The great political drama of recent weeks is passing under the radar, but those who are close to the working people understand that something has fallen in Israeli politics.
The powerful couple, the "power couple" of Israeli politics, are no more.
The meaning, of course, is that Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett, whose political relationship knew ups and downs but still remained stable, parted ways.
We will immediately go into the "gossip" details, such as who is separated from whom and why, but first it is worth refreshing the memory in relation to another character, who plays a very influential role in the plot.
Her name is Shimrit Meir, and she is Naftali Bennett's political adviser. We have already referred here recently to the strengthening of her position in the Prime Minister's Office, and to her becoming the closest figure to Bennett. Sources in the bureau say that she is actively involved in the bureau's work, and its power is clear and arbitrary even with the professional staffs - including the National Security Council, whose presidency largely conveys its recommendations to the prime minister, and serves as a mediator between them. Before distribution.
Things are also beginning to find expression on the political front: if you felt a change of attitude, it is probably largely attributed to her: without her support Bennett would not have given the green light for Mansour Abbas' trip to a political meeting with the Jordanian king. Declaration of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. Who else was present at the meeting on behalf of Israel? Sheikh Kamel Ryan, who has previously claimed that there are no archeological finds confirming the existence of a temple on the Temple Mount. Ten degrees to the right. Add to this the trip of the Minister of Regional Development, Issawi Frij of Meretz, to the donation conference in Oslo, where he will present the position of the Israeli government, which will seek to increase the contributions of the international community to the Palestinians. A minister in the Israeli government is raising funds for the Palestinian national movement, ostensibly out of an interest in preventing an economic crisis in the Palestinian Authority. On the other hand, according to reports, Frij, who will meet in Oslo with the Palestinian prime minister and the PA finance minister, also stressed that "the government will not take steps to stop the two-state solution.".
Bennett and Shaked, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The Oslo spirit is hovering in Bennett's office and the main ventilator is the political adviser, who is clearly pulling in the direction of political activism.
This wind blows out of the window not only the password of ten degrees to the right, but also Ayelet Shaked.
It is impossible to understand Shaked's condition, her utterances, her recordings, her quarrels and her apologies, without understanding the adverse change in her position.
Obviously, when it comes to the political direction - Shaked is not a factor;
She does not have a chair in the cockpit that leads the country today.
She received an embarrassing reminder of this this week: The "surprises" around the Electricity Law - the same changes that RAAM tried to introduce into the law contrary to the early summaries, provoked Shaked's anger and she was forced to freeze further legislation. She blamed Walid Taha from RAAM B. A forceful approach, "but she also understands that the RAAM would not have introduced any change without a green light from the Prime Minister's Office, and such approvals would not come out without the stamp of the political adviser. Walid Taha did not lie; Ayelet Shaked was simply not updated.
Interior Minister Shaked appears to have been removed, therefore, from a position of influence on strategic issues;
And it seems that Merav Michaeli or Nitzan Horowitz have more weight in the discussion of strategic issues such as a map of national priority areas, not to mention Issawi Frij or Mansour Abbas.
But Shaked's great tragedy is the loss of political maneuvering space.
She will no longer be able to stand out in the government of change; Other characters overshadow her. Not only did Shimrit Meir take her place as the most influential figure in Bennett - the attitude she brings highlights the dominance of Lapid, Fridge, Bar-Lev and others. Shaked just does not speak their language. The release of the Oknin couple only reinforced the impression that this new language could bring to Bennett the achievements and images of victory he is desperate to present to the public. Politically, Bennett has "sniffed" - while politically, he is in a new relationship with Meir. And almond? Well, Ayelet is superfluous. She has no role in this great event.
Bennett completely neutralized his longtime partner, apparently inspired by the political adviser, who became his de facto governing partner. And the more Shaked is distanced from strategic issues, the more his position will sink within both the government and the coalition and in public opinion. These days she is facing, for the first time, a doubt about the cleanliness of coercion, with the Movement for Quality of Government demanding that the ombudsman open an investigation into "a benefit she allegedly gave her associate in advancing construction plans." The Mandelblit.
And a word must be said here in favor of Shaked - who also explains how the dissolution of the relationship fits in with the spirit of Oslo.
Shaked has always been the right marker in a relationship with Bennett.
True, Bennett was the director general of the Yesha Council, but Shaked's connection with the settlers, with centers of power in religious Zionism, and also with the right-wing area, is authentic and stronger.
This is why there are right-wing hotspots that still believe that at the right time it will lead a move to dismantle the government.
I do not see this happening, but there is reason to believe that the new political adviser "rescued" Bennett from a relationship he had long wanted to break up, but did not dare.
Now that he has been released from office, Bennett is ever freer to institutionalize his new relationship with Shimrit Meir, and upgrade to a trio with Lapid.
Together with his new partners he will gallop forward without looking back, neither towards Shaked nor towards the right-wing public, which he will be happy to leave behind like a distant memory.