Prime Minister Netanyahu's Crisis of Confidence in Israel

Turkey has so many lessons to learn from Israel in terms of the post-election tensions that have not subsided. It is not possible in a democratic society to go beyond democratic theories and rules and the legal framework. The reason is obvious. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who in a sense tried to discipline the judiciary, faced a process of resistance by the people who defended their democracy with the support of the US. Putting minority peoples aside in democracy, perceiving democracy only as pluralism or majority rights is not really legitimate in a society where the democratic climate is established.  The power of the people, even if it is the opposition, is really important. In Israel, in the face of the public demonstrations that filled the squares, Netenyahu postponed the discussion of the reform bill restricting the powers of the judiciary in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after 12 weeks of public demonstrations, which allowed the opponents of the government to temporarily withdraw from the streets. However, no one should forget that the crisis has not been resolved and is far from over. Protests are certain to resume next month when the Knesset returns to the Knesset with legislation that drastically curtails the powers of the judiciary. 

In the aftermath of the elections, the political and social opposition in Israel engaged in widespread civil disobedience demonstrations against the restrictive "Judicial Package" that the Netanyahu government, which came to power for the fifth time with a tenuous coalition, wanted to enact. As soon as Netanyahu came to power after the fifth consecutive elections, he chose to tune up the judiciary and tried to test the public's reflex to resist with the controversial "judicial reform". The Israeli people, who took their places on the streets and in the streets, did not back down or compromise in the face of this controversial "judicial reform" and the Netenyahu government could only resist this popular movement for 12 weeks. It would be useful to underline one point here, the Millet Alliance, whose road map is observed as the 7-party coalition that formed an alliance with the HDP, the extension of the terrorist organization PKK, just days before the elections on May 14th, reveals on almost every occasion that it will not leave the fields whether it wins the elections or not, and that it adopts the understanding of the people in Israel to stay on the streets for civil disobedience demonstrations.  

Undoubtedly, where there is politics, the government and the opposition are inseparable. While the action plan is put forward by the government, the opposition activates the mechanism of control, and in countries governed by classical democracy, it is an extremely natural political attitude for the political party organization in power to want to realize its goals first and foremost. It is quite natural that it will want to realize the electoral promise it made to its voters and the program adopted by the government established after the election. This is because the ruling party came to power upon the approval of the election promise it made to its voters. As it is known, each party has a plan and program according to its specific tendency. At the same time, a political party or parties that are in opposition to the political power have to control the feasibility of the government's action plan within the democratic theory and legal framework. Therefore, the government and the opposition, as elements of the political system, are the two objective subjects of an intricate relationship.  One of the indispensable features of the US Presidential system, which is almost immediately emulated, is the fact that in a system of "Checks and Balances" each power has the primary authority to make decisions. However, each power requires cooperation with the other powers, albeit at a minimal voluntary level. This is because the successful implementation of a decision or initiative taken by the legislature, the executive or the judiciary is essential in this respect. (1)

Remember, the State of Israel is the first one that comes to mind when it is suggested that foreign powers are involved in the turmoil in any part of the world, especially in the Middle East. Jewish agents, who in the past were active in the British Intelligence Service and the CIA, are now active at the national level in their own intelligence organization, Mossad. They are agents and spies in the holy land. However, the Israeli military and civilian bureaucracies are extremely uncomfortable with the jingoistic attitude of both the US and the UK towards them nowadays, given what happened in the past. Nikki Haley, who defended Israel more than the US when she was the former Permanent Representative of the US to the UN, criticizes Joe Biden's attitude towards Israel, whom she wants to rival in 2024. 

Reacting to Biden's controversial judicial reform brought up by Netanyahu, Haley said, "It is outrageous that Biden is lecturing Israel on an issue that is purely internal. We would never want the Israeli government to put pressure on the United States on matters that concern our own Supreme Court, and they would never do that. We should let the Israelis decide that for themselves." (2) Are there signs of this? Can there not be?  Undoubtedly there are. One of the most prominent signs in this regard is the statement made by Netenyahu's son Yair on social media, which confirms Nikki Halley. In his statement, Yair said that the US Secretary of State was behind the protests, suggesting that the goal of those funding the demonstrations was to overthrow his father and make a deal with the Iranians. (3)  

Doesn't this dictate a familiar situation to you? Before Biden came to power, his scandalous remarks in Turkey, which directly set the agenda for the government, especially President Erdogan, shook the agenda. Moreover, Joe Biden's scandalous remarks that they could change the government in Turkey by supporting the opposition is reminiscent of the scandalous remarks made behind closed doors to Yair Netanyahu's father. Let us recall that Biden went so far as to add to his impudence the following remarks (4)

"The last thing I would do would be to bow to him on the Kurds. Absolutely the last thing. And I had a few meetings with them about the Kurds. At that time, the Ankara government was not going after them yet. So we need to show that. Turkey does not have to want to be dependent on Russia. They took a bite of that apple a long time ago. But they have to understand that we will not continue to treat them the way we have been treating them so far. So I am very worried. I'm also very concerned about our air bases and our access to them, and I think it's going to be a lot of work for us to get together with our allies in the region and figure out how to isolate his activities in the region." (4)

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the United States, in its official documents such as the National Policy Document, which is like a red book, has shown that it is the biggest supporter of Israel, both materially and morally, and, needless to say, it has made it clear in front of the whole world. The US and Israel are symbiotic states feeding from the same root. So much so that any draft resolution adopted in the UNSC is immediately vetoed by the US if it is against Israel. Special care is taken by the US to ensure that not even a hair on the head of the State of Israel is harmed. It is inconceivable that the US, which almost equates Israel's security with its own, would intervene in crises all over the world, while watching any crisis in Israel from afar, and tipping the balance in favor of Iran. It is also clear that after so much support, it is unthinkable for Washington to remain indifferent to what is happening in Israel. It can be seen that the US has been and is treating Israel as "the most favored country" in politics, a rule that is mostly applied in trade. 

Joe Biden's stance is really interesting. He has built and is building a security crisis against Prime Minister Netanyahu.  To put it more accurately, Biden has clearly taken the Benny Gantz path, and the US has guided the establishment, the deep state, in this direction with its planning guide. On the other hand, although Biden rejects the claim that they are interfering in Israel's internal affairs, it is certain that he has taken sides in the division in Israel. Before the elections, he sided with Yair Lapid, former Prime Minister and leader of the main opposition Future Var Party, and Benny Gantz, former Israeli Defense Minister and current head of the opposition National Unity Party. However, Biden's stance was heavily criticized by Netanyahu's far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvirin. It can be said that he gave the best response to Biden's stance as follows. 

"Israel is not one of the stars on the US flag." (3)

Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, a well-balanced statesman, warned that the Netenyahu-led government's deterioration of relations with the US in three months "could have very dangerous political, economic and security consequences". Dear readers, while Turkey's relations with Israel are still recovering from the catastrophe of the century and Turkey's relations with Israel are expected to evolve into an almost alliance, the uncertainty is now making us think about the possibility of building a common future. 

References

(1) Mehmet Ali Zengin, “ABD Başkanlık Sisteminde Fren ve Denge Mekanizması Üzerine Bir İnceleme”, TAAD, Yıl:7, Ankara, Sayı:28 (Ekim 2016), s.10

(2) Dünya Gündemi, “Nikki Haley’den Biden’a Tepki”, Diriliş Postası, 01 Nisan 2023, s.11

(3) İsmail Yaşa, İsrail’in Dış Güçleri, Diriliş Postası, 01 Nisan 2023, s.11

(4) Hürriyet Gazetesi, “Joe Biden'in skandal sözleri ortaya çıktı! 'Erdoğan'ı yenmeleri için onları desteklemeliyiz”, 15 Ağustos 2020; https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/joe-bidenin-skandal-sozleri-ortaya-cikti-erdogani-yenmeleri-icin-onlari-desteklemeliyiz-41588131/Erişim Tarihi 02.04.2023/