The bitter lessons of Israel’s ‘change’ government

The Bennett-Lapid coalition, which lost to Netanyahu, failed to change the terms of public debate.

Israel’s “change government” held office for 18 months, from June 2021 to December 2022, briefly interrupting Benjamin Netanyahu’s extended rule of the country.

In the early days of the coalition,  I felt compelled to defend it as a rare source of hope for progressives and liberals invested in Israeli politics. My article sought to counterbalance the cynicism and pessimism among some progressive Israel-watchers, who prophesised forebodingly about the new administration.

They warned the government was doomed to fail and King Bibi would be back on the throne in no time – but with an even more craven band of enablers. This, for me, was an unbearable prediction.

Two years and one fateful election later, I am revisiting my assessments and expectations. I missed the forest for the trees, confusing in-principle commitments, coalition agreements and reversible ministerial directives for meaningful indicators of lasting change.

It would be tempting for progressive observers to turn their cynicism about Naftali Bennett’s unwieldy coalition into mournful nostalgia. It is important, with the benefit of hindsight, to look at the change period with a clear eye and see how it contributed to the chaos of the present day.

Under the change government, the 24^th Israeli Knesset passed more than 60 bills. Bennett’s government came good on a few of the key promises I praised in my 2021 article. These included increased funds to security in the Arab sector, more work permits for Palestinians, subsidised university for veterans, expansion of the “apartment at a discount” program and enhanced welfare services for people on disabilities.

However, these policies were unable to prevent deteriorating living standards. The role of external events here is indisputable, but the government lacked policy ambition because of the awkward composition of the coalition.