The Impacts of the Political Situation in Israel

Warning - this article has political content. If you don't want to see politics on LinkedIn, stop reading now.

This is my first ever LinkedIn article, and I wish I had a different topic to write about. For example, I would have loved to bring you pictures or a vlog of the official opening of the new Amdocs Park campus in Raanana that was scheduled for today. But the celebratory party has been postponed, in the light of the challenging political situation in Israel.

You are probably aware that a right-wing coalition won the latest round of elections in November 2022. The actual popular vote was almost evenly divided between the two camps. However there was fragmentation in the left-and-center camp, and the rules governing the minimum percentage votes needed by a party to gain representation caused them to gain fewer mandates. So the actual parliamentary majority went to the group led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who became prime minister.

There is no doubt that the current government was elected completely legitimately. The coalition leaders have the absolute right to legislate their agenda according to the promises they made during election canvassing.

However, and this is a big however, I would have expected responsible leaders to exercise extreme caution before proceeding with fundamental changes to the rules of government and to the balance between the legislative and governing bodies on the one hand and the legal and court system on the other hand. Given the wafer-thin majority in the popular vote, it would have been prudent and reasonable to have consultations on the reforms with all sides of the political divide here.

There are many pressing problems in Israel that any government, right or left, needs to address. Obviously defense, with the continuing threats and challenges around us. But also social welfare, with the gaps between poor and rich showing no signs of easing. A measured approach to judicial and governmental reform would have enabled the government and parliament to address these issues.

Instead we have this headstrong rush into the legislation, which includes laws that are definitely a cause for concern. For example, enabling people with criminal convictions to serve as ministers, or making it very difficult to impeach a prime minister in case of need.

And what does all this have to do with LinkedIn, a professional network? Well, quite a lot. A side-effect of the political instability is a corresponding economic threat. This may have an negative effect on the Israeli hi-tech sector, which is one of the drivers of the entire economy. We're also hearing of a downturn in incoming tourism, another of Israel's exports. When the tourism industry is trying to recover from the pandemic, the last thing it needs is more chaos. And there could be more to come.

And I can just imagine our enemies rubbing their hands with glee, as their work is being done for them. A divided Israel is far more vulnerable to security threats (from near or far). So it has been historically (in biblical times with the division of the kingdom, in the fall of the Second Temple with internecine strife, and more).

Note I'm not expressing my own views here on the need for judicial reform, that is not the point. I'm concerned about the process and the effects that it's having on all of us, especially the more disadvantaged (many of whom, by the way, are traditionally right-leaning in their voting patterns).