Huge coalition in Israel loses majority in the Knesset - "beginning of the end"

Created: 04/06/2022 10:54 am

By: Linus Prien

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett © Maya Alleruzzo/Imago

After a decision by Israel's Supreme Court that broke with Jewish tradition, an MP resigned.

The government has now lost its majority.

Tel Aviv - Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett lost his razor-thin majority in parliament after the resignation of a member of his Yamina party.

Parliamentarian Idit Silman announced on Wednesday (April 6) that she no longer wanted to be part of the governing coalition because it threatened "Israel's Jewish identity".

The trigger was a decision by the Ministry of Health to allow leavened bread in hospitals during the Passover holiday.

It was a break with Jewish tradition.

Israel: Resigns after Supreme Court decision

According to Jewish tradition, leavened foods (chametz) are not allowed in public during the Passover holiday.

However, the country's Supreme Court recently overturned a long-standing ban on unleavened bread products in Israeli health facilities.

"I am retiring from the coalition and will continue to try to persuade my friends to return home and form a right-wing government," Silman said.

"I know I'm not the only one who thinks like this." The coalition, which is made up of eight parties with different political orientations, now has 60 seats in the Knesset, like the opposition.

Israel: Opposition Reactions - "This is the Beginning of the End"

Ex-Prime Minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Silman's decision: "Idit, you are proof that concern for Israel's Jewish identity, concern for the Land of Israel* guides you, and I welcome you to the national camp." The leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted: "This is the beginning of the end for Bennett's left-wing, non-Zionist government and the Islamist movement."

Israel: What are the consequences of losing a majority?

The step initially has no concrete, immediate effects.

It remains to be seen whether the government will fail because of the resignation and the lost majority.

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is still in session until May 8th.

Only then could the opposition initiate a constructive vote of no confidence in the government.

However, even after Silman's resignation, the opposition does not have the necessary majority for a vote of no confidence - they would need at least 61 of the 120 votes for that.

The constructive vote of no confidence would also have to include the name of an alternative candidate to form a government.

There is currently no candidate who could gather a majority behind him.