Israel and a National Unity Government ???
Some voices are calling for a National Unity Government. To oversee the conflict in Gaza and the looming threat on Israel’s northern border from Hezbollah and Syrian proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The thinking behind this is that a broad-based coalition would better handle the complex situation Israel is currently facing. These voices are coming mainly from the Left and ignore the fact that such a broad spectrum of Israeli political thought would do more to fracture the unity of the country than unite it.
The Left’s concept of unity is based on competitive games that meet ideological needs and satisfy personal wants. Their interests would become a refutation of the moral and political opinions of those members who were given a legitimate mandate on the 1st of November 2022 to govern the country. While evading anything that might look like an invalid argument, members like Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz would use propaganda not from an invalid argument but from a diversion of attention.
Gantz showed his commitment to unity of purpose on Monday when his National Unity Party voted against the 2024 budget, reflecting the already fragile State of the government. While Lapid continues to rail against Itamar, Ben Gvir and Betzalel Smotrich, demanding their expulsion from a unity government before he would contemplate joining one. Again, it’s clear ideology and vested interests are their only justification for joining a national unity government. No matter that the unity maxim fails to fit their rhetoric, to fit the facts, they can give a certain grandeur to their hypocrisy by the device of metaphysical elevation. The absurdity of a unity government made up of socialist ideologues should now become evident to all rational-thinking people. Lapid and co are slaves to their political agenda and hold the State as being an agency of their leftist-liberal values.
Yes, social and moral disagreement is something normally tolerated in free states. But there are certain circumstances, particularly that of modern war, as in Gaza today, when internal dissension and conflict are found to be disruptive. In such times, the State is expected to take on a more cohesive unity, which will promote the well-being of all of Israel’s citizens in times of war. Unfortunately, the Left cannot accept that members of the State constitute the Israeli people independently of their political association. These are just some of the reasons for not wanting a national unity government that would indulge a range of powerful emotions. If political self-interest can be suspended for the duration of the present conflict, then by all means, let’s form a government based on selfless unity that reflects social harmony and political unity.
Should this prove unachievable, then the nation needs to get behind the current government, and the government needs to adjust conflicts of interest to assure political stability.
