day before recess – seems unlikely to face significant obstacles.
The opposition's attempts to force early elections or a change in leadership before the recess appear doomed to fail. Within the coalition, there's a striking lack of voices acknowledging the catastrophic state of affairs or pushing for meaningful change. Even more disturbing is how the mounting human toll of the ongoing conflict seems to have little impact on their decision-making, particularly when it comes to questionable budgetary allocations.
Case in point: Sunday's cabinet meeting agenda includes a proposal to funnel an additional 40 million shekels ($15 million) into planning a new permanent residence for the prime minister. This comes on top of tens of millions already invested in the project, with no concrete timeline for completion. Simultaneously, another 40 million shekels have been earmarked for renovating the vacant official residence on Balfour Street.
While the concept of a secure, purpose-built prime ministerial residence has merit, the timing of this focus is tone-deaf at best. Is this truly a priority while the nation is at war?
This misalignment of priorities was further highlighted in last week's Finance Committee meeting. Hundreds of millions of shekels from the 2023 budget surplus were distributed among ministries for a variety of purposes, many seemingly unrelated to wartime needs, support for reservists, or aid for displaced citizens. Remarkably, funds were even allocated for a Baba Sali celebration.
Yet the residential planning isn't even the most eyebrow-raising item on today's agenda. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter is proposing to rename his department the "Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security." This linguistic sleight of hand, inserting the word "security" into his portfolio, smacks of political posturing from a man widely known to covet the defense minister position.
The overall atmosphere is reminiscent of the last days of a training course, where the chief instructor has lost the will to maintain order. Ironically, it may not be contentious issues like the rabbinical or conscription laws that ultimately bring down this government. Instead, it could be this accumulation of seemingly minor missteps and misplaced priorities that finally exhausts the public's patience.
