Diverse Israeli coalition made history. But has it been a success?
This week was supposed to be celebratory for the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as it marked its first anniversary June 13.
The eight-party coalition that had toppled the long-serving Benjamin Netanyahu was the most diverse and unlikely in the country’s history – one of the “greatest experiments in global politics,” as a senior government official puts it.
Its ranks included ultranationalist right-wingers, pro-peace leftists, centrists, and, for the first time ever, an Arab Israeli political faction, all coming together to govern.
These disparate parts agreed on very little, save for replacing Mr. Netanyahu and avoiding yet another election cycle after four largely inconclusive ballots between 2019 and 2021. The parties vowed to focus on consensus domestic items like the economy, housing, and transportation, and avoid more politically charged issues like the conflict with the Palestinians and West Bank settlements.
