Analysis: Israel’s protests, Netanyahu and the crisis his government unleashed
WASHINGTON — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is a legendary master of political survival. For once, he may have overplayed his hand.
As he frantically plots a strategy to emerge from the worst domestic crisis in Israel’s 75-year history, Netanyahu must find a way to keep his radical, ultra-Orthodox coalition partners on board while attempting to pacify the hundreds of thousands of angry Israelis filling the streets in the name of defending democracy.
If he fails, his government could easily dissolve. If that were to happen, it is unclear who would fill the void or what new unrest could be ignited.
Israel has long been synonymous with conflict, but for the moment, the most serious existential threat it faces comes not from its Arab neighbors but from its own internal divisions.
Netanyahu late Monday announced he would postpone — but not
