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Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted Sunday to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure, the longest in Israeli history, and ushering the Naftali Bennett era.
Bennett, a far-right leader, and former Netanyahu protege-turned rival, takes over as Prime Minister in partnership with a loose coalition of 8 parties, including, Ra’am, an Islamist Arab party– all united by their opposition — perhaps hatred, for Netanyahu.
According to the Associated Press, much of the Israeli opposition to Netanyahu was personal. Three of the eight parties in the new government, including Bennett’s Yamina, are headed by former Netanyahu allies who share his hard-line ideology but had deep personal disputes with him.
The votes came after days of Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, mounting an effort to undermine his impending ouster using language similar to former one-term US President Donald Trump.
Like Trump, Netanyahu attempted to delegitimize his defeat by accusing leaders of the incoming government of perpetuating “the fraud of the century.”
CNN’s Brianna Keilar succinctly highlighted similarities between Netanyahu and Trump, including moments where Netanyahu uses Trumpian terms such as “deep state,” in denying his electoral defeat.
Netanyahu’s attacks prompted death threats against the coalition leaders and fears of violence on the Knesset, similar to the violence experienced in the US on Jan 6, 2021. Responding to Trump’s call to “stop the steal,” angry supporters attacked the US Congress while members and Vice President Mike Pence met to confirm President Joe Biden’s electoral college win.
Netanyahu’s Likud Party, however, in a tweet, rejected any comparison with Trump of refusing to transfer power.
“There always has been a peaceful transfer of power in Israel, and there always will be,” Likud Party said in a statement posted in their official Twitter account.
They argue Netanyahu’s “election fraud” claims are not against the integrity of the Israeli electoral system; instead, it’s about Bennett breaking his promise to voters.
“Throughout the election, Bennett promised not to form a government with Yair Lapid and the left and not to create a coalition with the Raam party that represents Muslim Brotherhood ideology,” the Likud party said in a tweet.
However, Likud’s qualifications of Netanyahu’s fraud claims are not shared by his supporters who, just like Trump supporters, seem to think the coalition rigged the election.
But despite tepidly accepting to transfer power, Netanyahu will not follow the traditional public ceremony of installing a new prime minister. Instead, he’s opting to participate in a private event, sending echoes of Trump’s refusal to join in Biden’s inauguration.
Bennett gave a conciliatory acceptance speech, AP reported.
“My government will make an effort to deepen and nurture relations with our friends in both parties — bipartisan,” Bennett said. “If there are disputes, we will manage them with fundamental trust and mutual respect.”
Netanyahu did not reciprocate Bennett’s kind gesture. Instead, he promised to topple the newly-formed government and boasted about his achievements as Prime Minister, such as signing peace treaties with four Arab nations and successfully handling administering coronavirus vaccines, AP reported.
“I will lead you in the daily struggle against this evil and dangerous leftist government in order to topple it,” Netanyahu said, according to an AP report. “God willing, it will happen a lot faster than what you think.”
Netanyahu’s brash style appeals to US Republicans but alienates Democrats, who view him as disrespectful toward former US President Barack Obama. There was no love lost between Obama and Netanyahu, a fact Netanyahu demonstrated in March 2015, when he defiantly addressed a joint session of US Congress in opposition to Obama’s push to sign a deal that sought to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In his Biography, The Promised Land, Obama described Netanyahu as “smart, canny, tough and a gifted communicator,” but noted Netanyahu’s vision of himself as “chief defender of the Jewish people against calamity allowed him to justify almost anything that would keep him in power.”
While he continues charting his next moves in the Knesset, Netanyahu, just like Trump, Bibi has to grapple with an ongoing corruption investigation that could land him in prison.
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