This is the second time that the Likud has been beaten during the current constitutional crisis due to internal confusion.
For the first time, Knesset members on his behalf, in light of political blackmail by military officials and the tolerance of the chief of staff and defense minister for extortion, announced that they would not support an amendment to the Basic Law that would regulate the selection of judges. Now, in a secret ballot in the Knesset, it is likely that it was Likud MKs who supported the opposition candidate, for fear of threats to set the streets on fire. This is not the end of the campaign.
But there are worrying signs for those who want to democratize the relations between authorities in Israel. The confusion in the Likud reflects the ability of those protesting against democratic reform to influence the ruling party. And the confusion in the Likud could persuade the protesters, too many of whom suffer from apocalyptic tendencies, to apply more extreme pressure and quasi-violent intimidation until the entire campaign is decided by knockout. They hope to create a crisis in relations between the Likud and its supporters, and then the oligarchic "light" will triumph over the populist "darkness." It is easy to attribute cowardice to elements in the Likud.
But courage is not a value in itself. It is impossible to irresponsibly dismiss the grave danger we all face from the results of the unscrupulous campaign of intimidation carried out here against important parts of the public. This campaign of intimidation "succeeded." False propaganda led by unbridled "former" agents and dishonest experts has caused widespread psychosis among the public, including the public that mediates between the Likud and other parties of the Israeli middle class. It must be understood that the Likud is not only the main representative (not the only one) of the lower classes of the Jewish public – it is also competing on the center-left lists for the electorate of the eastern and Ashkenazi middle classes.
Therefore, there are MKs in the Likud who feel the mood among members of this class very well, and who respond to the psychosis that has pervaded it. Indeed, one could see that the propaganda against the democratization of relations of authority in Israel was aimed to a large extent at pressuring the Likud and its representatives in the Knesset. We saw the results in the confusion of Likud MKs at moments of test. But the "success" of the anti-compromise panic propaganda can be self-goal. The Likud may have recoiled twice, but it also cannot remain indifferent in the face of a crisis in its relations with a huge portion of its supporters. Already, enormous anger is rising within them. The Likud wants a political life, and it would be irresponsible for the opposition parties to assume that this anger will not affect the Likud's actions. The choice facing the Likud is to continue the confused pattern it presented to us and risk losing its world among its supporters, or change course.
It is possible that the path of compromise was blocked because of Benny Gantz's misunderstanding that he must lend a hand to the other side and calm things down (Yair Lapid, on the other hand, cynically cultivates public psychosis). If the compromise is indeed blocked, the Likud must enact the most compromising version possible to regulate the selection of judges. At the same time, he must initiate legislation and investigations that will deal with the corruption and decadence that have spread in the two main law enforcement systems – the State Prosecutor's Office and the police – and demonstrate to the public the urgent need to reform key aspects of our regime.
Moreover, if the Likud collapses completely under the pressure, which cannot be ruled out, it will be a harsh façade for Israel as a whole, including the opposition and its supporters. A complete thwarting of correcting the serious regime flaws that have been revealed to all of us will break the free civil spirit of Israelis.
The constitutional crisis has revealed that voters do not control Israel through their representatives. The entire public now sees who its true rulers are and how predatory they are in their domination. This fact alone weakens the domineers and those who cover them up in the media, and will create ongoing instability. Therefore, the supreme interest of all of us is a moderate reform of the regime. A complete defeat for democratization would endanger the cohesion of the State of Israel.
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