President Herzog Urges Israeli Unity Coalition

President Issac Herzog is urging Israeli politicians to compromise, “lower tones,” and overcome deep disagreements. Yet can he repeat the success of his father, President Chaim Herzog, who in the 1980s facilitated a unity government between competing parties?The Israeli president’s post-election role is to call on an elected Knesset member to build a ruling government. Mr. Herzog on Wednesday launched a first round of consultations since last week’s elections, by inviting four relatively small parties to the presidential residence. After consulting with members of all 11 parties that were elected to parliamentary seats last week, the president should then decide who has the best chance to become the next prime minister. “As the consultation process begins, in order to prevent a repeat election and to build a stable and good government for the people of Israel, I expect the parties and their representatives to understand that, under the current reality, it is not possible to fulfill every commitment and promise,” Mr. Herzog wrote on Wednesday morning. Members of the top four opposition parties made clear they would recommend the leader of the bloc’s largest faction, Yashar Party’s Gadi Eisenkot. Right-wing parties are expected to recommend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in power.Neither bloc can currently form a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Mr. Eisenkot is 13 seats short of the required 61, while Mr. Netanyahu needs at least eight seats. Mr. Eisenkot’s “change bloc,” however, could reach a majority if it coalesces with 19 elected Knesset members of two Arab parties. Mr. Herzog decided to forgo the largest parties on the first day of consultations. He first invited members of one of the furthest right parties, Betzalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism. That party’s minister of settlements, Orit Strock, told the president the party recommends Mr. Netanyahu for the premiership, and that it supports a unity government of all Zionist factions — but without Arab “nationalist” parties.“We don’t discriminate against entire populations, just politicians that see the establishment of Israel as a Naqba,” or catastrophe, Ms. Strock told the president at the start of Wednesday’s televised consultations. Mr. Herzog used next week’s Torah reading — in which Isaak and Ishmael unite to bury their father, Abraham — to caution against erasing the Arab vote. Shin Bet chief David Zini said on Wednesday thousands of Arabs may be involved in foreign election interference, involving millions of dollars. His new allegation was panned by the chairman of the election committee, Noam Sohlberg, who said the incidents did not change the election outcome. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara denied Mr. Zini’s request to interrogate four Arab party leaders. While Mr. Netanyahu backed Mr. Zini, leaders of the change bloc accused the premier of emulating President Trump’s reaction to the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots. The opposition vowed to conduct the swearing in for newly elected Knesset members next Tuesday, as planned.Such accusations and counter-accusations significantly complicate Mr. Herzog’s hope of welding together a large number of parties in a unity government. Israel has experienced similar situations. A 1984 election led to a tie between the two major parties — Yitzhak Shamir’s Likud and the Alignment party, headed by Labor’s Shimon Peres. Then-president Chaim Herzog first asked Peres to hash out a coalition. After he failed, Herzog asked the rival camps to rotate the premiership. The successful arrangement was repeated four years later, when Likud and Labor again ended in an election logjam.The current President Herzog faces a more difficult task. That is because following a 2020 post-election deadlock, Mr. Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz agreed on a Chaim Herzog-like rotation. Two years later, though, Mr. Netanyahu called a snap election, depriving Mr. Gantz of his turn to lead. Can Mr. Herzog convince opposition leaders to now trust Mr. Netanyahu? Also, the “change bloc” is less united than advertised, and each of its leaders sees himself as a potential prime minister. At the end of consultations that started Wednesday Mr. Herzog is widely expected to call on Mr. Eisenkot to try for the premiership. Mr. Eisenkot will then have 28 days to build a coalition. A 14-day extension will ensue if he fails. Continued failure to form a government could lead to a new election, to be held within months.

President Herzog Urges Israeli Unity Coalition

President Herzog Urges Israeli Unity Coalition

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