Liberman Drops Political Bombshell, Joins Opposition Against Netanyahu

May 5, 2015

3 min read

Dropping a political bombshell on late Monday afternoon, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has pulled his party from the new governing coalition in Israel, instead pooling the party’s support with the opposition.

The announcement came a mere 48-hours before Israeli Prime Minister must face a deadline to form a new coalition government.

Liberman, who heads the Yisrael Beytenu party that represents the large Russian population in Israel, announced he would also resign as foreign minister.

Explaining his reasoning for not joining the new Netanyahu-led government, Liberman told media that he would rather be in the opposition than serve in what he described as an opportunist, conformist and non “nationalistic” government.

“We have come to a unanimous decision that it would not be right for us to join the coalition,” Liberman stated in a press conference at the Knesset. “We chose our principles over cabinet seats.”

“We had no problem with the roles we were given – at least not the ministerial positions, the Foreign Ministry and the Absorption Ministry,” Liberman claimed. “The decision we made is that it is not right for us to join the current coalition, which will not see a nationalist government – but a government that smacks of opportunism and conformism.”

Liberman stated that the prime minister agreed to various concessions with coalition partners that his party could simply not accept.

“The Jewish-state Bill was so important in the last Knesset – suddenly no one is talking about it,” he said, referring to a controversial bill that seeks to formally establish Israel as a Jewish state.

Yisrael Beytenu garnered six seats in the March election and were a major factor in increasing Netanyahu’s strength in the Knesset. Now, without the party’s support, Netanyahu faces a governing a coalition with a very small 61-seat majority out of a total of 120 seats.

The prime minister’s leadership now faces severe vulnerabilities and greatens the chance of elections in the near future.

Thus far, Netanyahu has signed coalition agreements with the Kulanu and United Torah Judaism parties, giving him 46 seats. The prime minister is close to sealing deals with ultra-Orthodox party Shas and religious-Zionist party Jewish Home, headed by Naftali Bennett, to give him a majority rule.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Photo: Flash90)
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Photo: Flash90)

Liberman criticized Netanyahu for his weak stance on Hamas and terrorism. He said that the prime minister’s future government “had no intention of uprooting Hamas in Gaza.” This is not the first time Liberman has openly criticized the Netanyahu for what he calls a soft stance on terror.

During last summer’s war, Liberman called out the prime minister for not doing enough to eradicate Gaza-based terrorists and called for a stronger response to rocket and terror attacks launched from the Hamas-controlled Strip.

With Liberman now out of the picture, Netanyahu has offered the leader of the Jewish Home part Bennett an irresistible offer: Ministries of Education and Diaspora for Bennett, Ministry of Agriculture for Uri Ariel, Ministry of Culture and Sports to Ayelet Shaked, and the posts of Deputy Defense Mininster and Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Knesset insider’s report Bennett is attempting to garner more strength for his party members in leading positions, demanding the Justice Ministry post be handed over to Shaked.

“The responsibility for [the establishment] of a nationalist government is on Bennett’s shoulders,” Likud coalition negotiator David Shimron said Tuesday. “He got very generous offers.”

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