A Purim Story

The highly anticipated portfolio distribution in the new Netanyahu government does not bode well for Israeli relations around the world. More importantly, it does not bode well for those of us who are living here. We can intellectualize the situation to our hearts content and choose to buy into the possibility that Lieberman will be sobered by the heavy responsibility of the Foreign Ministry - - as will his cohorts who will occupy all major law enforcement ministries - - and will adjust his world view to more acceptable standards of discourse and policy. But as we are about to welcome the Purim holiday with its carnival atmosphere and masks of all colors, we are accustomed to questioning what is real.

Netanyahu hopes to present his government to President Peres next Monday and, as we all know, a lot can happen in eight days. I would love to believe in a Hanukkah miracle where key government portfolios will not end up in the hands of the most extreme. But instead I am bracing for a Purim scenario where Bibi’s very narrow (now expected to be only 61 seats) rightwing coalition becomes drunk with power. Let’s not forget that in Lieberman’s most recent Cabinet role as Minister for Strategic Threats, he called for attacking both the Iranian nuclear sites and the Aswan Dam. With the Iranian clock ticking and Egypt serving as Israel’s primary interlocutor with Gaza, Lieberman in the Foreign Minister’s costume is all the more frightening.

But the story won’t end here, and that is the good news and the bad. The bad news is that we can expect months of infighting between Bibi and his scorned lieutenants who will not get prime ministries after all of their hard work in the party, especially his long-time nemesis and former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom; which will lead to paralysis and the ultimate decimation of the Netanyahu government. A long and painful maze of wasted time and money that will lead back to square one: early elections.

The good news is that we can expect months of infighting between Bibi and his scorned lieutenants, between Bibi and his coalition partners, and between Shas and Yisrael Beitenu; which will lead to paralysis and the ultimate decimation of the Netanyahu government. A long and painful maze of wasted time and money that will lead back to square one: an opportunity for the moderate center-left to use this time to organize, revitalize and surprise us all in the next early elections.