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The Religious Zionist Party knew about the alliance Netanyahu made with RAAM • Its success came thanks to the prime minister • Now its leaders are refusing to help form a coalition • Opinion

• Smutrich celebrates the election achievement

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  Jonathan Saul

The 2021 election campaign was characterized by two unnatural partnerships of Netanyahu: the Religious Zionist Party and the Arab Zionist Party.

The Smutrich party and the Abbas party were marked as margins that will give the right the support it deserves, the lifeline for the day after.

Nothing was done in the dark: after the prime minister had dismantled the joint list, he met with Mansour Abbas and made political alliances with him.

Abbas' members of the previous party condemned and accused him of collaborating with Netanyahu, and in response he made it clear that his interest is first and foremost a concern for Israeli Arabs: solving the growing problem of violence in Arab society, explained The government.

Netanyahu spent valuable time in the weeks leading up to the election in trips to Tuba-Zangariyah, Umm al-Fahm, Fureidis - places where residents often see themselves as having Palestinian self-identity, but end up with unrewarding leftist narratives.

Likud ministers praised the move and congratulated it, and everything was published and reviewed.

On the other hand, the Likud made an alliance with the faction that cut from the "right" on a religious background, and its nickname as the color of the ketchup's partner.

The right-wing religious extremist, in which Smutrich is a moderate marker, openly came out in favor of the prime minister and announced that even if in the past his moves were a bit left-wing in his eyes, any alternative to Netanyahu would be more left-wing.

"I will be the 61st finger," declared Itamar Ben Gvir, who knows Umm al-Fahm closely, to whom Netanyahu went to seek votes. "Netanyahu will need us and we will give him back."

The ultra-religious-religious party received from Netanyahu the armor of a Knesset member in a real place on the Likud list in exchange for its commitment to support it, and everywhere and on the website Netanyahu called for them to vote.

He even risked his old alliance with Torah Judaism and quarreled with Gafni, who is still convinced that without Bibi's call to the religious public that "even choosing Smutrich is okay," C would now extend over 8 seats and not 7. 

And there will be evening and there will be morning, Tuesday.

And another Tuesday, and another one - the Religious Zionist Party knew well about the alliance Netanyahu made with Abbas in parallel with the alliance he made with it, and about the double commitment.

Its meteoric success, and some even say its very ability to pass the blocking percentage, occurred thanks to the prime minister's support, but once the bill is repaid - the leaders of the three tiny factions emerge as the most stubborn nuts to crack.

In the fifth election, it is doubtful whether they will survive, but they refuse to return the seats they received thanks to Netanyahu to those who actually turned them over in their name.

Perhaps they are ideologically right, a government that relies on Arab votes is dangerous and unsatisfactory to their voters - but the figure on which we relied in advance was known to all parties.

Opposition benches are a good place to salute firm adherence to important principles that become intermediate readings.