Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hold a news conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on January 11, 2023. , Photo Credit: Reuters
bEnjamin Netanyahu is back as Israel’s prime minister and now heads the country’s most far-right, religiously conservative government in history. Legislative elections are held in Israel on November 1, 2022 – the fifth general election in less than four years. The election predictably ended in Mr. Netanyahu’s favor, but it took him a long time to form a coalition. This is because the demands of his ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist allies are radical. These include replacing secular liberal schooling, increasing the budget for religious schools, and exempting yeshiva students from military service. Other religious groups, although not conservative, demand more settlements in the West Bank and laws that can bypass the Supreme Court’s judicial review system.
Noting concern over such demands, Mr. Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not become a halachaic state, would not ban LGBTQ parades, and would remain a “country of laws.”
an unsettled ship
The political instability of the past few years and the growing cultural and political divisions of Israeli society are a cause for concern for the start-up and innovation industries. Israel prides itself on its innovation, entrepreneurship and high-tech industries, which have earned the country the status of a ‘start-up nation’. According to The Times of Israel, The tech sector accounts for about 25% of Israel’s total income tax revenue and employs about 10% of the workforce. Importantly, it strengthened Israel’s diplomatic ties. In December last year, more than 400 Israelis from the tech industry wrote a letter to Mr Netanyahu warning that his coalition’s desired policies would harm the sector and drive away foreign investment.
Can Mr. Netanyahu steady the ship so that a liberal and free-market economy can prosper? Outgoing Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged his successor Bjel Smotrich to continue with free market policies. Earlier, Mr Smotrich suggested that the laws of the Torah would determine Israel’s economic policies after he entered office. He later vowed to stick to Mr Lieberman’s approach.
We will have to wait and see what happens as Mr. Netanyahu appears to be the weak player in this coalition. His party has only 32 seats, which means he will have to include far-right and ultra-religious parties in the coalition in all decisions. Other more centrist, nationalist and economically liberal leaders such as Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Benny Ganz have refused to cooperate with Mr Netanyahu, saying he has broken their trust in the past.
Mr Netanyahu, first as finance minister and later as prime minister, has been instrumental in branding Israel as a nation of innovation and entrepreneurship. He is often called the savior of Israel’s economy. It was largely under his leadership that Israel became a free market economy, became a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2010, and avoided major global financial crises. He has a promising legacy for high-tech industry veterans, which is why he has appealed to them to ensure that politics does not jeopardize Israel’s economy.
faith and ideology
In Israel and India, many believe that prosperity and development drive people’s political priorities. But political developments in Israel and to a lesser extent in India tell us otherwise. People of faith or strong ideology are emotional beings. Recognition and trust are very important for them. In India, we have seen how issues like building temples and “uniting Hindus” have been used to mobilize voters. Emotional issues such as nationalism, religion, and ideology sometimes act as a hotter button than real-life issues such as low income, unemployment, and price rise because people’s emotions are stoked to make them believe that And religious values are more important to them. The ‘start-up nation’ of Israel may not get the same attention from its free-market-friendly prime minister this time as his allies form a coalition based on similar emotive issues.
Khinvraj Jangid is Associate Professor and Director of the Jindal Center for Israel Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs OP Jindal Global University