In her article "The opposition within the coalition - preparation in advance", Limor Semimian-Darsh pointed an accusing finger at religious Zionism.
She claimed that the party, and perhaps the entire sector, insists on sectoral achievements over the good of the state, called on the party's MPs to align with Netanyahu, and did not let up until she accused the religious Zionist party of not being conformist enough in the coalition negotiations.
Well, a reminder: Naftali Bennett, during his tenure as Minister of Education, was actually the one who promoted the study of mathematics for all students, and when the representatives of the sector that sent him to the Knesset asked for assistance in financing the expensive post-secondary religious education - he returned their faces blankly, because he is the Minister of Education for everyone.
When Bezalel Smotrich was Minister of Transportation, even his political opponents gave him an excellent score, because he promoted road development and solving transportation problems throughout the country.
And at the same time, the ministers led a policy that fits their ideology, as is expected of any elected official who reaches a position of action.
So let's talk dogs.
The reluctance towards the members of the Religious Zionist Party does not stem from the fear that they will focus on sectoral action, but from the fear that they will implement the policy for which they were elected - this little matter that citizens are promised before the elections, and in return they place the note of the specific party in an envelope, and hope that the elected will keep their commitments.
More than half a million people cast the ballot of the religious Zionist party at the ballot box, hoping that the promises of governance, personal security and settlement development would come true.
The demand to fold now and stand still behind Netanyahu without compensating here is an unfair demand, and above all undemocratic.
14 mandates have spoken, and they must not be silenced.
And now, to the negotiations: in 2020, just before the third round of elections, Binyamin Netanyahu stood on the stage of a "Bassheva" newspaper conference, and said: "I came here to tell the truth... the religious-nationalist public, it has a huge heart and a huge faith, But it doesn't always understand politics." That is, it is a public that can be excited and mobilized, it will follow you, but at the moment of truth you can whistle at it because it has no political wisdom. Before the current election campaign, Netanyahu repeated two statements: the first - that he wants to establish a right-wing government Full, and that he would share with all the Bloc parties that froze together with him for a year and a half on the opposition benches; and the second - that he always wanted to form right-wing governments, only that in 2013 the Lapid-Bennet brothers' alliance prevented him from doing so.
The problem is that the facts say otherwise: in 2013, when Netanyahu had a right-wing majority, he first turned to Tzipi Livni and then to Sheli Yachimovich, and had no intention of turning to Bennett.
Netanyahu was forced to do this only because Bennett made an alliance with Lapid.
It is true, since then Bennett E-Alo has made ideological appeals, but at that time he was an authentic representative of the religious Zionist public.
Netanyahu intended to dry him then, more or less as he does today in Smotrich.
Today, Netanyahu made Shas his senior partner, even though it is not the largest party in the bloc. He gives Derai, a man whose economic positions are the opposite of his own, the treasury, and once again leaves religious Zionism last. Netanyahu apparently believes that the good heart of religious Zionism will forgive and forget.
Well, the time has come for religious Zionism to prove to the prime minister-designate that it actually does understand a thing or two about politics;
that she knows that her mandates are necessary for the existence of a stable right-wing government, even if later it becomes a broader government.
Semimian-Drash declared that old patterns must be shed in order to establish a sustainable government.
Well, the one who needs to shed the pattern is precisely Netanyahu.
It's time for him to learn from his relationship with Naftali Bennett, and realize that people internalize and remember distrust;
Let him respect the partners who walk a long way with him, give them their rightful place, not be afraid of their success and see them as partners.
Otherwise, he won't be surprised why he remains the head of a large and respected party - but alone.
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