The return of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s president following the recent win of the country’s far right party; in which it won a majority of parliament seats on Tuesday, has further escalated fears among some political pundits and various Jewish groups on the possible rise of the religious parties and the implications for the LGBTQ community, secular citizens and Palestinians as a whole.
This election is the first time since 1992 that the rise of religious parties ousted the establishment left-wing party
The triumph clears the way for Netanyahu to form the most right-wing government in the history of Israel, which was formed as a socialist democratic state, raising concerns about the bloc’s agenda.
According to final results, which will be certified in the coming days, Netanyahu’s bloc will pick up 64 out of 120 seats in the Israeli parliament. Netanyahu and his Likud-led government consists of the ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as the far-right Religious Zionism party.
Already, the outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid has congratulated Netanyahu and instructed his staff to prepare an organized transition of power, The Associated Press. Reports.
“The state of Israel comes before any political consideration,” Lapid was quoted to have said. “I wish Netanyahu success, for the sake of the people of Israel and the state of Israel.”
Also, the Times of Israel also reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides had phoned Netanyahu to congratulate him on his win.
Political pundits have said that the election is of importance given the role the far right Zionism party is expected to play in Netanyahu’s government and its anti-LGBTQ policies and hard line against Arab-Israelis and Palestinians; and the possible affect it could have on Israel’s relations with the U.S., its most important ally.
But analysts have dismissed any such fears insisting that the reason that they want Netanyahu back is simply because of IRAN and BIDEN! They argue that the mullahs of Iran have been making war noises, The attack on the Saudis, in addition to the seemingly scary part that the Biden administration has allegedly been making deals with Iran that will allow them to get a nuke, So, it is for these reasons that they want someone in the lead, like Netanyahu, that will fight if necessary. The pundits doubt seriously if the LGBTQ will be on Netanyahu’s agenda.
Another reason to be considered as to why Netanyahu is making a come-back is for the party to make way to clear the Netanyahu’s corruption cases .
Netanyahu is on trial on charges of corruption in three different cases, accused of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
That could change if his allies in Religious Zionist make do on their election campaign promise: abolishing offenses of fraud and breach of trust against lawmakers, the AFP reports.
The proposal has been widely criticized for being a highly tailored legal move, aimed at terminating a large part of Netanyahu’s trial. The reelected prime minister responded to the criticism by saying the changes won’t apply to him retroactively. But there are contrary opinions.
According to AFP, Robbie Sabel, professor of International Law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, echoed a number of Israeli legal experts in disputing Netanyahu’s assertion, telling USA TODAY that “if the offense is abolished, you can’t convict someone of it. So they don’t have to say it will apply retroactively. If they abolish it, Netanyahu cannot be convicted of those offenses.”
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the party’s legal reform plan “a paradise for government corruption,” while Prime Minister Yair Lapid said it’s a “deliberate campaign to cancel Netanyahu’s trial,” which would mean the end of Israeli democracy “as we know it.”
With Reports From Associated Press