评论
打印
For the first time in 12 years, Israelis woke up today with a prime minister who is not Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, upheld a new coalition government by a single vote. The prime minister is Naftali Bennett. And those who support the change celebrated last night at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv.
(SOUNDBITE OF HONKING, CHEERING)
MCCAMMON: Bennett describes himself as more right-wing than Netanyahu. He was once an aide to the former prime minister. But he represents a unity coalition that includes centrist, leftist and Arab parties.
INSKEEP: Just about everybody who wanted Netanyahu out got together to do that, barely.
NPR's Deborah Amos joins us now from Jerusalem. Hey there, Deb.
DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning.
INSKEEP: So we heard some of the celebrations. But I gather Netanyahu would not be celebrating. What did you hear from the incoming and outgoing prime ministers?
AMOS: So we watched the speeches yesterday. I'm going to start with Bennett, the incoming prime minister. He was loudly heckled by politicians who lost their job. He talked about the madness of the recent past, the divisiveness, the hatred. We stop before the abyss, he said. And he promised to bring the country to normal after the Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu's speech was fiery and bitter. He was ousted, in part, by men who had been his allies, men who know him best. Bennett was his chief of staff before he was fired. He made his case again that he's Israel's indispensable leader. He charged, the new coalition was too weak to stand up to Iran, the Palestinians and to the Americans. And he vowed, we will be back.
The most interesting guy to watch was Yair Lapid. He put the winning coalition together. He had the most votes. But he allowed Bennett the first turn as prime minister. He'll come in two years, if the government lasts that long. He didn't take his turn to speak. He said the heckling was too loud. His mother would be ashamed. But that kept the spotlight on Bennett. And when he was asked about Netanyahu, he quoted Shakespeare's Mark Antony. "I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
INSKEEP: Well, you just mentioned two of the many figures in this coalition, a self-described very right-wing figure, Lapid, who is more of a centrist. There're leftists in this coalition. What do they want to accomplish together?
AMOS: Well, a couple of things — first on the agenda is to pass term limits for eight years. And that is aimed at Netanyahu. There's still some disagreement about, does it — is it retroactive? We'll see. But they have to pass a budget. There hasn't been one since 2019. And by law, they have three months to do it. If they don't, then, you know, they explode, and they all lose their posts. So this government is not expected to make controversial moves.
You know, you have to find things that have support from the left, the right, the center and the Arab party that is now in the coalition. Bennett is known as a pragmatist. You know, he's an entrepreneur in the tech sector. He does have a hard-line track record. But he has got to compromise to survive.
INSKEEP: What are you hearing about his first conversation with President Biden, the most important Israeli ally?
AMOS: Called him right away — and, you know, what was striking about that is he did not call Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the sitting prime minister when he came into office, for many days. And everybody from the State Department, the Defense Department — they all called their counterparts. So that was a big support. They also got calls from European leaders and from Canada.
INSKEEP: Deb, what are you hearing from Palestinians both inside the formal borders of Israel and in the occupied territories?
AMOS: You know, there are Israeli Palestinians. They live inside Israel. There are those in the West Bank and Gaza. They say — their leaders say that we will see no change from the Netanyahu era, that Bennett's position on a Palestinian state is even to the right of Netanyahu. However, he is in a coalition where there are people who want a two-state solution.
INSKEEP: NPR's Deborah Amos is in Jerusalem. Deb, always a pleasure talking with you.
AMOS: Thank you.
